Researcher — “Around the World at 80 Years”
Type: Part-time / freelance, a few days a month
Location: Remote, with flexibility to work across time zones as the project travels
Rate; £40 per hour
Commitment; Initially, eight hours per week with scope to increase as the project moves into international phases
About the project
“Around the World at 80 Years” is a book project following an eighty-year-old author, psychotherapist and life coach on a two-year journey across Europe, Asia, Australasia, Africa and the Americas. The project explores what a genuinely rich and purposeful later life can look like, by seeking out 8o+ year old individuals from different cultures And circumstances who are already living it that way, and building a portrait of a new blueprint for ageing well.
the project begins with a pilot phase of around a dozen interviews across the UK before expanding to Europe ,Asia, Australasia, Africa and the Americas
The role
We’re looking for a researcher to act as the project’s research and coordination hub. They will not be expected to travel to any of the interviews but will specifically help identify and source the people at the heart of this book: elders in each country and culture who embody vitality, wisdom, contribution and connection in later life.
This is fundamentally a three-part job: first, working with the author to sharpen exactly what kind of person we’re looking for in each place, second, figuring out how to actually find them And making the necessary arrangements and thirdly helping to analyse and correlate the various interviews themselves.
Key responsibilities
- Work closely with the author to define and refine the profile of the kind of elder the project is seeking in each culture or country, sharpening this as the project evolves
- Research and map out potential ways of sourcing these individuals in each location: local networks, community organisations, cultural institutions, academics, journalists, NGOs, or word of mouth
- Identify and make initial contact with potential candidates, gatekeepers and local connectors ahead of the author’s visits
- Build a working profile or brief on each potential candidate, including background, context and why they fit the project
- Keep organised records of contacts, leads and candidates across all countries and regions
- Flag cultural context or sensitivities the author should be aware of ahead of each visit.
- Manage scheduling correspondence, consent forms and travel logistics.
- organise recordings and transcripts – tagging them by theme, location et cetera.
- Act as an intellectual sounding board after interviews and trips.
- Challenge assumptions and possible selection bias.
- Identify striking stories, similarities, contradictions et cetera
What we’re looking for
- Strong research skills, with the ability to work independently and resourcefully across unfamiliar contexts
- Comfort reaching out cold to organisations, communities and individuals across different countries and cultures
- Genuine interest in ageing, culture, or human-interest storytelling
- Good judgement in identifying people who are not just interesting on paper, but genuinely right for the spirit of the project
- Excellent organisational skills and clear written communication
- Experience in journalism, documentary research, casting, or a related field is a plus, though not essential.
- Additional language fluency is a useful additional asset.
Commitment, Structure and Pay
- Initially eight hours a week (roughly one day a week flexibly scheduled)
- Engage as a self-employed contractor invoicing for our worked.
- Initial phase 2 to 4 weeks of prep (sourcing and vetting the first dozen UK based subjects and refining the interview process and questions) followed by 6 to 10 weeks supporting UK interview phase.
- Hours to be reviewed and likely increased as project moves forward.
How to apply.
- Please send CV plus a short note detailing any relevant experience to colinserlin@gmail.com
- Please also send a video of no more than two minutes sharing:
- Full name
- Why this project excites you
- Something you are proud of
- Earliest possible start date
Apply Now
