jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people
  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Career Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • Recruiters
  • Your Account

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

career-advice.jobs.ac.uk

Secondary Sidebar

jobs.ac.uk Career Advice

  • CV and Cover Letter Advice
    • CV Tips
    • Free CV Templates
    • Cover Letters
    • Personal Profiles
    • CV Resources
  • Jobseeking and Interview Tips
    • Jobseeking Tips
    • Academic Interviews
    • Professional Interviews
    • Jobseeking and Interview Resources
  • Career Development
    • Academic Careers
    • Research Careers
    • Professional Careers
    • Working in Industry
    • Career Development Resources
    • Global Careers
    • Working From Home
  • Women in Higher Education
  • Resources
    • Academic Case Studies
    • Professional Case Studies
    • Interview questions tool
    • Job Profiles
      • Health and Medical
      • Engineering and Technology
    • Blog
    • Vlogs
  • Webinars
  • Country Profiles
    • Africa
      • Egypt
      • Ghana
      • Kenya
      • Nigeria
      • South
    • Americas
      • Canada
      • United States of America
    • Asia
      • Bahrain
      • Brunei
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Japan
      • Kazakhstan
      • Malaysia
      • Qatar
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • Turkey
      • United Arab Emirates
    • Europe
      • Belgium
      • Denmark
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Russia
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • United Kingdom
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
  • Studentship Advice
    • PhD
    • Studentship Resources
    • Vlogs
  • Sections
    • CV and Cover Letter Advice
      • CV Tips
      • CV Templates
      • Cover Letters
      • Personal Profiles
      • CV Resources
    • Jobseeking and Interview Tips
      • Jobseeking Tips
      • Academic Interviews
      • Professional Interviews
      • Jobseeking and Interview Resources
    • Career Development
      • Academic Careers
      • Research Careers
      • Professional Careers
      • Working in Industry
      • Career Development Resources
      • Global Careers
    • Resources
      • Academic Case Studies
      • Professional Case Studies
      • Interview questions tool
      • Blog
      • Vlogs
    • Country Profiles
      • Africa
        • Egypt Country Profile
        • Ghana Country Profile
        • Kenya Country Profile
        • Nigeria Country Profile
        • South Africa Country Profile
      • Americas
        • Canada Country Profile
        • United States of America Country Profile
      • Asia
        • Bahrain Country Profile
        • Brunei Country Profile
        • China Country Profile
        • Hong Kong Country Profile
        • India Country Profile
        • Japan Country Profile
        • Kazakhstan Country Profile
        • Malaysia Country Profile
        • Qatar Country Profile
        • Saudi Arabia Country Profile
        • Singapore Country Profile
        • South Korea Country Profile
        • Turkey Country Profile
        • United Arab Emirates Country Profile
      • Europe
        • Belgium Country Profile
        • Denmark Country Profile
        • Finland Country Profile
        • France Country Profile
        • Germany Country Profile
        • Ireland Country Profile
        • Italy Country Profile
        • Netherlands Country Profile
        • Norway Country Profile
        • Russia Country Profile
        • Spain Country Profile
        • Sweden Country Profile
        • Switzerland Country Profile
        • United Kingdom Country Profile
      • Oceania
        • Australia Country profile
        • New Zealand Country Profile
    • Studentship Advice
      • PhD
      • Studentship Resources
      • Vlogs

Research and Information Officer

Andy Roadnight is Research and Information Officer at the University of Warwick

About you?

What is your background?
I was a VAT inspector and trade union negotiator for fifteen years before leaving to do a BA in Comparative American Studies and then a PhD in American diplomatic history of the twentieth century. I chose to do a PhD because of my enthusiasm and excitement about the topic and the influence of my inspiring supervisor, the late Callum McDonald, a world-renowned expert in this field.

What initially attracted you to your job?
Like many highly educated jobseekers, I changed his mind about going into academia and I started looking for a role that would allow me to develop his flare for research, while remaining an ‘academic groupie’!

