Research Associate - College of Arts and Law Grade 6

Job Description Position Details

College of Arts and Law

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £33,002 to £35,608 with potential progression once in post to £39,906

Grade: 6

Part Time, 0.5 FTE

Fixed Term contract up to July 2027

Closing date: 20th September 2026

The Department of Linguistics and Communication seeks to appoint a Research Associate to work on the British Academy funded project ‘Language evolution and sociolinguistic variation in signing communities’ (or ‘EvoSLang’) led by Dr. Rose Stamp and Prof. Adam Schembri. EvoSLang tries to understand the factors which affect sign choice; why do some variants “win” out in language evolution and others disappear out of usage?

In this project, we compare variation across three sign languages of different ages and sociolinguistic profiles:
British Sign Language (BSL), Israeli Sign Language (ISL) and Kufr Qassem Sign Language (KQSL).

The focus of this position involves working closely with the British deaf community and collecting data from BSL signers. The research associate will work closely with the project leaders to recruit participants, collect and manage data, and code linguistic information from video recordings. Participants will be recruited from several regions across the UK, from different age groups and backgrounds.

The research associate will need to be a fluent signer of BSL, with strong connections to the British deaf community. It is beneficial to have some experience in research skills, as well as excellent organisation and administration skills and the ability to work independently. We believe that signed language research may be effectively carried out by researchers from a range of backgrounds.

However, in light of the under-representation of deaf scholars and professionals in academia, we are committed to creating opportunities for deaf scholars. In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements, we therefore strongly encourage deaf individuals to apply.

The Department of Linguistics and Communication has an outstanding international reputation, with particular strengths in relevant areas such as corpus linguistics, quantitative sociolinguistics, cognitive linguistics, and a growing interest in sign language research and gesture studies. As a member of the Department, the research associate will join a lively and flourishing research community where they will enjoy opportunities for intellectual and other leadership in a collegiate and highly ambitious environment.

Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK, as visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

• Work within specified research grants and/or projects
• Operate within area of specialism
• Contribute to publications

• Recruit deaf BSL users from across the UK, developing and maintaining relationships with deaf community organisations, networks, and individuals to achieve project recruitment targets
• Liaise with participants to arrange research sessions, provide study information, obtain informed consent, and ensure all ethical procedures are followed
• Assist with the collection and organisation of video-based linguistic data
• Analyse and code linguistic data from BSL video recordings according to established coding protocols, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and reliability
• Maintain detailed records of recruitment, coding decisions, and project documentation
• Organise, manage, and securely store research data in accordance with institutional policies and data protection regulations
• Participate in training and exercises to ensure high-quality linguistic annotation
• Contribute to regular project meetings by providing updates on recruitment progress and coding activities.
• Assist…