Job Advert: Research Assistant - Ref: 1328077
18 April 2013
UCL Department / Division
Department of Political Science/School of Public Policy
Specific unit / Sub department
Constitution Unit
Grade
6
Hours
Full Time
Salary (inclusive of London allowance)
£28,338 - £29,881 per annum
Duties and Responsibilities
The School of Public Policy, UCL, wishes to appoint a full-time research assistant to work with Dr James Melton on Constitute, a new web application that aims to provide free, online access to most constitutions written since 1789. The goal of the project is to improve constitution-making processes by providing access to the contents of other countries’ constitutions to the individuals involved in those processes. The web application will be hosted on www.constitutionmaking.org/ and is presently funded by Google Ideas and the Indigo Trust. The successful candidate will work in the Department of Political Science’s well-known Constitution Unit. The candidate’s primary responsibility will be formatting and adding XML tags to the Comparative Constitutions Project’s collection of constitutional texts.
The appointment is available from the 24th of June 2013 until 6th April 2014 in the first instance.
Key Requirements
The successful candidate must hold a Master’s degree in political science, law, or a related field at merit or distinction grade; candidates not possessing this qualification but with a first-class undergraduate degree in one of these subjects may be considered. (NOTE – this is an entry-level research position, and candidates holding a PhD will not be considered; however, the position could suit somebody who is currently working towards a PhD). They must also possess excellent writing, communication and organisational skills, and have demonstrable knowledge of constitutional/institutional design and a familiarity with the structure and contents of codified constitutions. Prior experience with Perl, Python, R, Stata, or similar programs and knowledge of XML and/or Regular Expressions are desirable.
Further Details
A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page. To apply for the vacancy please click on the ‘Apply Now’ button below. Informal enquiries may be made to Dr James Melton (j.melton@ucl.ac.uk).
If you have any queries regarding the vacancy or the application process, please contact Ben Webb, email ben.webb@ucl.ac.uk 020 7679 4977
Closing Date
10 May 2013 at 17:00
This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Support Staff.
