Research Associate in Immersive Opera (Audience Focus)

We are seeking a highly motivated and talented Postdoctoral Research Associate to join our dynamic team at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, working closely with the Principal Investigator Dr Toby Young. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in advancing the objectives of the "Immersive Opera" project through innovative research, creative development, and interdisciplinary collaboration. They will produce collaborative and self-led research outputs, including (but not limited to) journal articles, book chapters, conference papers, practice-based outputs, technical outputs, and public-facing communication of the research (e.g. blogs or YouTube content).

Main Duties & Responsibilities

The key responsibilities for this role are:

Research Assistance

1. Conduct high-quality research to understand audience engagement and behaviour in immersive opera settings, through the design and execution of experimental studies to evaluate the impact of immersive technologies and performance practices on audience engagement and experience.

2. Employ mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) from social sciences to evaluate and analyse audience experiences and interactions with immersive technologies.

3. Participate in project meetings, workshops, and conferences.

4. Engage with external partners and stakeholders to facilitate knowledge transfer and collaboration.

5. To produce and disseminate research outputs appropriate for the research and the audience ensuring that these meet the requirements of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) with regard to volume, quality and impact. These may include reports, peer-reviewed journal articles, policy briefs, working papers, books, chapters, media outputs, and practice-based outputs, in collaboration and as lead author, adhering to the Open Access Policy of the School.

Doctoral programme

6. To undertake supervision in agreement with the Doctoral Programme Leader and Head of Research according to the strategic development of the programme.

7. To act as internal examiner in upgrade and final vivas; to chair upgrade vivas.
8. To act as a panellist at interviews with prospective students in relevant areas.

Research environment

9. To seek and, where appropriate, to cultivate relationships between the School and academic and industry partners with a view to enriching the research environment of the institution through the conception and curation of events and research partnerships.

Own research

10. To identify sources of research funding, develop proposals, work with collaborators, consider and develop resources, complete applications and secure funding that contributes to meeting the targets of the Department and School.
11. To undertake research in accordance with agreed proposals as well as internal and external deadlines. To develop new concepts and ideas to extend intellectual understanding. To assess, interpret and evaluate the outcome of research, and develop ideas for the application of research outcomes.
12. To enhance the research profile of the Guildhall School by contributing to the external research community, through presentations at conferences and other academic events and by effective networking.

Fixed-Term (3 years), part time (14 hours per week / 0.4FTE)

Salary range: £41,360 - £46,050 (including Inner London Weighting), pro rata, depending on experience/performance

'Immersive Opera' is a UKRI-funded research project aimed at exploring and developing new methodologies and technologies to create immersive opera experiences. This project seeks to blend traditional operatic elements with cutting-edge immersive technologies and performance practices such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and spatial audio to enhance audience engagement and redefine operatic performance.