Post-Doctoral Research Assistant

Northumbria is a research-intensive modern university with a global reputation for academic excellence.

Ranked in the UK top 50 (Guardian University League Table 2022 ) and Complete University Guide 2023 ), Northumbria recorded the biggest rise of any UK university for research power in the Research Excellence Framework for the second time in 2021 and is now rated within the top 25 in the UK.

Applications are invited for a four-year postdoctoral research position in community engagement and co-design of sustainable drainage systems blue-green infrastructure, funded by the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) under the Innovative Resilience Programme.  The successful candidate will be based in the Department of Geography & Environmental Sciences, within the Faculty of Engineering and Environment at Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK, but will be a key part of a multi-disciplinary project partnership including Durham County Council, the Environment Agency, Northumbrian Water, and Arup amongst others.

The project, the Stanley South Community SuDS Innovation Accelerator (SuDS+), aims to establish a community-based approach for designing, delivering, and monitoring Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) that provides multiple benefits to the local community and their environment beyond those traditionally identified during flood risk assessment studies.

As an integral member of the research team, the Post-Doctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) will work with Dr Ed Rollason and Prof Louise Bracken from Northumbria University, as well as working closely with other project partners. There are two elements to the work which the PDRA will undertake. Firstly, ensuring community and stakeholder participation is central to the development and delivery of the project including in the identification, delivery, and sustenance of effective SuDS interventions within the study area (Project Work Package 1 – led by Dr Ed Rollason). This approach is not commonplace in the development of SuDS and there are many opportunities for developing innovative approaches to bringing people and communities into the centre of SuDS decision-making. Secondly, the development of a robust evidence base of the project’s impacts, and an analysis of the barriers and opportunities to developing a scaleable methodology for future SuDS (WP5 – led by Prof Louise Bracken). The PDRA will be a key member of the delivery team, working primarily on these two aspects of the project, although they will be expected to contribute expertise in community participation, social-science enquiry, and impact evaluation to the successful delivery of the other work packages.

The project will involve the application of multiple methods including reviews of literature and policy, interviews, participatory workshops, and data analysis. Work with the public will also include narrative and creative methodologies developed during the project. The PDRA will also coordinate project monitoring and evaluation processes and the maintenance of the Theory of Change in collaboration with the Project Manager and will undertake analysis of barriers/opportunities and lessons learned as the project progresses.

The successful candidate will have a PhD in geography or a related social science discipline. Experience in developing and undertaking community-based research, and/or experience of flood management approaches and technologies is desirable.  The post will commence in early January 2023, with the targeted starting date being 1st Jan, 2023.

For an informal discussion about the post, please contact Dr Ed Rollason on [email protected] .