Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Reader

🎯 Role Definition

A Reader is a senior academic and research leader responsible for establishing and driving a high-impact research agenda, delivering excellent teaching, supervising postgraduate students, and contributing to departmental and institutional strategy. The Reader combines subject-matter excellence with proven grant-winning ability, strong publication record, leadership in collaborative projects, and a commitment to knowledge exchange and impact. This document synthesizes responsibilities and skills commonly required in real-world Reader job postings across universities and research institutes, optimized for recruiters, applicants, and automated screening systems.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Lecturer with an established independent research programme.
Principal Investigator or Postdoctoral Research Fellow who has developed significant research outputs and grant experience.
Experienced Research Scientist / Research Associate with leadership of multi-year projects.

Advancement To:

Professor (Chair) with departmental leadership and strategic responsibilities.
Head of Department, Research Director, or Director of a research centre or institute.
Senior research leadership roles in industry or national research councils.

Lateral Moves:

Research Director or Programme Lead in research institutes.
Senior Researcher roles in international organisations, think-tanks, or R&D divisions.

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead and develop an internationally competitive research programme in the discipline, producing high-quality peer-reviewed publications and demonstrable research impact that advances the field.
Secure substantial external research funding through successful grant applications to national and international funding bodies, including acting as principal investigator for multi-partner consortia.
Supervise, mentor and examine doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers, ensuring timely progression, publication plans and professional development for each supervisee.
Design, develop and deliver undergraduate and postgraduate teaching modules, including lectures, seminars, practicals and assessment, with consistently excellent student feedback and measurable learning outcomes.
Build and maintain productive interdisciplinary and international research collaborations with academic partners, industry stakeholders and public sector organisations to amplify reach and impact.
Translate research into demonstrable societal, economic or policy impact by producing impact case studies, engaging with policymakers, advising industry partners, and participating in public engagement activities.
Manage and grow a research team, including recruitment, workload allocation, performance appraisals, mentoring, and fostering an inclusive, supportive research culture.
Oversee project management and financial stewardship for research grants and departmental budgets, including forecasting, reporting, and compliance with funder requirements.
Lead the development and delivery of major research bids, coordinating partners, preparing risk analyses, and aligning methodology and impact strategies with funder priorities.
Design and implement rigorous experimental designs and research methodologies (qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods) adapted to the discipline and project objectives.
Ensure research governance, ethics approvals, data protection (GDPR) compliance and laboratory or fieldwork safety standards are met across projects.
Publish strategic literature reviews, policy briefs and high-impact journal articles that influence academic debates and practice in the field.
Act as internal and external examiner for theses and degree programmes, contributing to quality assurance and academic standards across institutions.
Contribute to curriculum design and programme validation processes, ensuring courses remain cutting-edge and aligned with industry and employer needs.
Drive innovation and knowledge exchange by developing prototypes, spin-out proposals, consultancy activities, or industry secondments where applicable.
Represent the department and faculty on university committees (research, education, promotions) and contribute to institutional planning, strategy and governance.
Lead and coordinate major research events—conferences, symposia, workshops—and host visiting scholars to raise the profile of the research group and institution.
Prepare and submit research impact assessments and contribute to REF/TEF (or equivalent national research evaluation) submissions by compiling evidence and case studies.
Provide expert peer review for journals, funding bodies and academic presses, and act as an invited speaker, panel member or expert adviser in the field.
Contribute to outreach, public communication and media engagement to disseminate research findings to wider audiences and stakeholders.
Identify and cultivate philanthropic and non-traditional funding sources (charities, trusts, donors) to diversify research income and support strategic initiatives.
Support recruitment and admissions processes for postgraduate programmes, review applications and contribute to candidate selection and scholarship decisions.
Maintain an active programme of professional development for self and team, keeping skills up-to-date with advances in methodology, digital tools and teaching practice.

Secondary Functions

Respond to ad-hoc research enquiries and internal requests for expert analysis, short reports or rapid evidence reviews to support institutional decision-making.
Contribute to the department’s research strategy, planning cycles and performance metrics, recommending priorities and reshaping activities to achieve strategic goals.
Collaborate with industry partners to translate academic research into practical solutions, applied research contracts, or commercial partnerships.
Participate actively in faculty and departmental meetings, working groups and mentoring schemes to support culture, equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Help maintain and enhance research infrastructure (labs, equipment, data repositories) by advising procurement, maintenance schedules and shared-use policies.
Assist with public engagement events, science communication training and media interactions to raise public awareness of the department’s expertise.
Support career development workshops and training for researchers, including grant-writing clinics, peer-review groups and teaching skill-building sessions.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Demonstrable subject-matter expertise with an extensive record of peer-reviewed publications and citations in the relevant discipline.
Proven track record of successful grant-writing and fund-raising, including experience as Principal Investigator on externally funded projects.
Advanced research design and methodological skills (e.g., experimental design, econometrics, lab techniques, ethnography, computational modelling) relevant to the field.
Strong data analysis capabilities, including experience with statistical packages (R, Stata, SPSS), programming (Python, MATLAB) or qualitative analysis software (NVivo, Atlas.ti) where applicable.
Experience managing project budgets, grant financial reporting and compliance with funder-led audit processes.
Supervisory experience in doctoral and postdoctoral training, including mentoring, progression monitoring and examination processes.
Knowledge of research governance, ethics review processes, data protection regulations and health & safety requirements pertinent to research activities.
Familiarity with digital teaching platforms (e.g., Moodle, Blackboard) and online pedagogy including blended learning design.
Competence in producing high-quality research outputs for diverse audiences: academic journals, policy briefs, white papers and public-facing content.
Experience in preparing REF/TEF (or equivalent) submissions, impact case development and research impact evaluation metrics.
Negotiation and contract management experience when working with industry partners, collaborators or funders.

Soft Skills

Strategic leadership with the ability to set research priorities, inspire teams and drive forward long-term projects to completion.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills for teaching, grant-writing, publication and stakeholder engagement.
Strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence to mentor diverse teams, manage conflicts and foster collaborative environments.
Project and time management skills with the ability to balance multiple competing deadlines and priorities effectively.
Innovative and entrepreneurial mindset to identify translation opportunities, partnerships and new income streams.
Problem-solving orientation and intellectual curiosity to navigate complex research challenges and methodological issues.
Stakeholder management and influence skills to engage funders, partners, policymakers and institutional leaders.
Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion with demonstrated action to promote an inclusive research culture.
Resilience and adaptability in the face of shifting funding landscapes, institutional changes or research setbacks.
Coaching and mentoring orientation to support career development of early-career researchers and teaching staff.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

PhD (Doctorate) in a relevant discipline.

Preferred Education:

Postdoctoral research experience or equivalent professional research experience.
Teaching qualification or Fellowship of a recognised teaching academy (e.g., Advance HE Fellowship) is advantageous.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Discipline-specific fields such as Engineering, Life Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, Computer Science, Economics, or other research-intensive domains.
Interdisciplinary backgrounds that bridge applied and theoretical research are highly valued.

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

6–15+ years of post-PhD experience, with increasing independence and a sustained record of research outputs and grant income.

Preferred:

Established record of leading research projects and consortia, securing competitive external funding, supervising PhD students to completion, and producing high-impact publications.
Evidence of successful engagement with non-academic stakeholders (industry, policy makers, charities) and demonstrable research impact beyond academia.