Postdoctoral Fellowship in Adult Social Care Research

Overview

The University of Leeds offers a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Adult Social Care Research based at the Main Campus in Leeds. This fixed-term position provides protected research time along with mentorship and career development support. The successful fellow will be hosted within Nurturing Innovation in Care Home Excellence in Leeds and connected to the wider research community across the University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research School for Social Care Research. Successful fellows also become National Institute for Health and Care Research Academy Members.

What you get

The position provides a salary ranging from £41,064 to £48,822 per annum on Grade 7, alongside a fixed-term contract lasting 20 months. Up to £30,000 is available to support research activity, training, and career development. Additional benefits include 26 days of holiday plus approximately 16 bank holidays or university closure days, a generous pension scheme with life assurance, discounted staff membership options at The Edge, and access to professional and self-development courses. Staff members are entitled to 10 days of staff development per year, and the university provides on-site childcare, shopping discounts, and travel schemes.

Requirements

Applicants must hold a PhD in a discipline relevant to adult social care research and possess a developing track record demonstrating the potential to become an independent social care researcher. Candidates should exhibit intellectual ambition and originality, a strong commitment to adult social care research, excellent research and methodological capability, and the potential to develop a distinctive programme of research. Furthermore, applicants need the ability to collaborate across disciplinary and organizational boundaries and a commitment to research that matters for people, services, policy, and practice.

How to apply

Applications require an outline of the research the candidate wants to develop, descriptions of methodological, substantive, and career development plans, and an explanation of how Leeds will support the progression.

Key dates

The closing date for applications is 2026-11-30. Interviews for the fellowship are scheduled to take place on Thursday 17th December 2026.