Research Fellow (Design for Heritage and Community) - (7494)

Fellowship Opportunity: Design for Heritage and Community

Design Department at Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan: 

The Design Department at Manchester School of Art is renowned for its international and world-class research in Design for Health and Wellbeing, Design Innovation, Community and Heritage and Making and Materiality. We aim to create a viable future by facilitating responsible cultural, social, material and technological transformations that respond to the needs of society. Our ambition is to be international leaders in employing design to address global challenges.

Our research and teaching builds on an extensive heritage and connection to the creative industries which has enabled us to become one of the leading providers of design education nationally, and our research and education are consistently highly ranked in subject league tables. Through this, we provide unique opportunities for collaborative co-creation across our global network of partners.

The work of the Department includes research that:

• Explores the practices of design and craft in the context of emergent material science, technologies and ethical frameworks.
• Aims to develop community belonging and sense of place.
• Develops new ways of presenting and preserving marginalised histories, perspectives and issues within communities and cultural institutions.
• Experiments with new forms of print, digital and hybrid media—books, catalogues, virtual environments—in support of community and heritage institution programmes.

Two key strands to our work includes nascent research on designing for countercultural heritage—which explores how major cultural institutions pay attention to marginal, decolonial, planetary perspectives—and design for cohesion which centres on the role of design in the production of cultural heritage in urban environments.  

The aim of the Fellowship is to provide leadership and a critical contribution to the development of designing for heritage and community through transformative design practice. The Fellow will work closely with our diverse design and craft researchers and practitioners, contribute to our research and work with local, national and international communities and cultural partners in the realisation of design-led cultural programmes and experiences.

About the role: 

• To undertake world-leading and internationally excellent research using latest and innovative methodologies, as relevant in your area of research. 

• To prepare, present and publish research outputs through the appropriate forums e.g. research workshops, conferences, seminars, exhibitions, portfolios, academic journals etc. 

• To develop ideas for generating income to ensure the continued success and growth of research portfolio.  

• To disseminate findings of research widely to further the institution's standing in the HE and research community and strengthen the impact of the research.

• To engage in scholarly activities conducive to a long-term successful academic career that will support and enhance the research culture within the Department/ School, Faculty and University.

About the candidate: 

You will be an expert in any of the practices within the group, in addition to having knowledge and experience in one of the areas of heritage futures, collaborative and participatory design, or social design. With a PhD in a relevant subject and expertise of designing for and with communities or audiences, you will help us address questions of decoloniality and re-indigeneity in collective and social design practice and pedagogy. 

Requirements: 

• Doctoral level qualification in a related research area. 

• Possess breadth or depth of specialist knowledge and demonstrate potential for research independence.

• Excellent track record of relevant research outputs. 

• Significant research experience in the chosen field of research, which should include where appropriate: 
  • leading the work of a team, co-ordinating effort and resources to meet objectives 
  • developing partnerships within the University and with external agencies  
  • preparing funding proposals and applications to external bodies 
  • using initiative, creativity and judgement to develop appropriate approaches to research 
  • synthesising complex data from different sources and communicating findings via written reports and articles 
  • presenting at national and/or international research meetings 
  • supervising student work and providing appropriate support and feedback. 

• Experience of managing and monitoring performance of research projects in multi-disciplinary teams.

• Ability to manage projects involving academic institutions and funding bodies. 

Please refer to the Job Description & Person Specification for a full list of essential & desirable criteria. 

Academic Contact: Prof Philip Ely (p.ely@mmu.ac.uk) to discuss the fellowship opportunity in detail. 

Application Process: 

To apply to the Fellowship, please provide the following documents: 

• Research Interest Statement (no more than two sides of A4, font size 11, 2 cms margin): Statement should include your long-term career aspirations, how your research till date and plans to develop and contribute towards your research interest in the future will impact the University's Research Strategy whilst working with an existing team of researchers.  

• Research Proposal (no more than four sides of A4, font size 11, 2 cm margins): Kindly provide a research proposal focused on a specific topic within the research faculty you are applying for. The proposal should be accompanied by a Gantt chart outlining a 3-year research timeline, this is outside the page limit.  

• Curriculum Vitae (include details of your education, citizenship, publications, funding, employment history & names of referees) 

Please note that panels will not consider attachments that fall outside of the limits, where specified. 

We aim to offer up to a maximum of 15 fellow appointments, for which we will be assessing applicants competitively across the four faculties that are welcoming applications. 

Assessment Timelines: 

• The application window will be available for 8 weeks and will close on 29 May 2024
• Interviews will be held on-site in Manchester (where practical) in the w/c 17 and 24 June 2024
• We aim to make offers to successful candidates in the w/c 03 July 2024

Enquiries:  

If you haven't found your specific area of research, please click here to sign up to our job alerts. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us on researchfellowships@mmu.ac.uk  

Manchester Met University is committed to creating an intentionally inclusive culture of belonging that promotes equity and celebrates diversity. We understand the importance of having a diverse workforce and the benefits it can bring to ensuring diversity of thought and innovation in everything we do. We, therefore, encourage applications from our local and international communities, in particular people from ethnic minority groups, disabled people and people who identify as LGBTQIA+.    

We recognise the benefits and importance of an environment that supports flexible working and are open to conversations about this throughout the application process.  

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