Food and Markets

Location: Medway campus
Salary: £40,322 to £59,135
Contract Type: Permanent
Closing Date: Tuesday 19 May 2020
Interview Date: To be confirmed
Reference: 2351-E

Do you have what it takes to make an impact on global food and nutrition security? We are looking for exceptional candidates to help drive forward our work to improve the lives of poor people. 

The Natural Resources Institute (NRI – https://www.nri.org/) of the University of Greenwich carries out specialised research, teaching, training and consultancy with a focus on food, agriculture, environment and sustainable livelihoods.

NRI is currently expanding its interdisciplinary research excellence to address food and nutrition security, especially in Africa. This expansion is funded by UKRI’s Research England under the ‘Expanding Excellence in England’ scheme. Elements of this new investment include new staff, PhD studentships, infrastructure and partnerships (see www.nri.org/FanSI). Investment will be across four specific areas:

• Climate Change, Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Sustainable Agricultural Intensification
• Food Loss and Waste
• Food Systems for Improved Nutrition

NRI’s work is globally respected and has won many awards including a recent Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education. The Institute is located at the University’s vibrant Medway Campus in Chatham Maritime, Kent.

NRI is looking to appoint a Associate Professor or Senior Fellow in Food Systems Economics to focus on food loss and waste. The focus on the role will be on high quality research, with a possible contribution to teaching activities of up to 10%. There will be opportunities to supervise postgraduate MPhil/PhD students. The primary focus of the role will be in Food Loss and Waste Programme of the Food and Nutrition Security Initiative, as well as other themes

Working within a multi-disciplinary team, the successful candidate will undertake research to develop models of food systems that can guide future research and policy that aims to tackle the underlying causes of food and nutrition security at both micro and macro levels.

The successful candidate will be comfortable bringing to bear food systems economics skills to a wide set of challenges across disciplines.Food systems is considered from a holistic perspective and may include, for example, aspects of productivity, inclusion, upgrading of value chains, reducing food loss and waste, increasing institutional efficiency (including policy and regulatory frameworks), developing and growing micro and small food enterprises, building resilience among rural populations, measuring trade-offs between factors and improving health and welfare.

It is anticipated that work will focus on sub-Saharan Africa.Previous experience in this region would be an advantage.  International travel is an expectation of this role.

For informal enquiries, please contact the Programme Leader (Professor Ben Bennett (Ben.Bennett@gre.ac.uk) or Head of Department (Dr Andy Frost (A.I.Frost@gre.ac.uk))