"Research Fellow"

We are delighted to welcome applications for a Research Fellow post within the ESRC Connecting Generations programme to examine intergenerational flows of support in later life and the increased cost-of-living in the UK.

ESRC Connecting Generations is a collaborative project between the long-established Centre for Population Change (University of Southampton, University of St Andrews, and University of Stirling), the University of Oxford Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, and the Resolution Foundation. ESRC Connecting Generations aims to innovate in knowledge and understanding of intergenerational relations and population change. The Centre is led by Professor Jane Falkingham. For further details, see https://www.cpc.ac.uk/research_programme/connecting_generations/

This project will examine intergenerational flows of support in later life and the increased cost-of-living in the UK, via data collected from two project Directives from the Mass Observation Study, University of Sussex. Qualitative narratives were collected in Spring 2023 and also August 2024 in order to investigate the role of intergenerational support in mitigating the rising costs of living and whether growing costs have adversely affected intergenerational flows of support.

This research position is in the Department of Gerontology within the Faculty of Social Sciences, where Professors Evandrou and Vlachantoni are based. You will be part of a collaborative team including other project Researchers, the CPC Research Manager and Knowledge Exchange team, as well as Faculty members from both the Department of Gerontology at the University of Southampton and other Departments and partner institutions.

To be successful in the role you will have, or will be close to completing, a PhD (or equivalent professional qualifications) with a background in Gerontology or Social Policy and strong qualitative research methods skills in a relevant discipline. You will have knowledge and expertise in data analysis and be skilled in the use of e.g. NVivo or other software. You will have proven ability to plan and organise your work independently and as part of a team and have the ability to write research presentations and papers for peer review publication.

The Research Fellow post is full-time fixed term for 12 months and is available from the 1st March 2026. Due to external project funding, the latest start date is 1st April 2026 with a fixed term end date of 31st March 2027.

The University of Southampton holds an Athena SWAN Silver Award demonstrating commitment to equal opportunities in the workplace.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Prof. Maria Evandrou, email: maria.evandrou@soton.ac.uk