Further Particulars
This document includes specific information about the role you are applying for and the
information you will need to provide with the application.
1
Role Details
2
2
About the Unit/Department
2
3
Summary of Duties
4
4
Person Specification
6
5
Role specific requirements e.g. Shift working
6
6
Who to go to for more information about the role or application process 6
7
Where to send completed applications
6
8
Selection process and date of interview
7
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1. Role Details
Vacancy Reference:
6119
Job title:
Research Associate
or Research Fellow
Reports to:
Prof Paul Anand
Salary RA:
Research Associate AC2 £29,853 - £35,646
Research Fellow AC3 £36,715-£43,840
Terms & Conditions:
Academic
Grade:
AC2/AC3
Duration of post:
end date must be 31st July 2011
Working hours:
part time negotiable
Location:
Walton Hall, Milton Keynes
Closing Date:
Noon on 18 March 2010
Type of application form accepted:
Long
Number of Referees required:
3
Unit recruitment contact:
Jan Smith, 01908 654456, [email protected]
2. About the Unit/Department
This is a new multi-faculty initiative led from Economics in collaboration with colleagues in
Statistics, Business and Health as appropriate. Research at the Open University is managed
predominantly through ESRC Research Centres and other multi-departmental groups. In
addition, for this post, it is likely that you will be working with health colleagues in the Oxford
and/or Warwick regions. Further information can be found at::
http://stats-www.open.ac.uk/
http://www7.open.ac.uk/oubs/research/Default.asp
http://www.open.ac.uk/ikd/projects_capabilitiesmeasurement.shtml
http://www.open.ac.uk/hsc/home.php?
The post will be hosted in the Economics department which is a small friendly group of
Economists within the Faculty of Social Sciences. Members of the Department prepare and
present undergraduate courses in Economics, contribute to interdisciplinary Faculty and
University teaching, undertake research and supervise post-graduate research students. The
Department has a strong reputation for applicable research, increasingly with a significant
emphasis on impact and policy, and for economics teaching designed for adult learners
undertaking multi-disciplinary degrees.
Economics Staff in the Faculty of Social Sciences
The current academic members of the Economics Department, and their research interests,
include:
Professor Paul Anand, Professor of Economics, Decision Sciences and Philosophy:
decision theory and social choice, health economics and public policy, behavioural economics,
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econometrics Dr Anand is also a member of HERC in Oxford University and a Committee
Member of two Research Funding Bodies
Dr George Callaghan, Senior Lecturer and Staff Tutor: labour economics; currently
working on a study of the labor process in call centers.
Dr Jerome De Henau, Lecturer: personal finance, economics of the household, social
policy, gender economics, labour economics.
Mr Ian Fribbance, Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean: economics and public policy
issues, particularly the economics of transport; taxation economics, and European monetary
integration.
Mr Alan Gillie, Lecturer: public sector economics; currently working on nineteenth
century concepts and measurement of poverty
Mr Martin Higginson, Senior Lecturer and Staff Tutor: economics of governance;
economics and social policy.
Professor Susan Himmelweit, Professor of Economics: feminist economics, economics
of the household, social policy, care and the gender analysis of the tax/benefit system.
Ms Jonquil Lowe, Lecturer in Personal Finance
Professor Maureen Mackintosh, Professor of Economics: economics of public service
organisation and management; currently working on health care reform and regulation in Africa
Dr Rajiv Prabhakar, Lecturer in Personal Finance
Professor Mariana Mazzucato Professor of Economics of Innovation: industrial
organisation, economics of technological change, evolutionary theory and stock price volatility.
Ms Cristina Santos, Lecturer: development economics, econometrics, gender
economics, social and tax/benefit policy, economics of the household
Mr Alan Shipman, Lecturer: personal finance, economics and sociology.
Dr Roberto Simonetti, Senior Lecturer: economics of technical change, economic
growth and evolutionary economics
Mr Hedley Stone: Lecturer and Staff Tutor: international trade and income distribution;
consumer behaviour.
Dr Andrew Trigg, Senior Lecturer and Head of Department: political economy of Marx,
Keynes and Kalecki; economics and sociology of consumption.
Other researchers include:
Dr Stuart Parris – Innovation, Development, Venture Capital
Dermot Coates, Housing, Capabilities and Welfare
Pelin Demirel, Firm Dynamics and Differential Knowledge
Graham Hunter, Econometrics of Happiness and Capabilities
Martin Higginson, Impact of Primary Trusts on Health Equity
Kwadwo Mensah, Wellbeing of Migrant Health-Care Professionals
Will Moore, Innovation and Productivity in US Automobile Industry
Ian Wright, Computational Approach to Economic Value
Further information about staff and their research interests is available on the Social
Science Faculty website:
http://www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/about-the-faculty/departments/economics/our-
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staff.php
3. Summary of Duties
Applications are invited for a research fellow/associate to help with the development of
research related to heath at the Open University.
Research Associate AC2
For a Research Associate level appointment, the person will assist Professor Paul Anand and
others develop grant applications, analyse data using panel data techniques and/or modern
economic theory. The research will be related to the welfare economics activity conducted at
the university and in conjunction with other institutions (including Oxford and elsewhere) so
credibility at this level is essential. An excellent knowledge of micro-economics, econometrics
and appropriate packages (Stata, etc) is essential for the post at this level. Interests in health
and possibly development would be an advantage.
Research Fellow AC3
For a Research Fellow level appointment, the person will lead the development of applications
for externally funded research. The Health Service Related Research Initiative (HESRRI) is a
new development within the university that recognises the fact that many researchers outside
dedicated health divisions also do work that is relevant to, and funded by, health research
funders. The initiative therefore seeks to bring these researchers together and will involve
working collaboratively with senior and other colleagues in a range of departments and
faculties across the university, as well as developing links with colleagues in other academic or
health institutions as appropriate (eg Warwick, Oxford, London). The ability to win external
funding, work collaboratively with colleagues in other disciplines including economics is
essential for the post at this level.
There may be some flexibility about the duties and roles but for the Research Fellow,
obtaining grant income will be important.
Main Duties
The main duties for the post-holder will depend on the seniority of the post.
For appointment at Research Fellow level, these will include:
 Leading the development of grant applications to external funding bodies such as but not
limited to ESRC, MRC and a range of NHS research programmes including Patient Benefit
 Encouraging and finding contributors to these research applications from within the Open
University
 Broadening the University’s networks and links with researchers in other institutions who
might become useful collaborators in these applications
For appointment at the Research Associate level, these are likely to include (depending on the
person’s interests):
 Contributing econometric and economic theory (including experimental welfare economics)
input into grant applications
 Developing the analysis of data on new approaches to welfare economics (especially
happiness and capabilities) using cross-sectional, panel data and if possible advanced
software
 Helping to run the capabilities measurement research project including being involved in
the organisation of occasional events where an interest in health and/or development
might be helpful
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The main tasks of the post will include:
Overlapping but slightly different research projects are relevant depending on the seniority of
the applicant appointed to the post.
For an appointment at the Research Fellow level, we are open to the development of grant
applications that focus on health services delivery or other areas of health research involving
economics management and social science input. These could build on previous work at the
university by Professor Paul Anand (SDO commissioner), Professor Maureen Mackintosh,
Professor Celia Davies (currently director of the NHS patient benefit programme), Professor
John Storey (Open University Business School) and others.
For an appointment at the Research Associate level, the projects will involve the development
of grant applications and the conduct of research using panel data, economic theory and new
approaches to welfare, particularly the capabilities approach and to some extent happiness.
This work will be targeting very good mainstream journals such as the Journal of Public
Economics, and Journal of Health Economics.
The post will be based in the Economics Department, Faculty of Social Sciences, The Open
University, Milton Keynes. The post-holder will be expected to attend meetings in Milton
Keynes and occasionally in Oxford, London and occasionally other parts of the UK. The post is
temporary and part-time until July 31 2011.
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4. Person Specification
Qualifications, experience, expertise and competence
For appointment at the Research Associate level AC2
Essential Characteristics (it will be essential for the successful candidate to be able to
demonstrate evidence of the following):

