Postdoctoral Research Associate in Human Geography (Job Number: 25000340)
Department of Geography
Grade 7: - £38,249 - £40,497 per annum
Fixed Term - Full Time
Contract Duration: 24 months
Contracted Hours per Week: 35
Working Arrangements: TBC
Closing Date: 23-Apr-2025, 5:59:00 PM
Disclosure and Barring Service Requirement: Not Applicable.

QUALIFICATIONS

• A good first degree in Geography.
• A PhD (or be close to submission) in Geography, or related social science disciplines. The PhD must be submitted before the start date of the post.
• Experience
• Experience in conducting high quality academic research.
• Demonstrable ability to write material of a quality commensurate with publication in peer-reviewed journals.
• Demonstrable ability to present research papers at conferences and workshops communicate complex information to specialists and within the wider academic community.
• Experience in designing developing and implementing innovative methods for researching social and environmental change.

SKILLS

• Demonstrable ability to work cooperatively as part of an interdisciplinary team, including participating in research meetings.
• Ability to work independently on own initiative and to strict deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to travel to Southeast Asia to conduct fieldwork and to travel outside of the UK for international conferences and meetings.
• Strong fieldwork abilities and leading data collection.
• Networks with civil society organisations and other non-academic actors in the region.

EXPERIENCE

• Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals, commensurate with stage of career.
• A track record of presenting research at conferences, symposia, or meetings, commensurate with stage of career.
• Demonstrable ability to develop research proposals and designs in collaboration with other academics and civil society
• Experience in working in a cross-disciplinary team, collaborating with non-academic partners, and ability to work well as part of a multi-national team is desirable.
• Demonstrable ability to work independently and use creative methods and approaches.

SKILLS

• Demonstrable ability to plan and manage independent research.
• Knowledge of and expertise in social science research on environment-society relations and critical social science.
• Knowledge of the literatures on political ecology, extraction, materiality, and territory.
• Language skills: spoken, reading, and writing ability in Indonesian, Malay, Khmer, Vietnamese, or other languages spoken in Southeast Asia an asset.

THE ROLE AND DEPARTMENT

The Department of Geography at Durham comprises 65 academic staff (approximately equally divided between Human and Physical geography), a graduate school of around 100 research students, around 40 taught postgraduate students and 850 undergraduates. The Department is well supported with technical staff, including a cartography unit, and administrative staff.
The Department was ranked joint first for research quality among UK geography departments in REF2021. 54% of our outputs were classed as ‘world leading’ and more than 92% as ‘world leading’ or internationally excellent’. The most recent QS rankings for Geography placed Durham 16th overall in the world. The department is recurrently ranked in the top handful of programmes in the UK by various league tables; for example, we were ranked 1st in the 2025 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, and 4th in the 2025 Complete University Guide.
Our aim is to sustain and support hubs of leadership in geographical scholarship – broadly conceived. We will maintain our reputation for theoretical and conceptual innovation so that we are shaping and leading debates globally.
We will continue to engage concepts and materials from across disciplinary boundaries to renew geographical scholarship and bring geographical perspectives to bear in other domains. We work across every continent and most major oceans and embrace the full diversity of methods and data available to the discipline.
We are further developing our core undergraduate programmes and will be recruiting world leading staff accordingly to ensure these programmes continue to offer the highest quality of education that develop students with skills to advance scholarly and public debates to which geography is central. The quality of our undergraduate students, and the degree programmes which ensue, combine with our large graduate school to provide a teaching experience for staff that is truly excellent.

THE ROLE

We are seeking to appoint a full-time Postdoctoral Research Associate in Human Geography to work on the UKRI-funded Future Leader Fellowship “Digging into sand: new territories in the making” with Dr Laura Schoenberger.
The core aim of the project is to make sand extraction and its associated issues visible through an investigation of its particular geographies in terms of how and where it takes place and its effects on ecologies and livelihoods. This research ‘follows the sand’, starting with extraction points in Southeast Asia. The research objectives driving this study are designed to contribute to theoretical debates, activist work, and policy by constructing a political ecology of sand extraction; building the evidence base through new empirical knowledge; and analysing the different legal arrangements surrounding the mining and trade of sand.
The PDRA will take the lead on coordinating data collection and conducting field research one country in Southeast Asia. The post-holder will be responsible for developing a mix of case studies in areas along rivers and coastlines where sand extraction is either highly visible, or concealed, and where the sand industry is ushering in transformations in resource governance and state development goals. Each case study will involve literature and policy document review. The post-holder will be supported to conduct up to six-months of fieldwork over the two-year in post and will be supported to develop their networks with civil society and regional scholars, and to develop publications from the research. The post-holder will also work with the PI and other project staff to explore new ways to spatially and visually depict the workings of the sand industry. People with experience conducting critical social research on environment-society relations in any Southeast Asian country are welcome to apply. You do not need to have experience conducting research on the sand industry, but closely related research on issues such as land, resource conflict, access issues would be useful.
The post-holder will be based at Durham University but will be expected to work closely with civil society partners in Southeast Asia. They will be expected to travel to conduct field research during the course of the project. They will also be expected to ensure that the understandings and tools developed in this project are relevant to the research needs and skills of a wide range of potential stakeholders.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• To understand and convey material of a specialist or highly technical nature to the team or group of people through presentations and discussions that leads to the presentation of research papers in conferences and publications.
• To prepare and deliver presentations on research outputs/activities to audiences which may include: research sponsors, academic and non-academic audiences.
• To publish high quality outputs, including papers for submission to peer reviewed journals and papers for presentation at conferences and workshops under the direction of the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder.
• To assist with the development of research objectives and proposals.
• To conduct individual and collaborative research projects under the direction of the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder.
• To work with the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder and other colleagues in the research group, as appropriate, to identify areas for research, develop new research methods and extend the research portfolio.
• To deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines by discussing with the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder and offering creative or innovative solutions.
• To liaise with research colleagues and make internal and external contacts to develop knowledge and understanding to form relationships for future research collaboration.
• To plan and manage own research activity, research resources in collaboration with others and contribute to the planning of research projects.
• To deliver training in research techniques/approaches to peers, visitors and students as appropriate.
• To contribute to fostering a collegial and respectful working environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect.
• To engage in wider citizenship to support the department and wider discipline.
• To engage in continuing professional development by participation in the undergraduate or postgraduate teaching programmes or by membership of departmental committees, etc. and by attending relevant training and development courses.
  The post is fixed term for 24 months and is available from 1 June 2025. The project is time-limited and will end on 30 April 2028.
  The post-holder is employed to work on research/a research project which will be led by another colleague. Whilst this means that the post-holder will not be carrying out independent research in his/her own right, the expectation is that they will contribute to the advancement of the project, through the development of their own research ideas/adaptation and development of research protocols.
  Successful applicants will, ideally, be in post by 1st September 2025