Department of Geography

Location: Egham
Salary: £40,151 per annum - including London Allowance
Closing Date: Thursday 28 November 2019
Interview Date: Tuesday 17 December 2019

Fixed Term, Full Time

Applications are invited for the post of Research Associate in the Department of Geography.

This appointment is being made in relation to the UKRI GCRF funded grant entitled “Depleted by Debt? Focusing a gendered lens on climate resilience, credit, and nutrition in translocal Cambodia and South India”. The project explores if and how credit can (more) equitably support communities in managing everyday, ongoing, and often under-the radar climate disasters, notably floods and droughts, that are taking their toll in rural Cambodia and India. This is an acute issue for women in particular. Responsible for the nutritional wellbeing and wider social reproduction of their households, they are also disproportionately impacted upon by climate change, and make up the majority of targeted credit borrowers. The research will examine and communicate the quantitative and qualitative parameters, experiences, and visual representations of the climate-credit-nutrition nexus through a gendered lens.

The post holder will be working with the Principal Investigator, Professor Katherine Brickell, and other co-investigators.

The successful applicant will undertake substantive fieldwork in Cambodia and South India (Tamil Nadu), including qualitative interview and Photovoice research. He/She/They will analyse qualitative and quantitative (household survey) data from the research for publication. The postholder will also generate impact-focus material to reach and influence non-academic audiences and will coordinate relationships and events with research partners and external stakeholders to develop and deliver knowledge exchange towards impact. He/She/They will provide administrative support to the Principal Investigator and research team, as required.

We welcome applications from recent PhD graduates and from those who do not hold a PhD but have equivalent research experience and expertise, as well as from applicants with postdoctoral experience. Applicants must have experience of undertaking fieldwork in the Global South and must have sufficient knowledge in the area of international development. We particularly welcome applicants who are able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge in one or more areas: gender and development; (feminist) political economy; debt and financialisation; nutrition; and/or environmental change.

Applicants will be able to write to a consistently high theoretical and empirically informed standard, and to meet deadlines reliably across the 14 months of their contract.

Shortlisted candidates for interview will be asked to submit two pieces of written work - ideally one piece of academic writing (e.g. a journal article, book chapter, or PhD chapter) and another which has been written for a non-academic audience (e.g. a report, a blog).

In return we offer a highly competitive rewards and benefits package including:

• Generous annual leave entitlement 
• Training and Development opportunities
• Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution 
• Various schemes including Cycle to Work, Season Ticket Loans and help with the cost of Eyesight testing. 
• Free parking

The post is based in Egham, Surrey where the College is situated in a beautiful, leafy campus near to Windsor Great Park and within commuting distance from London.

The successful applicant will join one of the UK’s strongest Geography Departments, with research specialisms in cultural and historical geography, development, environmental sustainability, geopolitics and Quaternary science. It was ranked 2^nd in the UK in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework and also has some of the best teaching ratings from students for any discipline (UK National Student Survey).

This is a fixed-term post from 1 February 2020 until 30 April 2021. There is also the possibility of contract extension.

To view further details of this post and to apply please visit https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk. For queries on the application process the Human Resources Department can be contacted by email at: recruitment@rhul.ac.uk.

The College cannot apply for a Certificate of Sponsorship for this post. Candidates applying for this position need to have their own permission to work in the UK based on UK Visa and Immigration requirements.

Closing Date: Midnight, 28 November 2019
Interview Date: 17 December 2019

Please note that it will not be possible for the College to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship for successful candidates as this role does not fall into one of the standard occupational codes deemed eligible for sponsorship by UK Visas and Immigration and the pro-rata salary will not meet the minimum threshold set by UK Visas and Immigration. Successful candidates will therefore need to be eligible to work in the UK or have limited leave to remain in the UK and associated right to work for the duration of their employment with the College, in accordance with the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.