About The Role
Postdoctoral Research Associate / Fellow
This NERC funded full-time post is available from 1 April 2027 till 30 September 2028.
The starting salary will be from £35,302 on Grade E for the Postdoctoral Research Associate level and from £44,352 on Grade F for the Postdoctoral Research Fellow level, depending on knowledge, skills and experience.
The Role
Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy
The Faculty wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Associate or Fellow to participate in the NERC funded project: Next-generation modelling of future hazards in dynamic foreland rivers. This project will develop and apply new approaches to predicting and understanding hydro-geomorphic hazards that occur during floods, and their societal impacts on floodplain populations downstream of the Himalayan mountain front in India. The successful applicant will work as part of a team of UK and international scientists to understand contemporary and future population exposure to hazards. The post will involve supporting socioeconomic surveys focusing on household and community vulnerability and decision making (including fieldwork and stakeholder engagement in India), and analysis of large spatiotemporal datasets to quantify population exposure for a range of future environmental and management scenarios.
About You
Postdoctoral Research Associate: The successful applicant will be able to present information on research progress and outcomes, communicate complex information, orally, in writing and electronically and prepare proposals and applications to external bodies.
Applicants will possess a relevant PhD (or be nearing completion of a PhD) or possess an equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study and be able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge in the discipline and of research methods and techniques to work within established research programmes. Applicants will have strong mixed-methods expertise, particularly in focus-group facilitation, participatory survey design and quantitative research methods used in demographic social sciences. Experience in GIS, spatial vulnerability or exposure mapping, stakeholder engagement and research with hazard-affected communities would be especially valuable. Familiarity with any of the following would also be advantageous: intersectional approaches, population displacement and the South Asian context, probabilistic modelling approaches, such as Bayesian belief networks (BBNs), and/or simulation approaches, such as agent-based models (ABMs).
Postdoctoral Research Fellow: The successful applicant will be able to develop research objectives, projects and proposals; identify sources of research funding and contribute to the process of securing funds and make presentations at conferences and other events.
Applicants will possess a relevant PhD or possess an equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study. The successful applicant will be a nationally recognised authority in environmental hazard-affected communities and possess sufficient specialist knowledge in the discipline to develop research programmes and methodologies. The successful applicant will also be able to work collaboratively, supervise the work of others and act as team leader as required.
Applicants will have strong mixed-methods expertise, particularly in focus-group facilitation, participatory survey design and quantitative research methods used in demographic social sciences. The successful applicant will also have experience in some of the following areas: Quantitative analysis using logistic regression and generalised linear models, probabilistic modelling approaches, such as Bayesian belief networks (BBNs), and/or simulation approaches, such as agent-based models (ABMs), GIS and/or working with large environmental datasets (including model datasets) to map spatial vulnerability or hazard exposure, stakeholder engagement, and research with hazard-affected communities. Familiarity with intersectional approaches, population displacement and the South Asian context would also be advantageous.
Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role.
Further information:
Please contact Dr Ricardo Safra De Campos R.Safra-De-Campos@exeter.ac.uk or Professor Andrew Nicholas a.p.nicholas@exeter.ac.uk.
About Us
Transform Your Career and Help Shape a Greener, Healthier, and Fairer Future
Join the University of Exeter, a top 200 Russel Group university (QS & THE World University Rankings 2025), excelling in teaching (triple Gold rating, TEF 2023) and leading groundbreaking research in the beautiful southwest of England.
We are committed to understanding different cultures and perspectives, supporting diverse leadership, and striving for social justice. We encourage applications from all groups underrepresented in our community, including racially minoritised individuals and those with disabilities. Our inclusive, merit based recruitment processes seek to embrace a diverse set of experiences to ensure colleagues feel supported equitably. With over 30,000 students and 7,000 staff from 140 countries, we foster a culture where everyone can thrive.
You can read more about our current accreditations and commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here, including our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant.
What we can offer you:
- Freedom (and the support) to pursue your intellectual interests and to work creatively across disciplines;
- Support teams that understand the University wide teaching goals and partner with our academics accordingly;
- An Innovation, Impact and Business directorate that works closely with our academics providing specialist support for external engagement and development;
- Our Exeter Academic initiative supports high performing academics to achieve their potential and develop their career;
- A multitude of staff benefits including sector leading benefits around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 weeks full pay), paternity leave (up to 6 weeks full pay), and a Fertility Treatment Policy;
- A beautiful campus set in the heart of stunning Devon/Cornwall.
How we can help
If you are considering applying and need support to do so, please get in touch with us at hrhelpdesk@exeter.ac.uk. You can request reasonable adjustments within your application or by contacting us. You can also choose to be considered under our Disability Confident Scheme and find out here how this is managed during our recruitment and onboarding process.