Define your job?
Research Support Services work with academics across disciplinary boundaries in all four faculties (the humanities, social sciences, sciences and the Medical School). They offer ‘cradle to grave’ support for funded research projects, and they also encourage junior academics that they can apply for funding and will be guided through the process. One RSS team supports academics developing research proposals; a second team works up research budgets and negotiates contracts while a third team administers the funds once they are awarded.

Can you walk me through your day to day activities?
Within the team, my specific function is to research the background information needed to make funding applications. I also manage the university research web pages and drafts reports. My role relies heavily on project management skills – for example, I am the secretary to the Warwick Commission, a year-long project designed to raise the international research profile of the university.

What are the key issues facing your sector?
Traditionally scientists have needed to win more funding in order to cover their high research costs, and to achieve a strong project-delivery profile. This was less true of the arts subjects where, until recently, researchers often ploughed a lone furrow. However, this is now changing and even arts funding councils are rewarding collaborative, cross-disciplinary projects. For these projects, funding is needed to develop networks between academics from various universities who are collaborating.

How does government legislation affect your job?
Decisions made by the government regarding student funding and, of course, charitable giving have a direct impact upon my job.  For example, the introduction of Gift Aid in 2000 was, and still is, an important part of what we do.  The Gift Aid regulations mean that UK charities are entitled to a 28% tax reclaim from the Inland Revenue on every £1 donated by UK taxpayers.  The fact that we can increase gifts by almost a third so easily is absolutely fantastic, therefore Gift Aid can be a really strong factor in influencing people’s decision to make a donation.  The recent decision by the government to give £1 for every £2 that universities raise from graduates and philanthropists from 2008 is great news and will potentially have a very large impact on our work over the next few years.

What attributes do you need/what are you looking for when hiring someone in your role?
The transferable skills provided by doing a PhD (although they can be acquired in many other ways): research, project management, writing and interpersonal skills.

What are your tips/advice for those starting out?
Working in university management, you don’t have to abandon academic work completely. I give one lecture a year in my specialist subject and I provide cover whenever necessary.

Related Articles

Click here to read Working for a university in non-academic roles – From PhD to Research Support.

Research Methods Jobs

Share this article

Reader Interactions

You may also like:

What You Should Include in a Personal Statement
Academic Jobs in the Health and Medical Sector
Overcoming Barriers and Challenges for Women in Universities

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Follow us

Latest Jobs

  • Maths Tutor - Financial Literacy (Multiply)

    Adult Education Service, Coventry City Council

    Location(s): Coventry

    Salary: £24,616 - £28,512


  • Counselling Manager

    University Of The Arts London

    Location(s): London

    Salary: £48,534 - £58,474


  • Scientific Researcher - Structural Studies - Dr Jan Löwe - LMB 2056

    MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

    Location(s): Cambridge, United Kingdom

    Salary: £32,302 - £35,143 per annum pro rata


  • PhD Studentship: Active mechanical metamaterials and multi-functional composites

    Engineering & Environment, University of Southampton

    Location(s): Southampton

    Salary: £17,668+ or UK students, Tuition Fees and a stipend, tax-free, per annum for up to 3.5 years


  • Intern in Small Animal Internal Medicine

    College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine - Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies - Hospital for Small Animals, The University of Edinburgh

    Location(s): Edinburgh

    Salary: £29,619 per annum (Grade 6)


  • PenARC Administrator

    Faculty of Health and Life Sciences - Health and Community Sciences, University of Exeter

    Location(s): Streatham Campus

    Salary: The starting salary will be from £24,948 up to £27,929 pro-rata on Grade D, depending on qualifications and experience.


Footer

jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people
  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Career Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Accessibility Statement

Copyright © jobs.ac.uk 1998 - 2022

  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Careers Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Accessibility
jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people

Copyright © jobs.ac.uk 1998 - 2022