Postdoctoral Research Associate

Institute for Medical Humanities, Durham University; North East; On-site; GBP 39,000; Full time

Job summary

The Institute for Medical Humanities at Durham University is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join their Applied Mathematics research group. This role involves conducting research on solar magnetic field modelling, with a focus on optimization against observational data. The position offers a competitive salary and a supportive environment for professional development.

Benefits

30 days annual leave plus public holidays

Generous pension scheme

Access to health and wellbeing support

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Strong track record in solar magnetic field modelling.
• Experience in conducting high-quality academic research.
• Demonstrable ability to publish in peer-reviewed journals.

Responsibilities

• Conduct individual and collaborative research projects.
• Present work at seminars and conferences.
• Publish high-quality research outputs.

Skills

Research

Communication

Teamwork

Education

PhD in Applied Mathematics, Solar Physics, or related subject

Good first degree in Mathematics or Physics

Tools

Python

Fortran

Matlab

C++

Job description

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Postdoctoral Research Associate (

Job Number:

25000549)

Department of Mathematical Sciences

Grade 7: - £38,249 per annum

Fixed Term - Full Time

Contract Duration: up to 3 years

Contracted Hours per Week: 35

Working Arrangements: TBC

Closing Date

: 22-May-2025, 10:59:00 PM

Disclosure and Barring Service Requirement: Not Applicable.

Working at Durham University

A globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a warm and friendly place to work, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other.

As one of the UK’s leading universities, Durham is an incredible place to define your career.The University is located within a beautiful historic city, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and surrounded by stunning countryside. Our talented scholars and researchers from around the world are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.

We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things in the world. Being a part of Durham is about more than just the success of the University, it’s also about contributing to the success of the city, county and community.

Our University Strategy is built on three pillars of research, education and wider student experience, but also on our keen sense of community and of inspiring others to achieve their potential.

Our Purpose and Values

We want our University to be a place where people can be free to be themselves, no matter what their identity or background. Together, we celebrate difference, value one another and are each responsible for creating an inclusive community that is respectful and fair for all.

Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Join Us? - Information Page

The Role and Department

One of the UK's leading Mathematics departments with an outstanding reputation in teaching, research, and employability of our students. It has an active programme of internationally recognized research in Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics and Probability. The research culture is vibrant, with many visitors, seminars, international conferences, and workshops. We aim to provide a supportive and friendly environment with a strong sense of community.

The Department currently has 116 permanent members of staff, following a process of significant growth. The Department holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award. Athena SWAN is a national initiative that recognises the advancement of gender equality, representation, progression, and success for all in academia. The Department also supports the London Mathematical Society Good Practice Scheme, whose aim is to support mathematics departments to embed equal opportunities for women within their working practices.

Durham University is committed to the Concordat to support the career development of researchers. For further information please visit the Research Staff web pages on https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/current/research-culture/

The Role

Applications are invited for a three-year postdoctoral position within the Applied Mathematics research group, to start in July 2025. The position is funded by a UKRI/STFC grant to investigate the “Solar wind outflow and open flux”. Candidates with a strong track record in solar magnetic field modelling, and/or familiarity with solar observational data, are particularly encouraged to apply. The position will be under the direction of Professor Anthony Yeates and will primarily involve optimisation of a numerical magnetic field model for the global solar magnetic field against observational data.

Key Responsibilities:

• To conduct individual and collaborative research projects under the direction of the Principal Investigator.
• To understand and convey material of a specialist or highly technical nature through presentations and discussions within the research group.
• To present work at seminars, both internally and externally, and at national and/or international conferences.
• To publish high quality outputs, including papers for submission to peer reviewed journals and open-access archives.
• To prepare and deliver presentations on research outputs/activities to audiences which may include: research sponsors, academic and non-academic audiences.
• To assist with the development of research objectives and proposals.
• To work with the Principal Investigator and other colleagues in the research group, as appropriate, to identify areas for research, develop new research methods and extend the research portfolio.
• To deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines by discussing with the Principal Investigator and offering creative or innovative solutions.
• To liaise with research colleagues and make internal and external contacts to develop knowledge and understanding to form relationships for future research collaboration.
• To plan and manage own research activity, research resources in collaboration with others and contribute to the planning of research projects.
• To deliver training in research techniques/approaches to peers, visitors and students as appropriate.
• To contribute to fostering a collegial and respectful working environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect.
• To engage in wider citizenship to support the department and wider discipline.
• To engage in continuing professional development by attending relevant training and development courses.
  
