Job Description

Department: Institute for Social Justice


Location: York


Salary: 27,319 to 29,588 per annum pro rata


Contract Duration: 31/07/2026


Hours: 7.4


Closing Date: Thursday 04 September 2025 at midnight


Interview Date: Thursday 25 September 2025


Reference: 135-25

Part time fixed term

Location: York

Salary: 27,319 to 29,588 per annum (5,463 to 5,917 pro rata)

Introduction to York St John

York St John is an ambitious, modern university at the heart of historic York and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.


As one of the fastest growing universities in the U.K over recent years, we have a new strategy for the next decade, emphasising our commitment to widening opportunity through the power of education and contributing our talents to creating a fairer world, and a more prosperous region. We are putting inspirational learning and impactful research at the heart of this strategy, recognising our academic expertise as our greatest asset.

The role

Based at York St John University's Institute for Social Justice, the Research Assistant will provide research assistance, using qualitative and/or quantitative research methods as appropriate to the project, under the direct supervision of a lead researcher.


This project is a partnership between researchers at York St John University and Kyra Women's project in York. We are looking for a Graduate Research Assistant to join our project, which aims to understand the experiences of women who have faced domestic abuse during pregnancy or early parenthood. We will be working closely with Kyra and with women with lived experience, to explore support needs and provision gaps for women in the perinatal period. Utilising interviews and creative methods, we aim to map local services in York and identify areas for service development. The project aims to centre the voices of these women, who are in especially vulnerable positions, and to help Kyra improve its service provision, whilst advocating for better support across the city of York. The project is funded by the Institute for Social Justice's Community Research Grant. The role is part-time (7.4 hours per week) and fixed-term until July 2026.

Skills and experience

In this project, the Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) will support the project across its key phases, with tasks tailored to both the project's needs and the GRA's skills and development interests.


Experience in:

Literature review and/or contextual data analysis Transcribing interviews Analysis of survey data Creating public-facing outputs, including writing for blogs and social media

The role is designed to provide a meaningful learning experience, and we will offer the GRA opportunities to develop skills in research design, data handling, academic and public communication, and collaborative working. Regular supervision and mentoring will be provided, and we are committed to supporting the GRA's personal and professional development throughout the project.

Additional information

This role requires working at York St John and Kyra. Please consider this requirement.


For informal enquiries, please contact i.clare1@yorksj.ac.uk


The project team includes Dr Isobel Clare, Dr Amy Holmes and Dr Ruth Knight.


It is anticipated that the selection process will include an interview and presentation.