£12.21 per hour + £1.47 holiday pay
Advertising End Date
18 Feb 2026
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  • Compassionate Leadership Research Impact Intern - GROW Your Future Micro Internship

Role & Department Overview

Eligibility 

This micro internship is for 30 hours in total (including 4 hours for training) and is aimed at students who have limited professional prior work experience and are looking for an opportunity that supports them to develop their employability skills. 

To apply for this micro internship, students must be part of GROW Your Future. 

GROW Your Future is an opt-in scheme for UK undergraduates and postgraduate taught students who also meet specific Widening Participation criteria, e.g. students who are: 

  • first in their family to go to university; 

  • in receipt of a Lancaster Bursary; 

  • received free school meals  

  • over 21 when they start their first undergraduate degree; 

  • Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic; 

  • disabled (including learning disabilities, physical or mental health conditions); 

  • care leavers or have caring responsibilities, or estranged from family 

  • a refugee or asylum seeker, from a gypsy or Traveller community, or from a military family

For more information and to sign up see the following link: GROW Your Future | ASK - Lancaster University 

As stated above, the GROW Your Future Micro Internship Scheme aims to support students with limited professional work experience, therefore priority will be given to students who meet this criteria. This includes students who may have already completed a GYF micro internship. 

Role Overview 

This internship offers an exciting opportunity to engage with academic research, to gain an insight into how it is done and the impact it has on society at large. You will work alongside Lancaster University’s Impact Development Manager to undertake a focused review of impact evidence relating to a significant academic research project making a difference to people’s lives. Based in the Research and Enterprise Services (RES) Division of the University, you will join the Impact Development Team who support academic departments and faculties to build knowledge, expertise and awareness of impact, and support its embedding in research culture. The team also plays a key role in overseeing the development of impact case studies (ICS) for the Engagement and Impact element of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise.

This is vitally important work for the University and is key to demonstrating its world-leading excellence in research and to securing future funding. As an intern, you will help with scoping, cataloguing and analysing evidence of the impact of Professor Michael West’s world-leading research on compassionate leadership. This work is well established and has contributed to previous REF exercises. The project will explore publicly available evidence that illustrates the change that Michael’s work has had nationally and internationally. This provides a great opportunity for anyone interested in organisational change in health and in research on leadership, culture and policy.

Start Date: 16 March 2026
End Date: 4 May 2026
Working Pattern: 4-5 hours per week, flexible and can be agreed with student upon appointment
Location: Remotely (in the UK) and on the Lancaster University campus

Job Description

What you will do:

  • Gain hands‑on experience working with academic research and understanding how it creates impact beyond the University
  • Work closely with the Impact Development Manager to learn how research impact is evaluated, evidenced and supported
  • Liaise with academic and professional services colleagues to access relevant information and impact materials
  • Scope, catalogue and assess a range of impact materials, including reports, datasets and supporting documentation
  • Produce a structured review of impact evidence, identifying strong evidence as well as gaps requiring further development

What you will gain:

  • Develop experience communicating and engaging professionally with academic and professional services colleagues
  • Gain experience working with academic research and supporting the evaluation of research impact
  • Gain insight into how impact case studies are developed for the REF 2029 exercise
  • Build understanding of how research projects are developed, managed and delivered within a university setting
  • Gain practical experience undertaking the review and evaluation of impact evidence

Person Specification

  • A member of GROW Your Future 
  • A proactive and enthusiastic student who enjoys meeting new people
  • Someone with good organisational skills and an eye for detail
  • A willingness to learn and step outside their comfort zone
  • Interest in research and learning more about how it is done
  • Preferably have an interest in Management or Health Research

As this internship is aimed at students who do not have prior professional work experience, please draw upon examples from extracurricular activities, hobbies, interests, volunteering and part time work in your CV and cover letter.  

Please also outline in your CV and cover letter why you believe this micro internship will benefit you and your career progression.

Working in this role will help develop the following skills and experience:
  • Collaboration
  • Exercising professional judgement
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity
  • Knowledge Sharing
  • Multi-tasking
  • Organisation
  • Planning and organising
  • Research
  • Resilience
  • Self-motivation
  • Time Management
  • Verbal communication
  • Written communication
Any informal enquiries regarding this role may be directed to Matthew Pawelski (Research & Enterprise Services) - [email protected]
 
 
 
 
 

You are required to submit a cover letter to support your application. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

Please note: Unless specified otherwise in the advert wording, this role is only open to individuals living in the UK.

Under the terms of this work, we endeavour to provide the advertised number of hours however, hours are not guaranteed and that work may cease if there is a fall in demand. 

Adverts that display a closing date should be treated as a guide. We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment.

Apply

Help and advice on making applications can be found on the Lancaster University Careers pages. Visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/careers.

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