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Closing Date: Sunday 11 October 2026

Interview Date: w/c Monday 19 October 2026

Start Date: Anticipated Monday 1 February 2027

If you are invited to interview for this role, you will need to provide evidence of your eligibility to work in the UK and if on a visa, current visa and status. Due to the awarding conditions of this post, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship to the successful candidate.

BNU is a Disability Confident employer and as such you will be given the opportunity to declare a disability as part of the application process.

Job Description

Job Title: Postdoctoral Research Assistant (PDRA)

School or Directorate: Research and Knowledge Exchange Office (RKO)

Grade: G

Location: High Wycombe, United Kingdom

Responsible to: Principal Investigator (PI) (Research and Governance Manager)

Duration / Funding: Fixed-term, 24 months.

Job Purpose:

To deliver the experimental programme for the Leverhulme Trust-funded research project “Visuospatial processing: Consequences of Physical Inactivity” as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant (PDRA), with day-to-day responsibility for recruitment, testing, analysis and dissemination under the direction of the PI. To practice an inclusive approach and support building an inclusive university community where people can be themselves.

Main Duties & Responsibilities Of The Role:

• Independently plan and manage day-to-day research activity within the agreed project framework, contributing to methodological decisions, and dealing with problems that may affect objectives or deadlines.
• Lead recruitment and screening of participants and run testing at off-site locations where required.
• Lead and undertake laboratory experimental sessions, including preparing, setting up, conducting, and recording outcomes of eye-tracking, peripheral vision, reaction-time, hand-eye coordination, and adaptive cognitive-load tasks.
• Take primary responsibility for the set-up, calibration, optimisation, and day-to-day running of experimental equipment.
• Design, pilot and deliver participant testing sessions, and collect high-quality data.
• Lead literature and database searches and contribute to the development of the theoretical framework.
• Lead analysis and interpretation of complex quantitative experimental data using advanced statistical methods (for example ANOVA, regression, linear mixed-effects models), and specialist software (SPSS, MATLAB, R, E-Prime, PsychoPy, Tobii, and related packages).
• Keep accurate project records and experimental data files.
• Make a substantial contribution to research reports, conference abstracts, and peer-reviewed publications, and present progress and findings to the project team and at external conferences.
• Act as a senior member of the research team and provide day-to-day guidance to laboratory assistants or students working on the project.
• Attend and contribute to relevant project and College meetings.
• Comply with relevant legislative and University requirements (including the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR, health and safety, UKVI, and equality and diversity) in all working practices.
• Undertake any other reasonable duties required by the Principal Investigator.

Person Specification

Education, Qualifications & Training

Means of Testing

• PhD in a relevant field (e.g. Sport & Exercise Science with strong experience in Psychology, Neuroscience, Vision Science, Cognitive Science, and / or related discipline)

A

Knowledge & Experience

• Significant experience in conducting human experimental research involving cognitive, perceptual or psychophysiological measures
• Experience of recruiting, screening, and testing human participants.
• Experience of setting up, calibrating and running experimental equipment (for example eye-tracking, or computerised cognitive/motor tasks).
• Strong experience in analysing and interpreting complex quantitative experimental data using advanced statistical methods and software (e.g. SPSS, MATLAB, R, E-Prime, PsychoPy, Tobii)
• Strong knowledge of issues relating to physical activity, sedentary behaviour, visuospatial processing or cognitive-motor function
• Evidence of peer-reviewed publications in relevant fields
• Evidence of planning and delivering research activity to deadlines
• Accurate research record-keeping and data management in line with UK GDPR

A/I

Skills

• Ability to communicate both orally and in writing with all stakeholders (including research participants) at a high professional level
• Excellent organisational and time management skills
• Ability to be flexible and to respond to changing priorities in a busy environment
• Excellent people skills with the ability to build good working relationships with colleagues and external partners.

I

Special Requirements

• A willingness and ability to work in off-site locations (if required for participant testing or outreach)
• A willingness to work flexible hours to accommodate participant availability for laboratory testing sessions

I

Behavioural Indicators

The BNU Behaviours Framework (BBF) Is a Framework For All University Staff That Sets Out The Key Behaviours That Exemplify The DRIVE Values And Ethos Of The University. The Nine Categories Provide a Clear Steer On Behavioural Expectations That Will Help Support a Step Change In The Performance And Culture Of The University. The Three Key Behavioural Indicators For This Post Are As Follows:

Using resources effectively

• Identify and make the most productive use of resources including people, time, information, networks and budgets.

Working together

• Work collaboratively and across boundaries with others in order to achieve objectives. Recognising and valuing the different contributions people bring to this process.

Achieving results

• Consistently meeting agreed objectives and success criteria. Taking personal responsibility for getting things done.