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Job Title: Research Associate (CareQuAI)
Posting Start Date: 15/07/2026
Job Id: 2852
School/Department: Management School
Work Arrangement: Part Time (Hybrid)
Contract Type: Fixed-term
Salary per annum (£): £38,784 - £47,389
Closing Date: 07/08/2026
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The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.
We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more.
Overview
The post-holder will join the international consortium project AI-driven platform care: Promoting equal and inclusive job quality in long-term care (CareQuAI). Funded through the Joint Programming Initiative, CareQuAI addresses one of the most urgent challenges facing long-term care systems: how to respond to workforce shortages while ensuring that new technologies support fair, inclusive and high-quality care work.
Across Europe, long-term care services are under growing pressure from demographic change, recruitment and retention difficulties, changing expectations of care, and rapid developments in AI and digital platform technologies. CareQuAI examines how AI-driven platforms and associated technologies are shaping care work, job quality, employment relations, equality and inclusion, and how these technologies could be designed, governed and used in ways that support better outcomes for care workers, care providers and people receiving care.
The consortium brings together researchers from the University of Eastern Finland, the project coordinator; KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden; Sheffield University Management School, University of Sheffield; and the University of St Andrews. The project focuses on AI-driven platform care in Finland, Sweden and the UK.
This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to research with direct relevance to policy, practice and the future of care work. The post-holder will support UK research with platform care provider organisations, care workers, managers, worker representatives, policy stakeholders and international academic partners. The role will involve empirical research, qualitative analysis, stakeholder engagement, dissemination, and the production of evidence-based guidelines and recommendations for different stakeholder communities. It will involve UK and international travel, requiring flexibility in line with project needs.
Main duties and responsibilities
Plan, develop and undertake research for the CareQuAI project, particularly the UK contribution to cross-national research on AI-driven platform care provider organisations.
Develop literature reviews, research protocols and ethics submissions; recruit care platform organisations and research participants; conduct case study field research; organise, accurately record and analyse the data collected; prepare data for archiving; and prepare reports of research findings and other outputs.
Analyse qualitative data through comparative within-case and cross-case analysis to identify factors and mechanisms that hinder or support job quality, care quality, equality, inclusion, recruitment and retention in AI-driven platform care.
Support participatory research and design activities, including workshop activities exploring conversational AI and other digital technologies used in homecare.
Manage key aspects of project administration, monitoring, reporting, quality assurance and risk management, working closely with the UK lead and consortium partners to ensure that project activities, milestones and deliverables are successfully completed on time and in line with funder, institutional and ethical requirements.
Comply with international consortium project reporting arrangements and contribute to data validation, auditing and quality requirements. Assist the UK partner-lead to safeguard and preserve research data in agreed formats, working within consortium protocols on data management.
Produce reports, briefings, case studies, publications, guidelines and evidence-based recommendations for academic, policy, practitioner and public audiences.
Support stakeholder engagement, dissemination and impact activities, including dialogue events, dissemination workshops, policy-facing outputs, social media activity, communication materials and multimedia outputs.
Be an active member of the international consortium team, attending and contributing to relevant project and consortium-wide meetings. Collaborate effectively with colleagues in partner universities and with social care, voluntary sector and industry partners.
Contribute to high-quality academic publications, including co-authored papers in peer-reviewed journals and other agreed outputs, in line with the international consortium publication strategy.
Present research findings at academic and policy conferences and other events, complying with agreed protocols for acknowledging funding, colleagues’ contributions and the roles of consortium partners.
Undertake travel within the UK and, where required, internationally to partner institutions, consortium meetings, fieldwork sites, stakeholder events and dissemination activities. Work flexibly to support data collection, collaboration and project delivery across different organisational and national contexts.
Keep abreast of relevant academic and policy developments and carry out any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post.
Person Specification
Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.
Criteria
Essential or desirable
Stage(s) assessed at
A PhD, or equivalent research experience, in a relevant social science discipline, such as employment relations, sociology, social policy, management, organisation studies, human resource management, health and social care, science and technology studies, or a closely related field.
Essential
Application/interview
Knowledge and understanding of at least one of the following areas: social care, care work, platform work, digitalisation, AI-enabled technologies, employment relations, job quality, equality and inclusion or organisational change.
Essential
Application/interview
Experience of conducting qualitative research, including interviews, observation or organisational case studies, participatory research or stakeholder-based research.
Essential
Application/interview
Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret qualitative data and contribute to theoretically informed analysis.
Essential
Application/interview
Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to contribute to academic publications, reports, briefings and presentations for academic and non-academic audiences.
Essential
Application/interview
Ability to work collaboratively as part of a multi-disciplinary and international research team, including with academic and non-academic partners.
Essential
Application/interview
Ability to engage professionally and sensitively with external organisations and research participants, including care providers, care workers, policy stakeholders and other partners.
Essential
Application/interview
Strong organisational skills, including the ability and willingness to manage competing priorities, meet deadlines and contribute to project milestones and deliverables.
Essential
Application/interview
Willingness and ability to travel within the UK and internationally, including to partner institutions, consortium meetings and fieldwork sites, and to work flexibly to support data collection, stakeholder engagement and consortium activities.
Essential
Application/interview
Experience of qualitative research in social care, social care services, platform labour, or digital work.
Desirable
Application/interview
Experience of participatory co-design, stakeholder engagement, dissemination, impact activities or knowledge exchange.
Desirable
Application/interview
Further Information
Grade
7
Salary
£38,784-£47,389
Work arrangement
Part-time, 17.5 hours per week
Duration
As soon as possible to April 30th 2028
Line manager
UK partner-lead
Direct reports
UK partner-lead
Our website
https://sheffield.ac.uk/management
For informal enquiries about this job contact Professor Diane Burns, Chair in Organisation Studies: on
[email protected] or on 0114 222 3211
Next steps in the recruitment process
It is anticipated that the selection process will take place the week commencing 17th August. This will consist of an interview and presentation. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage on the week commencing 3rd August 2026. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact
[email protected]
Our vision and strategic plan
We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: sheffield.ac.uk/vision ().
What we offer
A minimum of 41 days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
Generous pension scheme.
A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women’s and Parent’s networks).
Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes; integrated with our Academic Career Pathways.
A range of generous family-friendly policies
paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies
access to menopause support in the workplace
paid time off and support for fertility treatment
and more
We are a Disability Confident Leader (opens in a new window). If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.
We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision (www.sheffield.ac.uk/vision) outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.
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