Durham University is one of the world's top universities with strengths across the Arts and Humanities, Sciences and Social Sciences. We are home to some of the most talented scholars and researchers from around the world who are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.

The University sits in a beautiful historic city where it shares ownership of a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Durham Cathedral, the greatest Romanesque building in Western Europe. A collegiate University, Durham recruits outstanding students from across the world and offers an unmatched wider student experience.

Less than 3 hours north of London, and an hour and a half south of Edinburgh, County Durham is a region steeped in history and natural beauty. The Durham Dales, including the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, are home to breathtaking scenery and attractions. Durham offers an excellent choice of city, suburban and rural residential locations. The University provides a range of benefits including pension and childcare benefits and the University’s Relocation Manager can assist with potential schooling requirements.

Durham University seeks to promote and maintain an inclusive and supportive environment for work and study that assists all members of our University community to reach their full potential. Diversity brings strength and we welcome applications from across the international, national and regional communities that we work with and serve.

The Department   The Department of Geography at Durham comprises 68 academic staff (approximately equally divided between physical and human geography), a graduate school of around 100 research students, around 40 taught postgraduate students and more than 650 undergraduates. The Department is well supported with technical staff, including a cartography unit, and administrative staff.

The most recent QS rankings for Geography placed Durham 7^th overall in the world, its 5^th year in the top ten, and 1^st for citations in the discipline. The department is recurrently ranked in the top handful of programmes in the UK by various league tables; in 2016, we were ranked 2^nd in the Times Good University Guide and 3^rd in both the Complete University Guide and the Guardian University Guide. The Department was graded top for research power (quality weighted by volume) in UK geography in REF 2014 and 3^rd for iGPA (average score scaled by proportion of staff submitted). With 43% of work assessed as being in the highest category, it produced the largest number of world-leading (4*) publications in the country.

The Role   The Department of Geography at Durham University seeks to appoint a full-time Postdoctoral Research Associate for a period of 48 months. The role of the PDRA is to develop and undertake research as part of the international, multi-institutional UKRI GCRF Living Deltas Research Hub (www.livingdeltas.org).  The post is for a fixed term only, and it is not anticipated that the post will be extended beyond this fixed term which will end on 12^th February 2024.

The UKRI GCRF Living Deltas Hub

The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) is a £1.5 billion fund to address the global issues faced by developing countries. GCRF harnesses expertise of the UK’s world-leading researchers to promote the dignity and prosperity for some of the most disadvantaged and hardest to reach people on our planet. Their sheer scale and ambition are what makes them so exciting, with researchers working in partnership with governments, community groups and international agencies across 85 countries. Each Hub has the potential to transform the quality of life for significant numbers of people across the world and help safeguard our planet for future generations.

The Living Deltas Hub has the overarching aim to safeguard delta futures through more resilient communities and sustainable development. River deltas comprise just one per cent of global landscapes yet support over half a billion people. Deltas are vital social-ecological systems and regional food-baskets, but the terrain and the livelihoods of those who rely on them are under threat from human exploitation, environmental degradation and climate change.

Focusing on the Red River and Mekong deltas in Vietnam and the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta in Bangladesh and India, the Living Deltas Hub’s core aim is a significant contribution to better sustainable development outcomes for developing countries in the region, transforming policy and practice based on new approaches to understanding delta change. The Hub will address the significant social-ecological challenges currently confronting these delta systems in a transdisciplinary manner that responds to the interlinked agenda of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Hub is coordinated in Newcastle University and has over 20 partners across the delta regions and the rest of the world.

Role of the PDRA   The role of this PDRA is to support the creation of sustainable development capacity of the GCRF Living Deltas Hub and deliver impact. The Hub’s transdisciplinary nature requires an on-going process of collective learning and capacity building between researchers and practitioners, across Work Packages and between countries to ensure the Hub delivers impact. The PDRA will work with the research team to ensure transdisciplinarity, co-production and collaboration across the Hub using traditional management techniques, but also by generating capacity using interdisciplinary exercises in thought and practice and creating new opportunities for commercialisation in DAC delta countries.

The successful applicant will be expected to have a PhD in a relevant research area such as geography, sociology, anthropology or business.

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 Grant-holder.
• To assist with the development of research objectives which include updating the Hub Theory of Change and logframes to support the project’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning strategy. The PDRA will be expected to analyse research undertaken across the Hub to critically assess Hub performance and fit to the Theory of Change.
• To conduct individual and collaborative research projects under the direction of the Grant-holder to deliver mechanisms for two way exchange of information and knowledge between the Hub and non-academic stakeholders. This work stream will involve working in delta regions of interest with a range of stakeholders at different scales from community groups to institutions.
• To work with the 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 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.
• Analyse how to design better enabling-environments and incentive frameworks, including building capabilities of women and youth, and lowering institutional barriers in delta regions.
• To use the analysis of Hub performance and outcome delivery to drive Hub marketing and communications activities.
• To attend Annual Meetings and selected field visits across the delta regions of interest.

This post is fixed term for 48 months duration as part of the GCRF Living deltas Hub funded by UKRI.

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 1^st January 2020. 

The Requirements   Essential:   Qualifications

• A good first degree in geography, anthropology, sociology or business.
• A PhD (or be close to submission) in geography, anthropology, sociology or business or a related subject. 

Experience

• Experience in conducting high quality academic research.
• Demonstrable ability to write material of a quality commensurate with publication in highly-ranked journals.
• Demonstrable ability to present research papers at international conferences and communicate complex information to specialists and within the wider academic community.
• Experience in creating sustainable development capacity and/or delivering impact.
• Experience of working in collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects.

Skills

• Participatory research methods.
• Demonstrable ability to work cooperatively as part of a team, including participating in research meetings.
• Ability to work independently on own initiative and to strict deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

•  

Desirable:   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.
• Experience of overseeing students with respect to the development of their practical/research skills e.g. acting as a demonstrator; supervising student projects/practicals.
• Experience of research in delta regions.

Skills

• Demonstrable ability to plan and manage independent research.

How to Apply   For informal enquiries please contact Professor Louise Bracken (L.J.Bracken@Durham.ac.uk).  All enquiries will be treated in the strictest confidence. 

We prefer to receive applications online via the Durham University Vacancies Site. https://www.dur.ac.uk/jobs/.

As part of the application process, you should provide details of 3 (preferably academic/research) referees and the details of your current line manager so that we may seek an employment reference.

Applications are particularly welcome from women and black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in academic posts in the University.

All applicants are asked to submit:  

A CV and covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above; 

Next Steps   The assessment for the post will include an interview with a short presentation.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview and assessment on a date to be confirmed.