[spectre] post at Culture Lab Newcastle

[Norman]

Dear Spectres,
With best wishes to all for the end-of-beginning-of-year festivities, please find below a job announcement for Culture Lab in Newcastle that may be of interest. Formal queries can be dealt with by Sarah Barber (cited below) as of Jan 3rd.
amicalement
sjn


UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE

CULTURE LAB NEWCASTLE AND NEWCASTLE INSTITUTE FOR THE ARTS, SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES (NIASSH)

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
£23,182 - £25,565

Information for Candidates

We wish to appoint a motivated and flexible Research Associate to Culture Lab and NIASSH. You will be responsible for (i) coordinating Culture Lab input to the INSCAPE project on Interactive Storytelling for Creative People, an interdisciplinary research consortium set up as part of the European Commission’s Sixth Framework Programme on Information Society Technologies (http://www.inscapers.com). You will contribute to a range of research initiatives concerned with the interactions of technology, creativity, performance, and narrative and notably to INSCAPE’s “Live Performances” component, in the form of input to collective texts and workshops designed to explore and validate real-time storytelling techniques; (ii) generating documentation on INSCAPE practical workshop activities to provide a basis for Culture Lab’s contribution to the consortium deliverables; (iii) helping to co-ordinate and document selected joint Culture Lab/NIASSH research programmes; and (iv) actively pursuing your own research agendas in appropriate areas . Applications are sought from candidates with practical and theoretical experience in new kinds of live performance and/ or new storytelling environments using interactive technologies. The post is based in Culture Lab and is tenable for approximately two-and-a-half years.

Informal enquiries should in the first instance be made to Sarah Barber (s.g.m.barber at ncl.ac.uk), or 0191 222 5064.

To apply, please submit a written application,Employment Record  Form, full CV, together with the names and addresses of two referees to Sarah Barber, Culture Lab and NIASSH, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Architecture Building, NE1 7RU

Closing date:  3rd February, 2006 
Interviews to take place week commencing 13 February, 2006



Job reference:

The Post

The position is intended to support (i) Culture Lab’s contribution to a Sixth Framework project on Interactive Storytelling for Creative People, run by a consortium of European universities and companies whose research is focussed on creative uses of information and communications technologies, (ii) Culture Lab and NIASSH’s establishment of joint research activities in the area of creative practice. In the context of a four-year integrated project launched in September 2004, the INSCAPE consortium is developing new formal models of narrative skills, structures and patterns, new concepts for interactive storytelling addressing multiple “viewers”, and innovative multimodal interfaces for creating interactive stories. To complement consortium inputs which emphasise cinema, television, animation and cartoon media as new vehicles for interactive storytelling, Culture Lab at Newcastle University will focus on the development of interactive narrative strategies in the live performance context. In the context of Culture Lab and NIASSH joint developments, interdisciplinary exchanges focussed on the area of creative practice will be implemented as a series of events including seminars, conference/ performances, exhibitions and workshops.

The post has four primary roles as follows:

i.                    Coordinating Culture Lab storytelling / live performance input to the INSCAPE project, including practical workshops with potential participation from Newcastle University’s School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics (Creative Writing, Drama and Performance), School of Arts and Cultures (Music, Fine Arts), School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering (Interface and Programme Development), and Institute of Informatics (Conversational Agents, Human-Computer Interaction). Workshops will alternate between “in-house” experimentation and sessions targeting broader publics, presented as  dissemination opportunities with a strong focus on media impact.

ii.                  Generating and collating documentation on Culture Lab INSCAPE events: 
a.      preparatory proposals, calls for participation, programme outlines laying down methodology and objectives;
b.      written and audiovisual traces of storytelling performance workshop experiments to build a corpus to be fed into Culture Lab deliverables for the INSCAPE Consortium.

iii         Contributing to the organisation and documentation of joing Culture Lab/NIASSH research programmes which extend the concerns of the INSCAPE project in relation to a range of interdisciplinary agendas. In the first instance, you will be required to work on the ‘Critical Exchanges: Creativity, Research, Scholarship’ programme.

iv         Undertaking and disseminating your own research in a cognate area.

Beyond Newcastle University counterparts, the post will require liaising with INSCAPE’s European partners, many of whom will attend Newcastle events. Reciprocally, Culture Lab’s INSCAPE research assistant will be required to attend meetings and workshops held by European partner organisations. 

Tasks will be supervised by Dr Sally Jane Norman, Director of Culture Lab Newcastle and responsible for the University’s contribution to INSCAPE, and by Professor Kate Chedgzoy, director of NIASSH. 