PhD or equivalent research experience related to modern econometrics and economic
theory;

An ability to work productively both under direction and independently;
Desirable Characteristics (additionally, it will be desirable for the successful candidate to be
able to demonstrate evidence of the following):

Ability to present research findings and proposals in a persuasive and engaging
manner

An interest in health and or development applications of welfare economics
For appointment at the Research Fellow level AC3
Essential Characteristics (it will be essential for the successful candidate to be able to
demonstrate evidence of the following):

PhD or equivalent research experience related to health and some aspect of social
science;

A demonstrated capacity to develop and win externally funded research grants in
health services, health policy, health management and/or health economics;

Some evidence of entrepreneurial contributions in an academic content;

An ability to work independently collaboratively with colleagues from a range of fields
and of different levels of seniority

Ability to present research findings and proposals in a persuasive and engaging
manner
Desirable Characteristics (additionally, it will be desirable for the successful candidate to be
able to demonstrate evidence of the following):

Have experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams with economists and
management scholars
5. Role Specific Requirements e.g. Shift working
N/A
6. Who to go to for more Information about the Role or Application Process
If you would like to discuss the particulars of this role before making an application please
contact Professor Paul Anand on 01908 654553 or email [email protected]. Or Professor
Maureen Mackintosh (Economics) on 01908 654424 or email [email protected] or
Professor John Storey (Open University Business School) on 01908 654733 or email
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[email protected] or Professor Kevin McConway (Statistics) on 01908 653676 or email
[email protected].
If you have any questions regarding the application process please contact Mrs Jan Smith on
01908 654456 or email [email protected].
7. Where to Send Completed Applications
Your completed application should be returned by: Mrs J Smith
Name/Job title:
Economics and Geography Support Manager
Department/Unit: Social Sciences
Address:
Gardiner Building
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
Post Code:
MK6 7AA
Or e-mail your application to: [email protected]
8. Selection Process and Date of Interview
The interview panel will be chaired by Professor Paul Anand. The other members of the
interview panel will be confirmed as soon as possible. The interviews will take place w/c 19th
April 2010.
The selection process for this post will include a 10 minute presentation.
We will let you know as soon as possible after the closing date whether you have been
shortlisted for interview together with details of the selection process. Applications received
after the closing date will not be accepted.
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