Job reference: HUM-032717
Salary: UoM Grade 6 £38,448
Faculty/Organisational Unit: Humanities
Location: Oxford Road
Employment type: Fixed Term
Division/Team: History
Hours Per Week: Full time (1 FTE)
Closing date (DD/MM/YYYY): 16/11/2026
Contract Duration: Fixed term for 20 months
School/Directorate: School of Arts, Languages and Cultures

Job Description


We are seeking a motivated and collaborative individual to join our team as a Research Associate in Early Modern Global History. This role offers an exciting opportunity to work with Prof Edmond Smith, conducting research for the ERC-selected, UKRI-funded project “Institutional Transformation and the Entangled Commercial Cultures of International Trade, 1450-1750” (INTRECCI). The project is based in the Department of History at The University of Manchester.

You will be responsible for:

  • Develop and pursue research for one or more of the principal case studies of the INTRECCI project, and contributing the connected analysis of institutional exchange between them.
  • Pursue independent and collaborative research, at The University of Manchester and in archives and libraries elsewhere in support of this research.
  • Contribute to collaborative publications (articles, monographs, special issues and conference proceedings).
  • Communicate findings of the project at seminars and conferences.
  • Contribute to the development of a shared project repository and the development of a public-facing database of global commercial actors.

We welcome candidates who bring diverse perspectives, experiences, and approaches to their work.

About You

We encourage applications from individuals with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. You should demonstrate:

Essential Criteria:

  • Educated to PhD level with appropriate specialism
  • Sophisticated knowledge and research experience of relevant area of early modern global history
  • Effective communication skills (speaking and in writing)
  • Command of relevant languages, including experience working with primary sources in this language
  • Collegiality and a willingness to work in a collaborative environment

Desirable Criteria:

  • Demonstrate clear potential for high quality research publications
  • Experience of organising activities for scholarly or public audiences
  • Familiarity with data entry and database systems

We value transferable skills and real-world experience as much as formal qualifications.

Our benefits include:

  • Generous employer contribution pension
  • 29 days annual leave plus bank holidays, along with Christmas closure
  • Ride to work and EV car scheme available

For more information, please see University of Manchester Benefits. You can also find information on our Flexible and Hybrid working here.

We are an open place of enquiry and challenge. We embrace and celebrate difference, diversity and debate, and we pride ourselves on being a place of education, learning and community where we are able, within the law, to question and test received wisdom, express new ideas and explore controversial or unpopular topics and opinions. Find out more from our Freedom of Speech Policy.

Enquiries about the role, shortlisting and interviews

Name: Prof Edmond Smith
Email Address: edmond.smith@manchester.ac.uk

General enquiries and administrative support

recruitmentservices.people@manchester.ac.uk

Technical and job portal support

Jobtrain Jobseeker Support Hub

Applications close at midnight on the closing date.

Further particulars (with person specification) linked below.


Take a look around the company https://www.manchester.ac.uk/