Assistant Professor (fixed term) (SOC251917)

Applications are invited for an Assistant Professor with the University of Nottingham’s new Rights Lab, a Beacon of Excellence. This large-scale world-leading initiative is delivering research to help end contemporary slavery. One of our flagship projects, the Antislavery Ecosystem is demonstrating the tight connection between ending slavery and reducing environmental destruction, and is the world’s largest study on the relationship between slavery and ecosystems. We will:

1.         Compile, synthesise and integrate spatial data on the landscape changes that result from slavery activities and calculate the environmental costs of these activities and the potential gains that stem from curtailing slavery, with a focus on carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services.

2.         Explore the values associated with environmental gains, their capacity to be captured in environmental markets, and their ability to help fund slavery prevention and abolition efforts.

3.         Explore links between ecological resilience and human vulnerability as a precondition to enslavement.

Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, the individual will deliver individual and collaborative research (50% of time) and teaching/administration (50% of time)on this Rights Lab project in collaboration with the project lead—Dr Doreen Boyd. The role holder will develop new concepts and ideas, coordinate relationships with internal and external research partners and stakeholders, support the development of research publications, develop and deliver knowledge exchange towards impact, and contribute to the writing of policy and research reports for various audiences. The person appointed will have the opportunity to use their initiative and creativity to identify areas for research, develop research methods and extend their research portfolio. The role-holder will also make a significant contribution to the School of Geography via administrative management and the co-ordination of specific initiatives, and will provide teaching in the School of Geography.

We welcome applications from recent PhD graduates as well as from applicants with existing postdoctoral experience. This full-time job is available immediately (or by September 18 at the latest) and is offered as a fixed-term post for the academic year 2017-18 (ending August 31, 2018) with the potential for continuation.

The School of Geography at Nottingham has one of the strongest groups of Geographers in the UK, with an international reputation for theoretically informed and empirically grounded research. The School is based within the Faculty of Social Sciences.

In recognition of its commitment to supporting women in science, engineering and technology, the School of Geography holds a Silver Athena SWAN award and the University of Nottingham is one of four universities holding a Silver award.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Rachel Evans, tel: 0115 74 84996 or email Rachel.Evans@nottingham.ac.uk. Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.

Closing Date: 09 Aug 2017
Category: Research and Teaching (R&T)