We work with research and finance teams within the Schools and with central departments, including Research Support Office, Business Consultancy and Innovation, Research and Partnership Development, Research and Impact Strategy, External Relations, the International Development Office, the PGR Student Team and the Liverpool Doctoral College, to facilitate and develop academic research and impact activity.
Our areas of responsibility are identified below and we are happy to discuss any aspect of research and impact with interested colleagues.
Mrs Nicky Schofield
Head of Research Development & Delivery
Nicky supports the Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research, Professor Farida Vis, contributing to the development of institutional policies and procedures through membership of the Research and Impact Strategy Committee and development and delivery of the annual Faculty Research and Impact Plan to meet the ambitions set out in Strategy 2026. She coordinates the preparations for the Faculty's submission to external assessment exercises such as the Research Excellence Framework.
Nicky has oversight of the research support function for Humanities and Social Sciences. This includes a network professional services research support staff in the four constituent Schools within the Faculty (Arts, Histories, Languages and Cultures, Law and Social Justice and the Management School). She is the key point of contact for senior colleagues in Research Partnerships and Innovations Directorate as well as the faculties of Health and Life Sciences and Science and Engineering.
- Member of Research and Impact Strategy Committee (RISC)
- Member of Faculty Management Team (FMT)
- Member of Faculty Professional Services Management Team (FPSMT)
- Professional Services Lead for the Heritage Theme
- Secretary to Faculty Research and Impact Committee
- Member of Humanities & Social Sciences Impact Forum
- Chair of HSS Research Support Forum
Ms Maeva Zimmermann
Research Development Officer
Maeva leads on the delivery of activities that support the Faculty’s research income ambitions. Overseeing the Faculty’s growing income portfolio (ca £4m), this includes identifying and disseminating strategic funding opportunities, providing tailored support for strategic funding bids, design and coordination of Faculty peer review and selection processes, organising funding-related events, and providing research income management information via income performance reports.
As the key point of contact for Principle Investigators and Co-Investigators developing strategic funding bids in HSS, she coordinates support across central departments (such as the Research Partnerships and Development Team and the Research Support Office) and the School Research Support Teams.
Maeva supports researcher development activities through her coordination of the Faculty ECR Network (intranet link), staff training and induction events and development of digital resources (intranet link).
She also supports aspects of the Faculty’s REF submission and planning for future research assessment exercises.
maeva.zimmermann@liverpool.ac.uk
Mr Nick Jones
Digital Content Coordinator
Nick is responsible for raising the profile of Faculty’s Research. He does this by producing and maintaining digital content through multiple channels such as the intranet and web pages, our regular newsletter and blogs which profile colleagues and opportunities within the Faculty, plus our social media presence (@livuniHSS) which we use for communicating opportunities, news, events and celebrating our successes.
Nick also works with the Faculty Research Theme Leads to ensure digital content is created, shared and updated about the themes and contributing research. Beyond this, Nick helps create content publicising the wider research activities and focusses across the Faculty, including research impact features and the ‘Tales From The Square’ podcasts. He also supports marketing and communications projects for a variety of colleagues and projects across the University.
Ms Emma Arnold
Research & Impact Coordinator
Emma works closely with the Research Development Officer and wider Impact Team to support a breadth of activity across the Faculty, including the identification of external funding opportunities, the development of peer review and other support processes for strategic funding bids, and researcher development events.
She helps to promote opportunities for non-academic impact to staff and postgraduate researchers within the Faculty, and takes responsibility for the monitoring and update of key databases and resources. Emma also has a role in the creation of innovations and systems to better support research colleagues.
Dr Chris Williams
REF and Impact Manager
As a senior member of the Faculty Research Impact Support team, Chris leads projects to deliver priorities and projects around Research Impact, REF Governance and Research Culture. His role includes the embedding of the concept and delivery across the faculty at all levels, but also has oversight of the portfolio of impact case studies and narrative for REF 2028.
He will lead on the Faculty’s preparation for the REF 2028 and subsequent submissions, establishing and maintaining close working relations with the institutional Research and Impact: Strategy and Policy (RISP) team. Chris monitors and interprets elements of the external research policy landscape, proactively identifying areas of relevance. He then designs programmes of support to raise awareness of both internal and external policies to facilitate compliance.
Ms Cat Tully
Impact Evidence Coordinator
Cat develops and implements new procedures and support to enhance the research culture of the Faculty.
Reporting to the REF and Impact Manager, Cat works with academic Impact Leads and other researchers engaged in impact activity, with a focus on developing best practice guidance, partnership and collaboration, and impact for funding bids. In addition, she works alongside strategic partners to develop evidence of impact.
Dr Jacky Waldock / Dr Peta Bulmer
Impact Fellows
Jacky and Peta bring a wealth of specialist experience to the team in the evolution of the impact process, and in the direct support of impact case studies. Working with the Impact Officer, they help embed impact into research design, and with the planning of evaluation and methodology. They take specific responsibility for areas such as ECR Impact development and training, public engagement and education, and work with individual researchers and departments to enhance and support impact development.
