About the role
The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) is offering a 13-week fellowship to engineers who have completed a degree at undergraduate Masters level or above, in a discipline related to chemical or process engineering, or have equivalent industry experience. Candidates may have studied chemical engineering, process engineering, materials science, applied chemistry or a related discipline.
This opportunity is funded by the Institution of Chemical Engineers and the Materials Processing Institute. The successful applicant will receive a £7,922.5 stipend to cover their costs, and additional funding may be available for those facing additional financial barriers that would otherwise prevent them from taking up the Fellowship.
This Fellowship is an exciting opportunity to gain real-world experience of how research evidence is communicated to decision makers. Successful applicants will, amongst other matters, produce a parliamentary briefing document such as a POSTnote, assist a select committee inquiry, or support one of the parliamentary libraries with their briefing work.
What will you be doing?
The Ashok Kumar Fellow will join Parliament for a 13-week secondment to support its use of research evidence. Typically, they will be based at POST and will produce a POSTnote, which is a summary of the evidence on an emerging science, technology or social science topic that is relevant and timely for Parliament. POSTnotes are widely used as briefing material by Parliamentarians. Alternatively, the Fellow may be hosted by a Select Committee, the House of Commons Library or the House of Lords Library, where they may assist with a Select Committee inquiry, write briefings for individual Members, contribute to a longer report, and/or carry out other activities related to an area of public policy. Their exact duties will be determined by the POST Board or relevant host parliamentary team.
During the placement, the Fellow may be asked to meet with IChemE and the Materials Processing Institute to talk about their Fellowship, which may cover both the experience of working with POST and interacting with Parliament, and the technical topic that the Fellow engages in. During or after the placement, they may also be asked to provide an article to, or be interviewed by, IChemE and the Materials Processing Institute in order to promote the Fellowship. Fellows will be invited and expected to attend events to promote the Fellowship Scheme, including an annual reception and the annual Materials Processing Institute Symposium in the year of their Fellowship.
POST is a strictly non-partisan organisation. Fellows are expected to abstain from any party-political activity and generally to uphold the principles of parliamentary service, including a commitment to confidentiality and impartiality, during their time in Parliament. In all cases, Fellows are encouraged to interact closely with people and activities in the two Houses of Parliament, including Select committees, MPs and Peers, their support services, 'All-Party Parliamentary Group' meetings and the very wide range of other activities at the Palace of Westminster. Access to conferences, workshops and seminars can also be arranged.
Candidate requirements
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following:
- You have completed an undergraduate Masters degree in a discipline related to chemical or process engineering, or have equivalent industry experience. You have excellent research and analytical skills and can gather and assess information from a range of sources. You also have the ability to work in new subject areas.
- You can explain complex information clearly, impartially and succinctly to a non-specialist audience in writing. You are able to talk about research with a wide range of different people.
- You are able to work successfully within a team, whilst upholding the values of equality, diversity and inclusion. As this role involves discussing research topics with various internal and external stakeholders, you are able to adapt personal and working styles to accommodate the needs of others.
- You are able to work independently. You can plan, manage and prioritise your workload to meet changing demands and tight deadlines.
- We are looking to offer this Fellowship opportunity to people who are interested in UK Parliament and want to learn more. You have an interest in how UK Parliament works, its role in scrutiny and legislation, and how research evidence is used in its work. You understand how Parliament and Government are different. You may also have an interest in UK Government and policy in general.
Eligibility
The Ashok Kumar Fellowship is open to engineers who have recently completed a degree at undergraduate Masters level or above in a discipline related to chemical or process engineering, or have equivalent industry experience. Candidates may have studied chemical engineering, process engineering, materials science, applied chemistry or a related discipline. This could include conducting a research project on a related topic. We will also accept applications from PhD and EngD students conducting research in a related field.
Students in the final year of their undergraduate Masters may apply, provided that they have completed their degree by the time they take up the Fellowship. If you have recently graduated, you must have completed your studies within the past year (running up to the application deadline).
If you are uncertain whether you meet these criteria, please contact us before applying.
POST is strictly non-partisan and needs to maintain high standards of impartiality. Candidates who are already in employment and have their employer’s permission to take time out for the Fellowship should consider whether there might be any potential conflicts of interest, and are strongly advised to contact POST to discuss this before making an application.
Successful candidates will be required to complete pre-fellowship and background checks. This includes security vetting to Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) level. All successful candidates are required to pass these checks before an offer can be confirmed. You should be aware that applicants normally need to have lived in the UK for 3 out of the last 5 years to be eligible for security clearance. Click here for further information.
Candidates must also be eligible to work in the UK. Some international students may have working restrictions as part of their visa that will require undertaking the Fellowship part-time. We will discuss this with successful applicants on a case-by-case basis.
Next steps
Please carefully read through the application pack before applying.
If you are interested in this fellowship, please submit your application form, writing sample (please use the MS Word document found above) and if necessary, supervisor approval form (please use the MS Word document found above). This is not an employment recruitment process; an online recruitment portal is being used for best practice, including protection of your data and diversity monitoring. For more information on this fellowship or to contact the host team, please refer to the documents found above.
