Research Associate (Applied Linguistics and English Language)

Location: Hybrid or onsite at the Belfast office, with required travel in and around Belfast for archival work and meetings. The role is contractually aligned to Belfast; basing in Ireland is recommended because travel funding is not included.

Salary: £42,254 per year, pro rata for part-time hours.

Company

hirify.global is a UK university focused on flexible part-time higher education, widening access, and research excellence.

What you will do

• Support archival research at Northern Irish institutions, including the Oh Yeah! Music Centre, Linen Hall Library, and Belfast Central Library.
• Recruit, schedule, and facilitate online object-oriented interviews.
• Transcribe and code qualitative data using thematic and multimodal approaches.
• Analyse photographic and material culture data while maintaining records and following ethical and data management procedures.
• Support public engagement events and help develop a podcast series, public lecture series, online exhibition, and OpenLearn course.
• Assist with academic papers, reports, and coordination of the Music as Cultural Refuge community of practice.

Requirements

• PhD or near completion in Cultural Studies, Media Studies, Sociolinguistics, Music, Sociology, Anthropology, History, or a related field.
• Demonstrated qualitative research experience, especially object-oriented interviews and multimodal analysis.
• Familiarity with archival and/or material culture research methods.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with academic and community partners.
• Sensitivity to the sociopolitical and ethical contexts of research on the Troubles.

Nice to have

• Knowledge of Northern Irish music, cultural heritage, or social history.
• Experience in community-based or co-produced research.
• Experience with podcasting, digital curation, or public engagement.

Culture & Benefits

• Flexible working arrangements, including job share, part-time, and compressed hours.
• Hybrid work from home and the office, with full-time work from the Belfast site also supported.
• Benefits and policies supporting work-life balance.
• Opportunity to contribute to interdisciplinary, impact-driven research and community dialogue around youth, music, memory, and peacebuilding.

Hiring process

• Submit a supporting statement of up to 1,000 words and a CV.
• Interviews are likely to take place via Teams at the end of November.