Postdoctoral Researcher in Physical Activity

The University

We are a world leading university and are proud of our people.  A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other. We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things professionally and personally.  Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally. Further information about the University can be found here  

The Department

The research within the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences addresses inequalities, social justice, and health and wellbeing within and through sport, exercise and physical activity. We are an established World top 100 sport and exercise sciences department (QS World Rankings, 2023). We have been named Sports University of the Year by @thetimes and are proud to be ranked 2nd in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2023, and 10th (grade point average) in the 2021 UK Research Excellence Framework. As a global leader in the sport and exercise sciences, we pioneer and carry out research that shapes the field, moving it in new directions that make a difference.

The Role

A Postdoctoral Research Associate position in physical activity is available, full-time, for a period of 3 years within the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences. The post provides an exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to the £1million+ funded ‘Moving Social Work’ project. Working in partnership with Disability Rights UK, Moving Social Work is a co-produced programme of research that aims to embed physical activity advocacy with and for disabled people into the education, training, and routine practice of social work. We are seeking creative, high-quality researchers with a background in sport and exercise sciences, social work, health psychology, sociology, critical disability studies and/or other relevant disciplines/areas that can strike a balance between research, practice, and knowledge translation skills. The successful applicant will lead and conduct a national mixed methods intervention to enable social workers to be advocates of physical activity in their routine work with disabled people, other service users, and multi-agency teams. They will be expected to co-ordinate day to day research activity aimed at embedding physical activity promotion in social work further and higher education, and continued professional development. This will include co-ordinating study set-up, recruitment of sites and participants, mixed methods data collection, qualitative and quantitative analysis, creation of resources and toolkits, write up of findings, drafting of progress reports, knowledge translation activities, and evaluating impact. They will work closely with the Moving Social Work team to support co-production, enable transdisciplinary work to flourish, and ensure findings are integrated into the research programme and implemented in practice. The position will provide the opportunity to develop one’s career by, for example, enhancing leadership and management skills, learning about and implementing new research methods, leading and contributing to research outputs, and learning more about and delivering impactful research in collaboration with different partners and the research team.  

The successful applicant will be supported and mentored by a team comprising academic leads and strategic management leads. They will work under the direct supervision of Professor Brett Smith (he, him, his), the Principal Investigator of Moving Social Work. They will also be supported by members of the Moving Social Work team, including Drs Toni Williams (she, her, hers), Iain Lindsey (he, him, his) and Patrick Jachyra (he, him, his), and the project manager working within Disability Rights UK. They will receive appropriate mentorship, conference funding, personal office space, and professional training to support their career development.

Responsibilities:

·         To conduct a high quality co-produced and theory-informed intervention study using mixed methods in the contexts of social work, disability, and physical activity.

·         To understand and convey material of a specialist or highly technical nature to the team or group of people through presentations and discussions.

·         To translate knowledge to different 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 Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators.

·         To assist with the development of research objectives and proposals.

·         To pursue, where appropriate, opportunities to develop collaborative research projects that have relevance to Moving Social Work under the direction of the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators.

·         To respond proactively and appropriately to challenges that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines.

·         To liaise with existing and new research partners and the co-production team, and build new relationships for collaboration.

·         To deliver training and education in research techniques/approaches to peers, visitors and students as appropriate.

·         To contribute to student learning and supervision and assist with the assessment of their knowledge and learning.

·         To contribute to fostering a collegial and respectful working environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect.

·         To engage in continued professional development and wider citizenship to support the department (e.g. through active membership of departmental committees).

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 1th March 2024

Working at Durham

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits:

•       30 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 42 days per year. 

•       The University closes between Christmas and New Year.

•       We offer a generous pension scheme. As a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into the University Superannuation Scheme (USS).

•       No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered.  We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.

•       There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally.  There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University.  All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.

•       Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.

•       On site nursery is available and children’s clubs in the summer holidays.

•       Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).

•       The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community

•       Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions.

•       A salary sacrifice scheme is also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.

•       If you are moving to Durham, we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools.  If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.

Durham University is committed to equality diversity, inclusion and values

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.  Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do.  We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct.  At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including disabled people, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.  If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application.  If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.

Contact Information

Department contact for academic-related enquiries:

Professor Brett Smith (he, him, his), Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences.  [email protected]  

Dr Toni Williams (she, her, hers), Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences. [email protected]

Contact information for technical difficulties when submitting your application

If you encounter technical difficulties when using the online application form, we prefer you send enquiries by email.  Please send your name along with a brief description of the problem you’re experiencing to [email protected]

Alternatively, you may call 0191 334 6801 from the UK, or +44 191 334 6801 from outside the UK. This number operates during the hours of 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday, UK time.  We will normally respond within one working day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays). 

University contact for general queries about the recruitment process

How to Apply 

To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification below. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria. 

While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview. 

Submitting your application

We prefer to receive applications online.   We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.

What to Submit

All applicants are asked to submit:

•       a CV and cover letter which details your experience, skills, and achievements in meeting (or the potential to meet) the criteria set out below.

Next Steps

Short-listed candidates will be invited to the University, either virtually or in-person and will have the opportunity to meet key members of the Department.  The assessment for the post will normally include a presentation to staff in the Department followed by an interview and we anticipate that interviews will take place around 28th September.

In the event that you are unable to attend in person on the date offered, it may not be possible to offer you an interview on an alternative date.

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.durham.ac.uk/about-us/governance/information-governance/privacy-notices/privacy-notices/job-applicants/ which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.  

When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria:

Qualifications

•       A good first degree (1st or 2.1) or masters in sport and exercise sciences, social work, psychology or sociology

•       A PhD (or be close to submission by start date) in sport and exercise sciences, social work, psychology, sociology, or a related subject.

Experience

•       Experience in conducting high quality academic research using qualitative and quantitative  methods.

•       Demonstrable ability to write material of a quality commensurate with publication in appropriate international journals.

•       Demonstrable ability to present research papers at national conferences and communicate complex information to a variety of audiences.

Skills

•       Demonstrable ability to conduct mixed methods research.

•       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 Criteria:

Experience

•       Experience in knowledge translation

•       Experience of conducting intervention research 

•       Experience in co-production.

•       Experience of working with disabled people and/or social workers.

•       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 and/or members of the public.

•       Experience of overseeing students with respect to the development of their practical/research skills e.g. acting as a demonstrator or teaching assistant; supervising student projects/practicals.

•       Demonstrable ability to plan and manage independent research.