Job Opportunity: Researcher / PhD on ABC Pool Project

I'm currently developing an ongoing research relationship with the ABC's fabulous Pool.org.au site for user-generated content - and as a first step in this, I am now looking for a researcher to work with Pool staff at the ABC in Sydney. The successful applicant will participate in overseeing and coordinating the activities of the Pool user community, and examine practices and dynamics within the community. (More information on Pool and its future development are available in a recent ACID report.)

Initially, this will be a part-time (two days per week) research assistant job from September to December 2009. On the basis of this lead-up work, we also expect the researcher to submit a competitive application for a full-time PhD scholarship from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCi) at QUT, on a project negotiated between the researcher, the CCi, and the ABC which further extends this community research and applies its insights into strategies for the further development of the Pool site.

This also means that as an applicant for the job you must be in a position to submit a competitive PhD scholarship application this year - in other words, you need to have Honours 1 (or equivalent) or higher qualifications.

I think this is a very exciting opportunity for an upcoming researcher, even if I say so myself - you get to work with Australia's national broadcaster, the ABC, and a leading research centre in creative industries, the CCi; I hope we get a strong field of candidates. There is a very tight deadline for applications, though, so don't delay - you need to apply by 21 August 2009, and the job commences at the start of September... An excerpt from the job advertisement is below - full details are available from the QUT jobs Website.

DUTY STATEMENT

Purpose of Position

The Research Assistant will undertake work as a community manager and researcher-in-residence with the Pool team through the remainder of 2009, gaining hands-on experience of Pool management processes and on-site community dynamics. In the context of this work, the successful candidate is encouraged to submit a highly competitive application to enrol in the QUT Creative Industries PhD course (application is due late September 2009), together with a postgraduate scholarship application.

For further background information about Pool, and its likely further development, please see http://pool.acid.net.au/?p=130

Organisational Relationships

The Research Assistant will be supervised by Dr Axel Bruns, Senior Lecturer and Chief Investigator, CCI (Brisbane), and Ms Sherre DeLys, Executive Producer, Pool (Sydney). The position is based with the ABC in Sydney; funding for relevant trips to supervisory team meetings in Brisbane will be available.

Duties include:

The Research Assistant will initially do a defined amount of work as a day-to-day community manager within the Pool project. This will entail animating, curating, overseeing, coordinating and (where necessary) moderating the user-led content creation processes on the site, as well as working with ABC radio and TV producers to stimulate and manage cross platform projects. The position will work closely with other members of the Pool team, maintaining appropriate community practices and encouraging the further development of supportive community structures. Where possible and appropriate, the Research Assistant will also engage in content development, acting as a role model for other users, and develop a network of personal connections with participants in the site community.

Through this hands-on work and research on the burgeoning theoretical and applied literature on social networks, user-created content, and their policy implications, the Research Assistant will observe and investigate community practices and dynamics, and use such insight as the basis for further research into the behaviour and participation patterns of online social media communities. The Research Assistant will investigate the role of the community manager and how it evolves in the ongoing interaction between social media (such as Pool) and broadcast media. Research will also focus on new media forms emerging from community interactions. An aspect of this investigation will be to research comparative developments in media and other situations. On the basis of this research, the Research Assistant will develop recommendations for the possible direction of further site development, and will participate as an advisor in future design and development processes.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Essential:

1. Education, training and/or experience equivalent to an honours degree in a field related to the research project
2. Advanced user of social media for community collaboration, and basic understanding of content management systems (preferably Drupal);
3. Proven ability to work in teams and contribute ideas to development processes, excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills;
4. Proven ability to work with diverse communities (online and offline) at differing levels of expertise;
5. High level written and oral communication skills, with an ability to communicate effectively with the Pool community.
6. Demonstrated understanding of ABC Charter and Pool mission.

Desirable:

1. Web design and development experience, and active digital content creator;
2. Demonstrated understanding of licencing frameworks - e.g. Creative Commons;
3. Media industry experience, with basic understanding of change management processes.

More details are on the QUT jobs site!

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