Research Assistant - Ghost Signs Project

Part time fixed term 

Location: York

Salary: £38,205 to £46,974 per annum (£18,069 to £22,217 pro rata)

The Role

We are looking for someone with a social sciences background to be a Research Assistant on the Ghost Signs project documenting the faded public ‘Ghost Signs’ in York. The project will document, research and investigate how the Ghost Signs' presence interacts with public space, as well as how these signs may interact with the collective memory of a space and allow individuals to make a more personal connection to certain spaces due to the faded signage in them. The project will also look at how these signs contribute to the terroir, or particular feeling of local place. 

Required Skills and Experience

This position is a 6-month long Research Assistant position. This Research Assistant position role will work with the PI (Dr. Tyson Mitman) on the project researching Ghost Signs in York. The Research Assistant's role has four primary responsibilities, which the Research Assistant will work closely with the PI to achieve. They are:

1) To research the fading signs on the exteriors of York’s buildings, identifying what they were, what they originally looked like, how the company, product, or message they promoted fit into the economic and cultural landscape of York, and who originally created the signage. Much of this will be done using public record and historic image databases. Good research and organisation skills are therefore required. 

2) To help create and curate a website to document and display this information. Any experience with web building would be beneficial, though this is not required. 

3) To map the locations of each Ghost Sign. These locations will be mapped and information maps of them, that serve as a guide for a walking tour, allowing people to visit these sites at their leisure, will be produced. The Research Assistant will assist with this. 

4) Interviews will be conducted with local people interested in these Ghost Signs and those who have some personal or historical connection to them. These interviews will be gathered as qualitative data and also turned into brief podcasts that will be hosted on the website. The Research Assistant role will be to assist in the research, organizing of data, and interviewing as is needed for the project.

Additional Information

Unfortunately, this role is not eligible for Skilled Worker Visa sponsorship however we welcome your application if you are able to evidence right to work in the UK via an alternative route.

If you have any informal queries about this role, please email . Unfortunately this role is not eligible for Skilled Worker Visa sponsorship however we welcome your application if you are able to evidence right to work in the UK via an alternative route.

Closing Date - Monday 05 February 2024 at midnight

Provisional Interview Date - Monday 26 February 2024