Research Assistant

is looking for a passionate and highly motivated qualitative researcher to join our area as a Research Assistant (RA). You will be expected to help the area faculty with their qualitative research projects (primarily in the domain of consumer culture), and in the process, you will be able to build a strong research profile of your own.

IIMU is a research-focused institution. You may attend regular research seminars by resident and visiting faculty, in which they present their working papers for feedback and discussion. You may also attend PhD-level coursework and workshops offered at IIMU (e.g., qualitative research methods, consumer culture theory, and adventures of theory building).

Salaries are competitive with similar positions in India. Further, the faculty will encourage you to initiate your own research and will be amenable to providing recommendation letters and guidance for applying for Ph.D. programs at top universities internationally.

In the last 3-4 years, IIMU s RAs have secured Ph.D. admission offers from some of the best research universities in the world, including Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, Penn State University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Pittsburgh, University of Maryland, University of Georgia, Texas AM University, University of Houston, University of Connecticut, Georgia Institute of Technology, Kansas State University, University of Memphis, Western University Ivey Business School (Canada), and London School of Economics and Political Science (UK).

You should consider yourself a good fit for this position if you are interested in a career in academia, and more specifically, IF your research interests are at the intersection of anthropology/sociology and Marketing/consumption, AND you are seriously considering pursuing a Ph.D. in Marketing or related fields. This position will help you get some hands-on academic research experience before starting your Ph.D. journey. You will be expected to assist faculty on their qualitative research projects (primarily in the broad domain of consumer culture). The skills you acquire and/or develop in the process will help you in applying for the top doctoral programs in Marketing and other related fields. You should be self-motivated to take ownership of the research work assigned to you.

This position is in an academic setting. Your job responsibilities will include:

We are looking for a hardworking, sincere, and self-motivated individual who is interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in Marketing or related fields. Prior training in, or at least some exposure to, qualitative research methodology is essential. The faculty will be willing to provide additional training and guidance to the candidate to ensure that they are able to carry out the assigned work efficiently, but they must have a strong interest in and a basic aptitude for qualitative research. The recruited RAs will primarily assist in projects that aim to enhance the understanding of consumer culture and consumption. To this end, it would be an advantage to have an educational background in anthropology, sociology, or related social science fields. Candidates not having such an educational background but with prior experience in market research (and have worked on qualitative projects) are also strongly encouraged to apply. Highly motivated candidates from all backgrounds are welcome to apply if they are seriously interested in qualitative research.

The RA position is contractual for 12 months and could be renewed for a further period of 12 months, enabling the candidate to build their research profile for Ph.D. applications. Each RA is expected to move on to a strong Ph.D. program at the end of two years.

Interested candidates may apply online . The position will remain open and applications will be accepted till January 10, 2025. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Please upload:

Please note that the SOP is not a cover letter. Please do not upload your CV again.

We shall contact shortlisted candidates within two weeks of the application submission deadline (January 24, 2025).

If you do not hear from us by this date, know that you have not been shortlisted for the position.