Research Assistant, School of Continuing Education

SCHOOL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION 

The School of Continuing Education, one of the seven Faculties/Schools of the University and a major provider of continuing and professional education in Hong Kong, offers a wide range of full-time and part-time programmes at the post-secondary, undergraduate and postgraduate levels for young learners and working adults. It also offers in-house training and short courses to meet the community needs and market demands. Operated on a self-financed basis, the School and its College of International Education currently employ about 400 full-time staff and 550 part-time instructors. The School is inviting applications for the following position:

Senior Research Assistant (Part-time) / Research Assistant (Part-time)

(Ref. No.: 25260744) 

The project is seeking a highly motivated and detail oriented Senior Research Assistant or Research Assistant to support an evidence-based research project in the analysis of listed companies’ financial information disclosure and related media coverage.  The successful candidate will assist with data collection, literature review, focus group interview arrangements and analysis.  This is an excellent opportunity for applicants majoring in Journalism and Digital Media that are interested in data journalism and looking to gain hands-on research experience in a professional environment. 

Responsibilities:

• Conduct literature review and synthesize findings in financial disclosure, media monitoring and shares ownership information;
• Collect and collate research data on market capitalization, ownership structure of listed companies, key indicators on corporate and contractual governance, as well as social capital network mapping;
• Assist in designing research methodologies to collect, organize and analyze predominantly qualitative data and quantitative data;
• Prepare qualitative research data and compile related statistical reports;
• Maintain accurate audit trail records and ensure compliance with research ethical guidelines.

Minimum Requirements: 

Applicants should possess: 

• A bachelor's degree with some work experience for Research Assistant; and a bachelor's degree with at least 3 years’ work experience OR Master’s degree for Senior Research Assistant;
• Candidate with Master’s degree and in relevant fields, e.g. Financial Journalism, Accounting, Business Analytics, Business Management or Finance is highly preferred
• Prior research experience in data collection of medium-scale news monitoring and sentiment analysis of business news reports and financial disclosure public announcements (academic research or due diligence projects) is highly preferred;
• Experience in research project execution, including research design, data collection methodology, qualitative interpretation and basic statistical analysis; 
• A strong background in empirical research methods in unstructured or semi-structured data to facilitate deep analysis.  Proficiency in the use of data collection tools (including but not limited to) like NVivo, Wisers, Meltwater and other commonly used programmes; 
• A basic understanding of automated sentiment classification like Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms will be a bonus;
• Demonstration of ability to work independently, highly analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to adapt to evolving project needs to meet deadlines;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
• High sense of responsibility and attentive to details.

Candidates with less experience will be considered for the post of Research Assistant.

The appointee will be required to work on the Shatin Shek Mun Campus. 

Appointments will be offered on a fixed-term contract of 6-9 months. Immediate availability is preferred.

Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

For any inquiries of the post, please contact Miss Zuria Cheng at [email protected]

Application Procedure:

Applicants are invited to submit their applications at the HKBU e-Recruitment System. Those who are not invited for interview 8 weeks after submission of applications may consider their applications unsuccessful. Details of the University’s Personal Information Collection Statement can be found at https://hro.hkbu.edu.hk/en/worklife-at-hkbu/employee-favourable-environment.html#privacy-policy.

The School reserves the right not to make an appointment for the post advertised, and the appointment will be made according to the terms and conditions then applicable at the time of offer.

Review of applications is ongoing until the position is filled.