Postdoctoral Research Associate / Fellow

Overview

The University of Exeter Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy offers a full-time, fixed-term position as a Postdoctoral Research Associate or Fellow. Funded by NERC, the post runs from 1 April 2027 until 30 September 2028 and takes place on site in the United Kingdom.

The successful candidate joins a team of UK and international scientists on the project titled Next-generation modelling of future hazards in dynamic foreland rivers. The work involves developing and applying approaches to understand hydro-geomorphic hazards during floods and their societal impacts on floodplain populations downstream of the Himalayan mountain front in India. Responsibilities include supporting socioeconomic surveys focused on household and community vulnerability and decision making through fieldwork and stakeholder engagement in India, alongside analyzing large spatiotemporal datasets to quantify population exposure under future environmental and management scenarios.

Who can apply

Applicants for both levels must possess a relevant PhD, be nearing completion of a PhD, or hold equivalent qualifications or experience in a related field of study. Candidates require strong mixed-methods expertise, specifically in focus-group facilitation, participatory survey design, and quantitative research methods used in demographic social sciences.

Postdoctoral Research Associate candidates must demonstrate sufficient knowledge in the discipline and of research methods to work within established research programmes, along with the ability to present research progress, communicate complex information orally, in writing, and electronically, and prepare external proposals and applications.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow candidates must be nationally recognised authorities in environmental hazard-affected communities with specialist knowledge to develop research programmes and methodologies. They need the ability to develop research objectives and proposals, identify funding sources, contribute to securing funds, present at conferences, supervise others, and act as team leaders. Additionally, they should have experience in quantitative analysis using logistic regression and generalised linear models, probabilistic modelling such as Bayesian belief networks, simulation approaches like agent-based models, GIS, working with large environmental datasets to map spatial vulnerability or hazard exposure, stakeholder engagement, and research involving hazard-affected communities.

What you get

The starting salary begins from £35,302 per annum on Grade E for the Postdoctoral Research Associate level, and from £44,352 per annum on Grade F for the Postdoctoral Research Fellow level, determined by knowledge, skills, and experience.

Key dates

The position is available from 1 April 2027 till 30 September 2028. The closing date for applications is 2026-11-18.