Fairwork is hiring a short-term Research Assistant in the UK

We are looking to appoint a Research Assistant to support the project: “Unpaid Labour in the Platform Economy” as part of the Fairwork UK project.

Fairwork is an action-research project that studies the platform economy in order to develop fairness ratings for digital platforms, that are used as a lever to improve working conditions.

Applicants will have a relevant postgraduate degree in sociology, geography, economics, law, development, or related fields. Excellent writing, presentation abilities, qualitative research, and analytical skills are required. We welcome applications from candidates even if they do not have previous experience in a research team.

As the successful candidate, you will be based at Fairwork within the Oxford Internet Institute. The appointed research assistant, will report to Professor Mark Graham and Dr Matthew Cole.

You will play a key role in both conducting research and guiding the Fairwork partners in the research that they conduct. The primary aims of this position will be to:

1. Assist the UK team in the research that they are conducting with platform workers and platform managers about unpaid labour and job quality on digital labour platforms;
2. Use that research as part of the Fairwork project’s action research strategies to leverage change in the gig economy; and
3. Assist the team in preparing and disseminating publications, talks, and other forms of research outputs.

To apply for this position please send an email to recruit@oii.ox.ac.uk by 12noon UK time on May 6th attaching an up-to-date CV and a supporting statement, explaining how you meet the selection criteria outlined above and why you are applying for this role.

Any questions about the role please speak to: Matthew Cole matthew.cole@oii.ox.ac.uk

Subject to completion of payroll paperwork and satisfactory right to work check, the position(s) are available from May 15th and will be on a casual engagement, up to a maximum of a 12-week period and up to 20 hours per week/for a total of 270 hours over this period. The hourly rate paid will be £18.12 per hour.

Please note a valid right to work in the UK will be required for this role. A right to work check is a Home Office process to establish that each employee/casual worker has the right to work in the UK. Under the 2006 Immigration, Nationality and Asylum Act the University has a duty to prevent illegal working by carrying out document checks to confirm that a person has the right to work in the UK. All employees, casual workers and Tier 5 sponsored visa holders must have their right to work checked before they start work at the University.

The Fairwork project endorses the wider call from the Oxford Internet Institute community to advance anti-racist initiatives in higher education. We commit to upholding the values it espouses in our recruitment processes, to the best of our capacities.