PERSON SPECIFICATION

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

ESSENTIAL
Post-graduate qualifications in performance, drama or theatre studies with emphasis on digital technologies; or post-graduate qualifications in narrative/ interactive structure with emphasis on live performance; or post-graduate qualifications in interactive digital technology with emphasis on creative, artistic uses thereof.

DESIRABLE
Knowledge of the University structure and interdisciplinary project environments


EXPERIENCE AND ACHIEVEMENTS (paid/ unpaid)

ESSENTIAL
Experience of working in collaborative situations

DESIRABLE
Experience of working with persons from different disciplines driven by different objectives.

SKILLS, ABILITIES AND PERSONAL QUALITIES
-          Ability to work independently and collaboratively within local and extended (international) teams.
-          Good communication skills, flexibility and enthusiasm.
-          Motivated contributor to an international environment.
-          Good team player.
-          Ability to relate well to staff working on the project and external bodies.
-          Sympathetic and intelligent approach.
-          Excellent organisational skills.
-          Ability to monitor milestones and meet deadlines.
-          Basic IT skills in data entry, word processing, email, internet.
-          Interest in or use of tools to constitute photographic and filmed archives.

OTHER RELEVANT FACTORS
-          Prepared to travel to participate in consortium activities.





Information on how to apply

To apply for this position, you should submit your CV and written application, giving full details of your qualifications and experience, and the names and addressed of two referees, to Sarah Barber, Culture Lab and NIASSH, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Architecture Building, NE1 7RU or s.g.m.barber at ncl.ac.uk, to arrive no later than February 3rd 2006.  

It is essential that you return a completed Employment Record form along with your covering letter and CV for which it would be very helpful if this were printed on single sided A4 paper.  The Employment Record form may be downloaded from the University web page: www.ncl.ac.uk/vacancies/employ.rtf.

Interviews will be held week commencing interview 13th February, 2006. 

Candidates are asked to note that it is the University’s normal procedure to approach referees for their confidential comments on candidates prior to interviews being held.  This can mean that referees will be contacted either at the time a short-list is drawn up or, in some instances, referees comments will be sought in advance to enable a short list to be finalised.

Candidates who do not wish any of their referees to be approached before receiving an invitation for interview, must inform the University at the time of submitting their applications.

All applications will be considered for shortlisting.  Following the interviews, the successful candidate will receive a formal written offer of employment from one of the following: Registrar, or the Human Resources Section.  Please note that no other person has the authority to offer employment for this post, either orally or in writing.

When the successful candidate has accepted the post, all other candidates will receive notification of the outcome of their applications.

The appointment will be subject to the standard conditions of service. Further information on this and related topics will be issued with any invitation to interview and may also be obtained on request from the Human Resources Section.

The successful candidate will be eligible to join the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).  The USS is currently the third largest private sector final salary pension scheme in the country.  It offers an excellent range of benefits including an index linked pension, death in service benefits, dependants benefits and provision for early retirement in case you have to cease work due to ill health.

Currently, the member contribution rate is 6.35% while employing institutions currently contribute 14% of your pensionable salary.  Further information about the scheme is available from the University or from the USS website at http://www.usshq.co.uk


Equal Opportunities Policy Statement

The University of Newcastle upon Tyne is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities.  For this purpose all applicants will be asked to answer Equal Opportunities monitoring questions as part of the recruitment and appointment process. 

All new employees are provided with a copy of the Equal Opportunities Policy on appointment.  Further copies may be obtained from the Human Resources Section. 

Information for Disabled Candidates
The University welcomes applications from all sections of the community including candidates with a disability.

Definition
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 defines disability as:
‘A physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse affect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities.’

Applications
The Employment Record Form and job details are available on tape or in large print.  To request a copy please contact the Human Resources Section.

If you have a disability which prevents you from completing the documentation, please contact the Human Resources Section to discuss other acceptable methods of application.

Arrangements for interview
Please indicate on a separate sheet any special arrangements or adjustments we may need to make to our recruitment procedures to ensure that you are not placed at a disadvantage because of your disability, for example the provision of an accessible interview location, a British Sign Language/English Interpreter or supportive person,  accessible car parking space etc.

General
If you would like an informal discussion to consider any adjustments or special arrangements that may need to be made in relation to your application or appointment please do not hesitate to contact the relevant Assistant Human Resources Officer: Faculty of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences, Vicky Petersen, 0191 222 5976.

A full list of Human Resources Contacts is available to internal users at http://www.ncl.ac.uk/internal/hr/staff.htm