- Member of the Faculty Impact Forum
jwaldock@liverpool.ac.uk | peta.bulmer@liverpool.ac.uk
Ms Hayley Meloy
NWSSDTP Manager / PGR Development Officer
Hayley is responsible for managing the ESRC North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP) across its four constituent Universities (Keele, Lancaster, Liverpool and Manchester) and also oversees the Faculty’s involvement in the AHRC North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership (NWCDTP).
In addition to her work with the DTPs, Hayley manages the Faculty PGR Team - and works closely with PGR support teams in Schools - to coordinate PGR development activities across the Faculty. Hayley also provides strategic support to the engage@liverpool methodological initiative.
- Secretary to the Faculty PGR Committee
- Secretary to the engage@liverpoolManagement Team Group
- Secretary to the ESRC NWSSDTP Academic Management Committee and Strategy Board
- Member of the AHRC NWCDTP Academic Management Committee
- Member of the Methods North West Executive Committee
Dr Chris Egan
PGR Enhancement Officer
Chris works closely with the faculties director and deputy director of PGR as well as other PGR leadership staff across the faculty supporting PGR student recruitment, wellbeing, employability and data.
Christopher.Egan@liverpool.ac.uk
Mr Nathan Elsdon
PGR Administrator (Digital Communications)
Nathan is responsible for the communication of funding opportunities and events to PGR students in the Faculty via the fortnightly PGR bulletin and the HSS PGR Twitter account (@LivUniHSS_PGR), as well as maintaining the Faculty PGR web pages and Faculty PGR Training Catalogue.
Ms Nicola Rankin
Faculty PGR Enhancement Coordinator
Nicola works closely with Chris, Nathan, and the Faculty’s director and deputy director of PGR. She works with PGR leadership staff to support PGR student wellbeing and employability.
- Minutes Secretary to the Faculty PGR Committee
Dr Julie McColl
DTP Coordinator (Impact & Collaboration)
Julie is responsible for supporting existing - and cultivating new - collaborative opportunities for ESRC NWSSDTP students across the four DTP institutions, working with staff, PGRs and non-HEI partners. Julie also oversees support for DTP students in terms of impact training and careers support. Julie is responsible for ensuring NWSSDTP policies and processes are up-to-date, coordinating the administration of both the annual ESRC NWSSDTP and AHRC NWCDTP studentship competitions, and communicating events and opportunities to ESRC-funded students across the North West via the NWSSDTP Newsletter.
- Minute Secretary to the ESRC NWSSDTP Academic Management Committee
- Minute Secretary to the ESRC NWSSDTP Strategy Board
- Secretary to the ESRC NWSSDTP TEKE Panel
Mrs Sarah Elsdon
DTP Administrator
Sarah is responsible for the administration of DTP student expense claims, additional funding competitions (i.e. Overseas Fieldwork, Internships and Overseas Institutional Visits) and NWSSDTP events. Sarah also provides administrative support for the annual ESRC NWSSDTP and AHRC NWCDTP studentship competitions, and helps maintain the NWSSDTP Twitter account (@NWSSDTP).
- Minute Secretary to the ESRC NWSSDTP TEKE Panel
Lois Thomas
Heritage Institute Manager
As Heritage Institute Manager, Lois works with the Director of the Heritage Institute and the Head of Research Development & Delivery to accelerate delivery of the objectives of the newly constituted Institute, and to facilitate its research and impact ambitions while also working to enhance the research environment. Lois’s role involves managing the Institute’s activities and contributing to the development and delivery of the Institute’s strategy. She has responsibility for grant capture, building on the existing portfolio and coordinates the delivery of strategic funding goals to include larger, longer duration grants and securing externally funded fellowships for researchers working in the areas of Heritage.
Her main role is to raise the profile of the Institute, via public engagement events and to build key strategic partnerships to boost existing activity as well as identifying new strands. Lois has oversight of the Institute’s impact portfolio and will directly develop bids for internal pump priming schemes to augment the significance and reach of our Heritage Research.
Lois is working on the development of a commercial CPD (Continuing Professional Development) offer and manages activity such as the Virtual Visiting Fellowship Scheme. She is reviewing the existing Heritage Postgraduate Taught offering to make it more relevant and inclusive and will contribute to initiatives that increase Postgraduate Recruitment intake.
Shelly Salmon
Heritage Institute Administrator
As Administrator for the Institute Shelly coordinates activities internally, across the university, and with local, national and international partners and stakeholders. She supports activity around grant capture, by setting up research development meetings, coordinating local peer-review and ensuring that any demand management processes are communicated, administratively supported, and that deadlines are adhered to.
She supports the delivery of our annual calendar of events, acting as the Institute’s point of contact for speakers and tracks the outcomes of the Institute’s collaborations and projects, liaising with colleagues across the institution and beyond to collect information in line with institutional and faculty policy.
Shelly is the Institute’s key point of administrative contact for internal stakeholders such as the Digital Innovation Factory, the Materials Innovation Factory and Libraries Museums and Galleries.