  

This post is fixed term for three-years as it is funded by a UKRI/STFC research grant.

The post-holder is employed to work on a research project which will be led by another colleague. Whilst this means that the post-holder will not be carrying out independent research in his/her own right, the expectation is that they will contribute to the advancement of the project, through the development of their own research ideas/adaptation and development of research protocols.

Successful applicants will, ideally, start on 1 July 2025. (STFC have indicated that the finish date of 30 June 2028 cannot be extended.)

Working at Durham

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits:

• 30 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 42 days per year.
• The University closes between Christmas and New Year – please include or delete if not applicable.
• We offer a generous pension scheme, As a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into the University Superannuation Scheme (USS).
• No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.
• There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.
• Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
• On site nursery is available plus access to holiday camps for children aged 5-16.
• Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
• The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community
• Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions.
• A salary sacrifice scheme is also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.
• If you are moving to Durham, you may be eligible for help with removal costs and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools. If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.
  
  

Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here.

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion

Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key component of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our Purpose and Values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all colleagues undertake activities that are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from those who are currently under-represented in our work force, including people with disabilities and from racially minoritised ethnic groups.

If you have taken a career break or periods of leave that may have impacted on the volume and recency of your research outputs and other activities, such as maternity, adoption or parental leave, you may wish to disclose this in your application. The selection committee will take this into account when evaluating your application.

The University has been awarded the Disability Confident Leader status. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential Criteria:

• A good first degree in Mathematics, Physics or a related subject.
• A PhD (or be close to submission) in Applied Mathematics, Solar Physics, or a related subject.
  
  

Experience

• Experience in conducting high quality academic research.
• Demonstrable ability to write material of a quality commensurate with publication in highly-ranked journals.
• Demonstrable ability to present research papers at national or international conferences and communicate complex information to specialists and within the wider academic community.
• Experience in one or more research areas relevant to the project: solar magnetic field modelling, computational fluid dynamics, or solar observational data analysis.
• Working knowledge of at least one scientific computing environment (e.g. Python, Fortran, Matlab, C++).
  
  

Skills

• Demonstrable ability to work cooperatively as part of a team, including participating in research meetings.
• Ability to work independently on own initiative and to strict deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
  
  

Desirable Criteria

Experience

• Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals, commensurate with stage of career.
• A track record of presenting research at conferences, symposia, or meetings, commensurate with stage of career.
• Demonstrable ability to develop research proposals and designs in collaboration with other academics.
• Experience in numerical modelling of the global magnetic field in the Sun’s corona.
  
  

Skills

• Demonstrable ability to plan and manage independent research.
  
  

Contact Information

Department contact for academic-related enquiries

For informal enquiries, please contact Professor Anthony Yeates, via email [e-mail] or via telephone on 0191 334 3075. All enquiries will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Contact information for technical difficulties when submitting your application

If you encounter technical difficulties when using the online application form, we prefer you send enquiries by email. Please send your name along with abrief description of the problem you’re experiencing [e-mail]

Alternatively, you may call 0191 334 6801 from the UK, or [phone] from outside the UK. This number operates during the hours of 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday, UK time. We will normally respond within one working day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays).

How To Apply

University contact for general queries about the recruitment process

To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification below. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria.

While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.

Submitting your application

We prefer to receive applications online. We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.

What To Submit

All applicants are asked to submit:

• a CV (either traditional or “narrative” format is acceptable).
• a cover letter which details your experience, skills, and achievements in meeting (or the potential to meet) the criteria set out below.
  
  

Next Steps

Short-listed candidates will be invited to an interview to be held by video-conferencing (Microsoft Teams), potentially on 29th or 30th May. This interview will include a short research presentation.

In the event that you are unable to attend on the date offered, it may not be possible to offer you an interview on an alternative date.

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Job Applicants/Potential Job Applicants - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.

When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.

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