We are recruiting a 0.5 FTE Grade 6 Research Assistant to work for 18 months on the ESRC-funded project “FINTRANS-UK: Financing Large-Scale British Transformations”.
About The Role
The project investigates the hidden mechanics of how Britain has repeatedly funded the seemingly unaffordable across history, and what this means for financing today’s Green Transition.
It traces how the UK has used public finance innovation to work around fiscal constraints and mobilise private capital for public purposes, from wartime and post-war reconstruction through to contemporary net-zero investment.
Working closely with Dr Andrei Guter-Sandu in the Department of Politics, Languages & International Studies, you will play a central role in the project’s empirical work.
Your responsibilities will include archival and documentary research in UK repositories (such as the Bank of England and The National Archives), collecting and organising qualitative and quantitative data on past and present financing arrangements, and helping to build and maintain a structured database of key institutions and instruments.
You will also support the production and dissemination of research outputs. This will include assisting in the preparation of academic publications, policy briefs and practitioner-facing pieces, helping to develop visualisations and other accessible presentations of the project’s findings, and contributing to workshops and engagement activities.
There will be scope to shape specific strands of the empirical work in line with your interests and experience.
Our ideal candidate
The role is an excellent opportunity for someone interested in the political economy of finance, energy and climate policy, economic history, or public policy to gain substantial research experience on a funded project and to develop a strong research profile in an area of high policy relevance. You will join a supportive research environment at the University of Bath and will have access to mentoring and development opportunities through both the project and the wider University.
We are looking for a motivated and organised Research Assistant with a strong interest in the political economy of finance, energy and climate policy, economic history, or closely related fields.
You will have, or be close to completing, an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline such as politics, international relations, economics, history; a Master’s degree in a related area is desirable but not essential. You should be comfortable working with qualitative materials and documentary sources (such as archival records, policy documents, and reports), and be willing to develop your skills in systematic data collection, analysis, and visualisation over the course of the project.
You will have good written and verbal communication skills, strong attention to detail, and the ability to plan and manage your own work within agreed deadlines.
Experience with archival research, historical methods, qualitative analysis software or basic data management (for example using spreadsheets or databases) would be an advantage, as would prior interest in topics such as Green Transition finance, critical macro-finance, or British economic history.
should enjoy working collaboratively as part of a research team while also being able to work independently when needed.
Above all, we are looking for someone who is curious, reliable and keen to contribute to an ambitious project on how we finance large-scale economic and social transformations.
Additional Information
A hybrid working pattern can be arranged, with occasional travel to London for archival research.
We anticipate a provisional start date of April 2026.
For an informal discussion about the role please contact Dr Andrei Guter-Sandu (ags77@bath.ac.uk) or Dr Maria Garcia (mg716@bath.ac.uk).
We consider ourselves to be a university where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations and have made a positive commitment towards gender equality and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award. We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students and encourage applications from all genders, backgrounds, and communities, particularly from under-represented groups, and value the positive impact that will have on the university. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students, staff, and community by reinforcing our Safer Recruitment commitment.
