Research Assistant/Associate (Housing Decision Making)

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE; Singapore; On-site; SGD 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading educational institution is seeking a Research Assistant/Associate in Singapore to support research on housing aspirations. The ideal candidate will have relevant qualifications in social sciences, strong communication skills, and an eagerness to learn mixed methods. This is a one-year contract, starting January 2026, with opportunities to engage in meaningful research activities.

Qualifications

• Hold at least Second Class Honours Upper Division or equivalent.
• Experience with mixed methods is an advantage.
• Organizational skills and a good team player are essential.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support for large grant management.
• Liaise with project team or external parties.
• Be involved in empirical research and data analyses.

Skills

Willingness to learn about mixed methods

Core Microsoft Office skills

Excellent writing and communication skills in English

Skills in qualitative research methods

Conversational proficiency in Mandarin or dialects

Excellent organization and interpersonal skills

Education

Second Class Honours (Upper Division) or equivalent

Master’s degree in Social Sciences

Tools

ArcGIS

QGIS

Qualitative analysis software

Job description

Interested applicants are invited to apply directly at the NUS Career Portal.

Your application will be processed only if you apply via NUS Career Portal.

We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Job Description

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) at the National University of Singapore (NUS), invites applications for the position of Research Assistant/Associate. The successful applicant is expected to commence duties at NUS in January 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter.

This position is connected to a research project titled, “Relocation, Social Networks and Housing Aspirations in Ageing Public Housing”. The research focuses on homeowners’ decision making towards housing relocation. The research team will primarily use ethnographic and interview methods in the research, combining these with surveys, GPS tracking and GIS visualisations for analyses.

The project team consists of Principal Investigator (PI) Professor Elaine Ho (Department of Geography), Co-PI Associate Professor Vincent Chua (Department of Sociology and Anthropology) and Collaborator A/P Feng Chen-Chieh (Department of Geography).

Scope and responsibilities

The RA will provide administrative support to the Principal Investigator for large grant management and liaise with the project team members or external parties on such matters. There will be opportunities to be involved in empirical research and/or data analyses that are central to the project.

Qualifications

Applicants are expected to hold at least a Second Class Honours (Upper Division) or an equivalent honours degree, or a Master’s degree in the Social Sciences.

Competencies

• Willingness to learn about and work with researchers using mixed methods; prior experience of working with mixed methods will be an advantage
• Core Microsoft Office skills are expected
• Excellent writing and strong communication skills in English, including an ability to present research in both academic and non-academic venues
• Skills in qualitative research methods (e.g. interviews and ethnography) alongside knowledge of Geographic Information Science applications (e.g. ArcGIS, QGIS) will be an advantage
• Skills in using qualitative analysis software will be an advantage
• Conversational proficiency in one or more of the following languages central to the research project will be an advantage: Mandarin and/or Chinese dialects used in Singapore (e.g. Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew or Hainanese); Malay or Tamil.
• Prior experience in large grant management will be an advantage
• Curiosity and passion to explore new concepts, methods and technologies, and capable of identifying and quickly learning the most suitable tools for the research on the go
• A good team player and the ability to multitask effectively
• Excellent organization and interpersonal skills

Other Information

Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Elaine Ho ([e-mail]). Please include a cover letter tailored to the job description, full CV and the names of three referees in your application.

This is a one-year contract which can be extended according to performance.

Shortlisted applicants may be called for interview, either in person or by Zoom, as appropriate.

Application deadline: 30 November 2025