Postdoctoral Research Fellow (RENEW)

Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS)

This full time post is available for 12 months from 1 October 2023 until 30 September 2024.

This role offers the opportunity for hybrid working – some time on campus and some from home.

The post

The Faculty wishes to recruit an outstanding and highly motivated Research Fellow to participate in the ‘Community Action’ team of the NERC-funded project “Renewing biodiversity through a people-in-nature approach (RENEW).” The wider RENEW partnership seeks to develop solutions to one of the major environmental challenges for humankind, the renewal of biodiversity.

The RENEW programme includes academics and partners across environmental sciences, data science, environmental intelligence, social sciences, humanities, arts, and business. RENEW is funded by NERC and involves 33 project partners. The post is funded by Natural England, one of RENEW’s major partners and a strategic partner with the University of Exeter.

The post entails producing a systematic literature review of social science research on including and involving communities historically excluded from nature in the biodiversity renewal efforts in the UK. Under their Protected Sites Strategy (PSS), Natural England are piloting working at five Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) across England. The PSS aims to transform these SSSIs into ‘battery packs’ for nature recovery. A central part of this work involves engaging local communities in renewal activities at the SSSIs. The post will involve liaising with teams at each of the five sites in order to establish their approaches to community inclusion. A ‘map’ of these approaches will then be used as a scaffold for the systematic review. This review will be a major building block in Natural England’s PSS as it scales up. It will also make a major research contribution of use to both academics and practitioners.

The successful applicant will work closely with Professor Catriona McKinnon and Dr Alice Moseley in the Community Action Theme 2 Team. It will be based in the Department of Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology in HASS

To inform the scope of the systematic review, the postholder will engage with PSS pilot sites and RENEW partners to further understand their research needs and interests. This will entail meetings or potentially interviews/focus groups with these partners. You will therefore need to have good partner engagement skills, and ideally have experience in using social scientific methods such as interviews or focus groups, as well as an appreciation of principles of research co-design and knowledge co-production. You will lead on or participate in the preparation of a research ethics proposal if required. An understanding of the principles of research integrity and ethics is therefore essential.

About you

You will:

• be able to search social scientific and scientific research databases in a systematic and organised way, retrieve information and maintain accurate records of search results, distil key findings from the identified literature, and write these up in a clear and accessible way with input from co-authors
• have experience/ knowledge of systematic reviewing methodology or a willingness and ability to learn this
• possess the ability to collaborate effectively with other academics and project partners who will provide input into the systematic review
• possess a relevant PhD or equivalent qualification/experience ideally in a social science, or on a topic of relevance to the project brief
• possess sufficient specialist knowledge in the social sciences or topics of the project brief to be able to undertake the required research and reviewing activity
• be able to work collaboratively, supervise the work of others and act as team leader as required be able to develop research objectives, projects and proposals; identify sources of research funding and potentially contribute to the process of securing funds; and make presentations at conferences and other events
• be able to search research literature databases, use bibliographic referencing software, and write in a clear and accessible manner suitable for academic and non-academic audiences

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role.

The University of Exeter

We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities and in the top 150 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 and the 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities released by Shanghai Rankings).  

Our research income in recent years means we’re the fastest growing UK Research University with some of the world’s most influential scientists, and we seek to answer some of the most fundamental issues facing humankind today. More than 99% of our research is of international quality and our world-leading research impact is growing faster than any other Russell Group university (2021 Research Excellence Framework). We are using the power of our education and research to create a sustainable, healthy and socially just future.  Our shared purpose and vision continually moves us forward to make a difference to our people, our communities, our partners and the world around us.  Read about our world leading research on Green Futures and how we are transforming education for a changing world. We are located in a beautiful part of the country and Exeter (a fast growing tech hub) is one of only a few UK cities to have been designated as a UNESCO City of Literature

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our working community. Reasonable adjustments are available for interviews and workplaces.

With over 30,000 students and 7,000 staff from 150 different countries we offer a diverse and engaging environment where our diversity is celebrated and valued as a major strength. We are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all members of our community are supported to thrive; where diverse voices are heard through our engagement with evidence-based charter frameworks for gender (Athena SWAN and Project Juno for Physics), race equality (Race Equality Charter Mark), LGBTQ+ inclusion (Stonewall Diversity Champion) and as a Disability Confident employer.

Benefits

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

• 41 days leave per year
• options for flexible working
• numerous discounts at leading retailers
• onsite gyms on all of our campus’ and a cycle to work scheme
• sector leading policies around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 wks full pay), paternity leave (up to six wks full pay) and a new Fertility Treatment Policy
• stunning campus environments in Exeter and Cornwall, in the beautiful South West of England

Further information

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Professor Catriona McKinnon, [email protected]