People Dancing

Coventry University has achieved the highest ranking for a modern university in the history of the league tables. We have recently secured the prestigious title of the Times Higher Education’s University of the Year. We are 15th in the Guardian league table and have won the Times and Sunday Times Modern University of the Year for an unprecedented three consecutive years.

This is an exciting time for the University, as we continue to deliver our ‘Excellence with Impact’ research strategy. This has already seen Coventry University establish an exceptional portfolio of high-impact research, and, with a significant investment in research, we continue to gain momentum as a world-class, innovative University that is internationally regarded and ranked for its research. This is an excellent time for new joiners to the University who, together with colleagues, can make a contribution to the shaping and development of this important next stage of our journey.

The team of Research Development Executives are key to building research capacity and capability across the University within our Research Centres. This post offers an excellent opportunity to support a team of leading academics as well as to help shape, develop and establish Coventry University’s exciting, fresh and new research direction.

The successful candidate will take a proactive, creative, challenging, questioning and facilitative approach in working primarily with academics within the Centre for Dance Research (CDaRE) led by Professor Sarah Whatley, to meet its key strategic aim of delivering the University’s ‘Excellence with Impact’ research agenda. The post holder will be responsible for the development and growth of a strategic pipeline of high quality research and new income generation within CDaRE.

We are interested in hearing from candidates with previous research and/or commercial expertise and a talent for identifying and exploiting research opportunities. Together with a proven ability of preparing and writing quality research proposals with impact, and a track record of supporting successful applications to high profile funding organisations the successful candidate will draw on specific knowledge or experience of a discipline relevant to CDaRE and be able to evidence success in securing research project funding. If you have excellent communication and bid writing skills, detailed knowledge of relevant research funding sources and have a research-based Masters in a relevant discipline (or PhD) we’d like to hear from you.

We are also willing to consider applicants who would like to develop into this role.  This role of Research Development Officer provides an excellent opportunity for a trained researcher who is looking to develop their commercial skills, knowledge and experience.

Much of the Centre’s research is rooted in practice and is concerned with questions that emerge through working directly with dance artists and choreographers. Their work includes researching different modes of dance documentation (physical and digital), the place of dance within tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and dance as an inclusive cultural practice. Much of their research is also carried out in collaboration with experts from a number of other subject domains and situated internationally, including psychology, law, computer science and anthropology, to investigate broader questions about creativity, identity, copyright in performance, and health and wellbeing.