Part-Time Early Career Story Fellow – StoryArcs, The Story Society
Job Description
Location: The Story Society is based at 10 Palace Yard Mews, Bath.
Successful applicants will be based at University of Nottingham. All the opportunities are hybrid.
Salary: £37,999, pro rata (2.5 days per week / 0.5 FTE).
Hours: Part-time, 2.5 days per week for 14 months.
Contract Type: Fixed-Term. Postdoctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) Employee-based Contract (or equivalent), as determined by the Partner University.
Closes: 18th November
Website: https://www.storyarcs.com
Are you driven to preserve history for future generations? Do you recognise the importance of recording stories from the pandemic? Are you an Early Career Researcher with skills in storytelling or Story analysis?
We are collaborating with several partner organisations to appoint nine Story Fellows with a passion for crafting, telling, and analysing stories, who can bring a strong mix of creativity, problem solving, and innovative thinking to this AHRC-funded research Programme run by The Story Society at Bath Spa University.
You will be based at the University of Nottingham and at the Host organisation Boots UK, where you will work to find a creative solution to a problem that they think Story Skills can solve.
Boots, the UK’s leading health and beauty retailer, played a crucial role in the COVID-19 pandemic, pivoting their operations to provide frontline support. Now, they’re working to capture stories from the pandemic to catalyse change and provide lessons for the future.
This historically significant task calls for an independent, self-motivated and insightful individual with a drive to preserve institutional history for social good. You’ll be skilled in oral history, confident in working with primary materials, and dedicated to producing impactful outreach materials that drive collective progress.
This role is flexible in work hours and location, while requiring some office-based activity in Nottingham to immerse yourself in archive materials. Your endeavour with Boots will span 14 months. For the first 12, you’ll work (on balance) 2 days a week on your placement and 0.5 on independent and StoryArcs research and training. For the final 2 months, you’ll contribute directly to analysis and dissemination of the Story Skill Set with the central StoryArcs team.
This role offers significant potential to develop your research career and be part of a prestigious AHRC-funded Programme.
The StoryArcs Programme
StoryArcs is an AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) Programme led by Professor Bambo Soyinka, the world’s first Professor of Story and Director of The Story Society. As an international research centre at Bath Spa University, The Story Society investigates the many uses and values of Story across cultures. The StoryArcs Programme is conducting a deep exploration into the nature of Story Skills, to define and categorise them, and to examine how they work to enable diverse and innovative benefits. It investigates and highlights the contribution of researchers with narrative skills to the UK’s economy and within wider cultural, scientific and creative ecosystems.
A key part of the Programme is the Deep Story Leadership Platform. Here, Story Fellows will gain access to Story Skills advancement, a community of Story experts, and a series of revolutionary resources.
Running from January 2025 to March 2026, the StoryArcs Programme is working with partner institutions: University of the Arts London (UAL), the University of Nottingham, and Cardiff Metropolitan University. Each Early Career Story Fellow will receive support from a partner university and be paired with a professional Mentor.
Required Qualifications A relevant PhD (or equivalent experience). We welcome applicants with PhDs or equivalent experience in any discipline, provided you can demonstrate how this background equips you as a Story expert with the skills needed to deliver your chosen project. If you do not hold a PhD, please explain how your experience is equivalent. A PhD typically entails around four years of focused research, culminating in a thesis suitable for publication. Equivalent experience should therefore involve at least four years of relevant professional work that demonstrates creative expertise and critical inquiry. Candidates should emphasise roles within academic or creative sectors that showcase original contributions and a solid understanding of research methodologies
You can find out more about the nine Host challenges and how to apply here. (https://www.storyarcs.com)
How to Apply
You can find out more about the nine Host challenges and how to apply here. (https://www.storyarcs.com)4 total views, 0 today