Research Associate (Demetra)

Salary: 

Research Assistant: £31,396 to £32,982 per annum

Research Associate: £33,966 to £36,024 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits . We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 01 April 2024

The Role

Deliberation, Inclusiveness, and Citizen Empowerment for Sustainable Food Systems seeks to demonstrate means to alleviate tensions between democratic governance and climate and sustainability transitions through an analysis of new deliberative and participatory processes such as citizens’ assemblies and e-governance.

The project is particularly concerned with deliberative and participatory processes that facilitate the transition towards a more sustainable climate future, using the transformation towards a more sustainable food system as a crucial case study. As part of this, a key objective is to identify deliberative and participatory processes that maximize inclusiveness and empowerment across social groups, particularly those at the margins of society.

As a Postdoctoral Research Associate on the project, you will take responsibility for developing a conception of deliberative participation that is both socially inclusive and empowering, and that can serve as the theoretical backdrop to the project as a whole. You will be centrally involved in showing how this conception can be used to define empirical measures that underpin the choice of both empirical test cases and empirical measures.

This is a full time position, fixed term, lasting 23 months.

To find out more about this position please reach out to Maarja Luhiste .

Key Accountabilities

• Devise and undertake appropriate theoretical research on deliberative democracy, citizen participation, and climate change
• Devise a scientifically valid and appropriate definition of deliberative and participatory processes
• Construct a theoretical model that demonstrates the relevance of this definition to the project’s objectives
• Plan and undertake research on the translation of theoretical concepts into empirical measures

• Author academic papers, singly and (where appropriate) jointly with other team members, based on the projects research findings

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

• A research background in deliberative democracy and citizen participation
• Experience of applying deliberative theory to empirical questions
• Working knowledge of quantitative and qualitative methods
• Proven organisational ability/evidence of bringing projects to completion

Desirable

• Research interests the implications of deliberative and participatory theory for climate transitions
• Experience of writing academic publications
• Experience of organising project meetings and workshops
• Experience of producing web-based materials

Attributes and Behaviour

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Clear commitment to interdisciplinary research
• Ability to undertake theoretical work that can be successfully applied to empirical questions
• Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Qualifications

• For appointment at Research Associate grade – A PhD in Politics, Political Theory, Political Sociology, Political Science, or a cognisant discipline
• For appointment at Research Assistant grade – be within 3 months of completion of your PhD (including viva) on 1st May 2024

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are aDisability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 26831