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Chair, and Principal Investigator of 1958 National Child Development Study and 1970 British Cohort Study Ref:1883934

UCL Department / Division Social Research Institute
Specific unit / Sub department IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society
Location of position London
Grade Professorial
Hours Full Time
Salary (inclusive of London allowance) Competitive

Background

Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. We are among the world’s top universities, as reflected by performance in a range of international rankings and tables.

The IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, is a world-leading centre for research and teaching in social science and education, ranked number one for education worldwide in the 2021 QS World University Rankings for the ninth year running.

Within the IOE, the Social Research Institute is one of the largest centres of multi-disciplinary, social science research and teaching in London. It is home to over 80 academics based in five renowned research centres.

We are now seeking an exceptional candidate for the position of Chair, and Principal Investigator of 1958 National Child Development Study and 1970 British Cohort Study within the Centre for Longitudinal Studies.

The Centre for Longitudinal Studies is an interdisciplinary research centre, which is funded by ESRC to scientifically lead and run four of Britain’s internationally renowned cohort studies:

• 1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS)

• 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70)

• Millennium Cohort Study (MCS)

• Next Steps (formerly the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England)

CLS delivers a strong interdisciplinary research programme based on the cohorts, and programmes of research on survey methodology and statistical methods. Our academic staff specialise in applying advanced quantitative methods to the cohort data to produce research and inform policy in areas such as education, health, labour markets, child development, child and adult wellbeing, and ageing.

The Centre has also recently been funded to set up three new major cohort projects, the Early Life Cohort Feasibility Study, Children of the 2020s,  and the Covid Social Mobility study. The Centre also collaborates closely with the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing in the Faculty of Population Health Sciences in UCL, which leads the 1946 National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD), the oldest of the UK’s national birth cohort studies, and closer integration between the work of CLS and LHA is planned.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Centre now has an exciting opportunity for an experienced academic. In this critical academic leadership role for the Centre, you will lead the scientific development of the two longest-running studies in the CLS portfolio, enabling the very strong synergies between the two studies to be maximised. Overseeing the fieldwork on both the studies, as well as putting in place scientific plans for the future development of the studies, you will take the scientific lead in directing the studies, developing them to their maximum potential as unique research resources, and publishing outstanding research using the studies.

Key Requirements

With a doctorate or equivalent qualification in a social science or related discipline, you will have a demonstrable expertise in ageing research, and world-leading record of publications based on quantitative analysis of longitudinal data, ideally using BCS70 and NCDS, or other similar longitudinal survey data.

Further Details

A job description and person specification can be accessed here. It has additional information on the role. To apply for the vacancy please click here.

For an informal discussion or further details please contact Alissa
Goodman: a.goodman@ucl.ac.uk

We particularly welcome female applicants and those from an ethnic minority, as they are under-represented within UCL at this level.

Closing Date 26 May 2022
Latest time for the submission of applications 23:59pm
Interview date TBC

Our department holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award, in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality.

Any offer of employment will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Academic Staff.

Please use these links to find out more about the UCL working life including the benefits we offer and UCL Terms and Conditions related to this job.

Job description and person specification