Data Research Assistant, SPARKS

Internal Applicants Only

Deadline: 8 December 2023

Professor Anne Davies is looking for a Research Assistant with a passion for working with data and an interest in environmental policy and/or public procurement. This opportunity is a part of a new project called SPARKS (Sustainable Procurement Applied Research and Knowledge Sharing), the initial phase of which will run from 01 October 2023 to 30 June 2024, with additional, longer-term funding being sought in the meantime.

The project aims to explore the pursuit of Net Zero targets through government contracting in the UK and around the world. This work will be highly collaborative with people working within and outside of Oxford.

Tasks for the Data Research Assistant will include:

• Identifying and helping to assess Net Zero targets and policies from different types of public bodies at different levels of government around the UK and selected countries.
• Identifying and assessing carbon emission estimation models for different industries or activities in the UK and other countries. 
• Working with data describing contracting authorities associated with a wide range of selected governments around the UK and around the world (potentially including over 100 different cities). 
• Working with structured procurement data (potentially over 1M lines of data)
• Identifying contractors and their carbon emission reports.
• Helping to improve data definitions and models, work with indicators, develop data visualizations, and train artificial intelligence models. 

Duration and hours

Working hours: a total of up to 150 hours across the duration of the project, to be agreed with the project supervisor.

Start date: 15th December 2023

Date by which the work must be completed: 30th June 2024

Reporting

The Data Research Assistant will report to Professor Anne Davies.

Requirements

• Experience assessing and/or aligning data definitions and data quality in different datasets, with a view to joining those datasets, is essential.  
• Experience with data cleaning and reproducible data analysis in Python or R, and working with relational databases and JSON structured data is essential. 
• Experience interpreting quantitative data and developing/articulating insights is essential.
• A strong interest in environmental issues, open government, procurement and/or public law and policy is desirable. 
• A basic understanding of the public sector and multiple layers of government in the UK and some awareness of the different types of public bodies is desirable. 
• Pursuing a relevant graduate degree is desirable.

Your normal place of work will be the St Cross Building or the Manor Road Building, Manor Road.  However, provided you have the agreement of your PI/Supervisor, and a suitable space to work (including library access if required), it may be possible to undertake the work remotely, which could be anywhere in the UK.  

Please note that you will be required to complete a Right to Work check before starting work. The Law Faculty HR Team will contact you directly to arrange for the appropriate check to take place. What is a right to work check? | Staff Immigration (ox.ac.uk)

Eligibility

This opportunity is open to current graduate students in the Faculty of Law, the Blavatnik School of Government, the Department of Politics and International Relations and the Department of Computer Science, and the hours are in line with the restrictions on working hours for students within the Law Faculty.

It is expected that the work will be undertaken in the UK. 

Rate of Pay

The work will be paid at £17.03 per hour, which equates to University Grade 6, point 1, on the basis of completed and approved timesheets, which must be submitted to payroll@law.ox.ac.uk by the last Friday of each calendar month for payment on the last working day of the following month.

In addition, paid annual leave will be assumed to be taken in the month in which it was accrued.

Funding

This opportunity is funded by a John Fell Fund award (BAD00570).

How to Apply

A short CV and cover letter (including the name of your supervisor) should be sent by email to anne.davies@law.ox.ac.uk by Friday 8th December 2023. Please explain how you meet the requirements for the role, and give details of your availability. Supervisors may be asked for a reference. 

Enquiries about the project are welcome, and may be addressed to Professor Anne Davies. General queries, e.g. about the appointment process, or eligibility, may be addressed to research@law.ox.ac.uk.