Lancaster University Ghana Recruitment 2019

We are a dynamic, ambitious and growing university community.  We offer a friendly working environment and are committed to developing:

• An excellent student academic and social experience;
• Students’ employability and enterprise skills;
• World-class academic staff, with strong links with industry;
• Research activities in collaboration with other higher education institutions in Ghana and elsewhere.

Lancaster University Ghana/Transnational Academic Group Ghana is looking for a dynamic, enthusiastic and self-motivated individual with a passion for teaching, research, technical support and a commitment to excellence for a

Job Description

Job Title: RESEARCH/ENGAGEMENT OFFICER (IRP, SETA)

Job Summary

This new high profile role will be an important member of the research team for the £6.8M RECIRCULATE project funded by Research Councils UK through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).  GCRF funding over 4 years will support new partnership-based approaches to enable West African researchers to grow transformational impact through (i) working with, in and for their communities and (ii) developing robust, durable and equitable partnerships with UK researchers.

RECIRCULATE is a collaboration between Lancaster University (LUMS LEC, Engineering and Biomedical & Life Sciences), LU Ghana, CSIR Ghana, and University of Benin, with phased expansion to other partners in Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Botswana.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• The post holder would ideally be an educator with commercial expertise who could play a leading role in Work Package 1: Entrepreneurship and Innovation to develop an 18-months integrated research project (IRP) around Stimulating Entrepreneurial Thinking across Africa (SETA). The candidate will initially focused on co-developing curriculum and learning resources for SETS (stimulating entrepreneurial thinking in scientists) programme for RECIRCULATE partners. A pilot is taking place in February 2019 called, ‘Stimulating an entrepreneurial mind-set in CSIR researchers’. This project could address the need to help develop entrepreneurial thinking in CSIR researchers by co-developing a SETS (stimulating entrepreneurial thinking in scientists) programme and co-delivering a pilot workshop before rollout by CSIR staff. This could also, simultaneously support the development of female leaders in CSIR by ensuring cohorts and CSIR facilitator teams were gender balanced.
• The ideal candidate will be part of RECIRCULATE IRP based at Lancaster University Ghana. The appointment would be for 18 months in the first instance but, subject to funding, these could be extended if desirable.
• The ideal candidate will co-develop and deliver the curriculum and learning resources needed for SETA in order to disseminate and scale this training across scientists from other research partners.

Impact 

• To take a lead in co-developing and delivering curriculum and learning resources for training entrepreneurial thinking for emerging and leading scientists in the ‘water economy’;
• To contribute to the wider activities of the RECIRCULATE project that ensure the integration of entrepreneurial thinking across work-packages, partner organisations and academic disciplines.
• To work closely with RECIRCULATE partners, especially the other two Research/Engagement officers for WINA (Women Innovators Network for Africa) and FITA (Fostering Incubation of Technology across Africa).
• To be responsible for the facilitation of use and scale by other stakeholders of SETS curriculum and learning materials.

Business Engagement 

• To contribute to workshops, training and networking events in the areas of innovation, networks, technology, knowledge exchange and entrepreneurship;
• To produce and present materials for presenting and disseminating SETA to the business community;

To collaborate with business and their wider communities and to produce content for project reports, publications, website and social media;

Other Duties
The candidate will be required to produce relevant documentation/reports in line with requirements of the funding body as directed.

Duration
The candidate will be part of RECIRCULATE IRP based at Lancaster University Ghana. The appointment would be for 18 months in the first instance but, subject to funding, these could be extended if desirable

Required Skills or Experience

Required Academic Qualifications and Competencies	Essential/Desirable	* Application Form /Supporting Statements/Interview
MPhil. Degree  or equivalent	Essential	Application Form
Experience of working with/for or researching small and medium sized businesses, and an understanding of their needs	Essential	Supporting Statements
Experience of working internationally with multiple stakeholders and/or experience of working in Africa	Essential	Supporting Statements
Ability to facilitate workshops/sessions or an interest to learn	Essential	Supporting Statements
Excellent  communication skills, both verbal, written and graphical	Essential	Interview
Good networking skills	Essential	Interview
Experience of organising and analysing quantitative and/or qualitative research	Essential	Supporting Statements
Experience of conducting applied academic research	Essential	Interview
Proven experience in writing, presenting and publishing academic work	Essential	Application Form
Research interests that overlap or complement: business/entrepreneurship, innovation, networks or entrepreneurial learning, knowledge management	Essential	Interview
Ability to compile reports (both consultancy reports and research papers)	Desirable	Interview
An understanding of project-based work – and procedures associated with good working practice	Desirable	Supporting Statements
Motivated and confident self-starter	Essential	Interview
Accuracy and attention to detail	Essential	Interview
Ability to plan and organise own work, and work to deadlines	Essential	Interview
Ability to work collaboratively in a team both within the School and across the institution.	Essential	Interview
Ability to gain access and maintain the interest and cooperation of collaborating organizations	Desirable	Interview
Able to travel to other locations including locations in UK and Africa	Essential	Interview

How to Apply

* Application Form: Assessed against the application form, curriculum vitae and letter of support. Applicants will not be asked to answer a specific supporting statement. Normally used to evaluate factual evidence e.g. award of a qualification. Will be “scored” as part of the shortlisting process. * Supporting Statements: Applicants to provide a statement to demonstrate how they meet the criteria. The response will be “scored” as part of the shortlisting process. * Interview: Assessed during the interview process by either competency based interview questions, tests, presentation, etc. Qualified persons should please send their Curriculum Vitae (CV) together with a Statement of Support to [email protected]  and mention either Research/Engagement Officer(IRP, FITA), Research/Engagement Officer(IRP, WINA) OR Research/Engagement Officer(IRP, SETA) in the subject line.

• Closing date: 16^th February 2019

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.