Research at Keele profile: Daniel Walker

Which Schools and/or Institutes are you part of?

I'm involved with the Institute for Social Inclusions, and Keele Business School, the School of Law, the School of Humanities and the School of Social Sciences. 

What is your role within research?

Within the research aspects of my role, I work across the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences in post-award research support. This involves working with academic and professional services colleagues to support administrative and financial processes.

Can you tell us a bit about your role at Keele? What does a typical day look like for you?

In my role as Schools Operations Officer, I oversee the operations and administration of the School of Law and School of Social Sciences. My focus is on supporting the daily management and growth of the administrative team to deliver and maintain exceptional service, as well as working to resolve complex or sensitive issues as required. Additionally, I am responsible for supporting faculty-wide research initiatives and financial processes.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I really enjoy working collaboratively with colleagues across the faculty as well as the wider university, supporting colleagues to achieve their ambitions, whether this be within teaching, research or professional services.

One of the benefits of supporting research is that I get to speak to academic colleagues about their interests and get to see how much they enjoy their field of study.

What is your background? How did you first get involved in research?

I joined Keele in February 2022, following a career within the financial services industry, so I have lots of experience of administration and operations management. Research support is only part of my day job, but it's something that I really enjoy and I'm grateful for the support I have from my colleagues and managers to allow me to build on the experience I have within this field.

Is your role at Keele your first involvement in research, or do you have previous experience in other roles?

This is my first experience in the world of research support, although in a past life I was a temporary research assistant to a PGR student from the University of Exeter, during my own studies.