This is an exciting opportunity for a researcher to work on an evaluation of Hope Street, a county-wide network of residential facilities and services designed to support women who have been referred through the criminal justice system. Hope Street will support women and their children within its pilot area of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The post-holder will form part of a multi-disciplinary research team working on the ENRICHER-C strand of DIGNIFIE (Dynamic Gender-sensitive evaluation of a prison alternative), to evaluate the impact of Hope Street. The successful candidate will contribute towards the day-to-day operation of ENRICHER-C which focuses on the recruitment and follow-up over one year of women on probation in the South of England; these women will form one of the comparison arms for women resident in Hope Street. The post-holder will be involved with the day-to-day operation of the evaluation under the guidance of principal investigator and Research Fellow; this will involve liaison with a range of stakeholders participant recruitment, data collection (from a variety of sources), analysis and write-up.

The role will involve some travel across Berkshire, Dorset and Hampshire (possibly other counties) to probation premises and other appropriate sites. It is also likely to involve travel to prisons within the women’s estate in Southern England. The post-holder will be expected to help establish and maintain a high profile in probation services to ensure good relationships are maintained between the research team, relevant professionals and participants.

The postholder will have an in-depth understanding of research methodologies and experience of conducting quantitative and qualitative research. Your knowledge and experience will usually have been gained through a relevant MSc or PhD, but may have been achieved via other research experience, normally supported by a relevant postgraduate degree. You will have demonstrated your ability to work independently and efficiently in a research context, and will have excellent written and spoken communication in English with meticulous attention to detail.

We welcome applicants from a range of disciplines, for example criminology, social sciences and health.

The post is funded until 31^st March 2026.

For further information please contact the Research Fellow, Dr Donna Arrondelle, Research Fellow, D.Arrondelle@soton.ac.uk or the principal investigator, Dr Emma Plugge, e.plugge@soton.ac.uk.

Applications for Research Fellow positions will be considered from candidates who are working towards or nearing completion of a relevant PhD qualification or who have gained the equivalent experience.  The title of Research Fellow will be applied upon successful completion of the PhD.   Prior to the qualification being awarded the title of Senior Research Assistant will be given.

An enhanced dbs may be required for this role/

The Faculty of Medicine holds an Athena SWAN Silver Award demonstrating commitment to equal opportunities and gender balance in the workplace. The Faculty recognises that applicants may seek flexible working patterns which will be considered as part of the recruitment process. For further information including key benefits designed to help maintain and support employees' well-being and work-life balance, please see our working with us website pages.