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Occasional Research Assistants | Global Forum on AI and Social Sciences

The LSE Data Science Institute is looking for up to six temporary, hourly-paid, postgraduate or PhD-level Occasional Research Assistants (ORAs) to begin working as soon as possible for up to 20 hours a week. The ORAs will play key role in delivering the flagship publication of the recently announced Global Forum on AI and the Social Sciences. In particular, the ORAs will carry out research and form part of the writing team for the first edition of the initiative’s “State of AI and Society” report. The report will be an authoritative, cross-disciplinary synthesis of existing research on the labour market implications of AI.

About the Global Forum on AI and the Social Sciences

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has awarded LSE a $2 million grant to establish an annual Global Forum that will convene dialogue and mobilise expertise, resources, and partnerships to ensure AI serves human and societal needs.

Led by Professors Cosmina Dorobantu and Helen Margetts OBE FBA, the Global Forum on AI and the Social Sciences will be one of LSE’s flagship events and is the only major event in the world that convenes thought leaders to focus on AI and the social sciences.

The inaugural Forum will take place at LSE in September 2026. It will focus on how AI is reshaping work and how governments, firms, and workers can prepare for the changes ahead. It will bring together leading policymakers, researchers, technologists, and civil society representatives from around the world.

The Forum will be accompanied by a State of AI and Society report to ensure that the discussions are grounded in evidence. This will be an LSE publication, which will offer an authoritative synthesis of existing evidence and research on AI’s labour market impacts. The report will set out the current evidence, identify the gaps in knowledge, and outline the research needed to understand and prepare for AI’s impacts on labour markets.

About the roles

The ORAs will work closely with Professors Dorobantu and Margetts, as well as Dr Florian Ostmann (LSE Distinguished Policy Fellow) and Christopher Thomas (LSE Policy Fellow) to develop and deliver the State of AI and Society report. The roles provide an exciting opportunity to shape a flagship LSE publication with international impact, engage with leading academics at LSE and beyond, and define questions and priorities that will inform global research and policy efforts on AI and labour markets.

The report’s scope includes relevant conceptual work, empirical studies, modelling and simulation-based research, as well as policy proposals to manage AI-related transformations of labour markets and the nature of work. Across these areas, the report will synthesise the existing literature, identify gaps and limitations, and recommend ways of addressing them. Big picture questions that the report aims to illuminate include the quantitative impacts of AI on employment in different sectors, the qualitative changes to the nature of work, and the impacts of AI on the distribution of jobs and income. The report will consider these questions from a global perspective, considering impacts and policy options in the context of both advanced and developing economies.

We are looking to hire a group of ORAs with complementary disciplinary and methodological backgrounds, and collective familiarity with labour markets research and policy in developed as well as developing economies. The number of ORAs hired will depend on the amount of time individual applicants are able to dedicate to the work, and the collective experience and skillset of successful applicants.

Duties and responsibilities

Research

  • Contribute to defining the scope and structure of the report
  • Carry out desk-based research covering areas within the report’s scope of AI’s labour markets impact, including synthesising the exiting literature, identifying limitations and gaps, and developing recommendations for addressing limitations and gaps

Drafting and report production

  • Produce preliminary literature reviews to inform the direction of research and shape of the report
  • Produce drafts of specific chapters or sections of the report
  • Coordinate and integrate contributions from LSE faculty members and other contributors
  • Take writing from draft stage to publication stage with input and guidance from the project leadership team

Coordination and collaboration

  • Coordinate and, where relevant, co-draft work with other members of the writing team and other contributors
  • Provide peer feedback to other members of the writing team
  • Assist in the organisation of and participate in regular meetings with the writing team and other collaborators

Person specification

These positions are open to current LSE PhD students and post-doctoral researchers. Ideal candidates will possess experience and a robust skillset covering the following areas:

Essential

  • Prior research and/or knowledge of literature on labour markets or public policy, especially with respect to the implications of technological change
  • Ability to think creatively about research questions, methodological challenges, and solutions in emerging research domains with limited canonical work
  • Ability to carry out high-quality research and synthesise insights in complex thematic domains characterised by diverse methodological approaches
  • Excellent written communication skills and the ability to produce work to a publishable standard
  • Ability to collaborate successfully in a multidisciplinary environment across different levels of seniority
  • Ability to work flexibly and reliably, prioritising tasks to meet deadlines while maintaining a high standard and attention to detail

Desirable

  • Familiarity with labour market research in Global South contexts
  • Experience translating academic research into outputs aimed at policymakers and other non-academic audiences
  • A record of successful co-authoring, ideally with contributors from multiple social science disciplines

Successful applicants will work up to 20 hours a week from early-April 2026 to October 2026, with an opportunity to extend contracts past October 2026 subject to interest and funding.

The hourly rate starts at £23.72, inclusive of holiday pay, with the individual contracted rate depending on previous experience and qualifications.

To apply, please email your up-to-date CV, two paragraphs on why this role interests you, and two single-authored writing samples (published or unpublished) to p.kinniburgh@lse.ac.uk by 23:59 on Sunday 29 March 2026.

We encourage applicants to apply early as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and the posting will close early once enough qualified applicants have been identified.

Please note:

  • These roles are only open to LSE PhD students and post-doctoral researchers based at LSE
  • It is essential that candidates are based in the UK and have the Right to Work in the UK.