Research Assistant in Psychology

UNIVERSITY OF SURREY; Guildford; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Surrey is seeking a proactive researcher to support engagement and recruitment activities for a Randomised Control Trial of the ECMG Spatial Reasoning Toolkit, aimed at 3- to 4-year-olds in nursery settings.

You will work within a team of spatial cognition and mathematical learning experts, coordinating outreach, materials, and stakeholder engagement according to the project plan. A strong communicator with experience in following research protocols is essential.

Qualifications

• Experience in supporting engagement or recruitment activities.
• Ability to follow research protocols.

Responsibilities

• Support engagement and recruitment of nursery settings for the ECMG Spatial Reasoning Toolkit project.
• Follow engagement, marketing and recruitment plan; build networks and engage stakeholders.
• Create and organise engagement materials such as webinars, recruitment flyers and social media advertising; maintain recruitment log.
• Support the wider team in development of intervention materials and in planning the intervention phase.

Skills

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Stakeholder engagement

Education

BSc or equivalent in Psychology or related subject

Job description

Organisation/Company UNIVERSITY OF SURREY Research Field Psychological sciences Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) First Stage Researcher (R1) Application Deadline 23 Nov 2026 - 00:00 (UTC) Country United Kingdom Type of Contract Other Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The University of Surrey is a global community of ideas and people, dedicated to life-changing education and research.

We are ambitious and have a bold vision of what we want to achieve - shaping ourselves into one of the best universities in the world, which we are achieving through the talents and endeavour of every employee.

Our culture empowers people to achieve this aim and to collectively, and individually, make a real difference.

The role

Spatial abilities include the ability to understand the spatial properties of objects and to mentally visualise objects and problems. Spatial abilities in childhood predict adult expertise in STEM, and spatial training has been shown to be effective in improving children’s mathematics competence. This project is a partnership between Prof. Emily Farran, Director of the Cognition, Genes and Developmental Variability (CoGDeV) lab (lead unit), an internationally recognised centre for spatial-mathematics research and impact, Dr. Cath Gripton, Associate Director of the Observatory for Mathematical Education, Dr. Sue Gifford, Chair of the Early Childhood Maths Group and Chair of the Royal Society's Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education Primary and Early Years Expert Panel, and Prof. Camilla Gilmore, Director of the ESRC Centre for Early Mathematics Learning.

Drawing on our existing ECMG Spatial Reasoning Toolkit, a set of professional development resources developed for practitioners working with young children, you will be part of a team completing a Randomised Control Trial of the ECMG Spatial Reasoning Toolkit targeted at 3- to 4-year-olds and their nursery settings. Your primary role is to support engagement and recruitment of nursery settings to the programme. This involves following an engagement, marketing and recruitment plan, building networks, engaging stakeholders, creating and organising engagement materials such a webinars, recruitment flyers and social media advertising, and keeping a recruitment log. You will also support the wider team in the development of intervention material and in planning the intervention phase of the project.

This is a fixed-term post starting in March 2027 and running until September 2027.

About you

You will be part of a strong team of experts in spatial cognition and mathematical learning at the interface between research and practice. You will have a BSc or equivalent qualification in Psychology or a related subject. You will be a strong team member with excellent communication and organisational skills, experience of supporting engagement or recruitment activities and in following research protocols.

An Enhanced DBS check is required for this position.

You are welcome to contact Prof. Emily Farran ( [e-mail] ) if you would like further information or to discuss the post.