Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Geography

KINGS COLLEGE LONDON; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious UK university seeks a full-time Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Geography to work on a project understanding the experiences of neurodivergent children in temporary accommodation. Candidates should hold a PhD and have strong qualitative methods skills. This role supports a hybrid working model and contact with diverse communities, including children and families. A commitment to inclusivity is essential.

Benefits

Professional development opportunities

Inclusive work environment

Qualifications

• PhD to be awarded by the closing date of this position.
• Experience in qualitative data methods is essential.
• Strong ability to collaborate effectively in teams.

Responsibilities

• Support the design of a playhouse tent for children’s perspectives.
• Engage with families and facilitate public engagement.
• Conduct qualitative data analysis of engagement interactions.

Skills

Excellent academic knowledge of children and childhood

Qualitative data collection and analysis

Engaging with neurodivergent adults and/or children

Co-design and participatory research

Promoting research through social media

Education

PhD in human geography or related field

Job description

Organisation/Company KINGS COLLEGE LONDON Research Field Arts Geography Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Established Researcher (R3) Country United Kingdom Application Deadline 23 Sep 2025 - 00:00 (UTC) Type of Contract Other Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Department: Department of Geography

About us

The Department of Geography at King’s College London invites applications for a one-year (12 months), full-time (1.0 FTE) position asPostdoctoral Research Associate(PDRA). The post will be based in the research team of Professor Katherine Brickell in the Department of Geography at KCL’s Strand Campus in central London.

About the role

The Department of Geography at King’s College London invites applications for a one-year (12 months), full-time (1.0 FTE) position asPostdoctoral Research Associate(PDRA). The post will be based in the research team of Professor Katherine Brickell at KCL’s Strand Campus in central London. Hybrid working can be accommodated.

The PDRA will report to Professor Katherine Brickell (Department of Geography) and work closely with Dr Rosalie Warnock on their Leverhulme-funded research project“Sensory Lives: Neurodivergent Children and Families in Temporary Accommodation”. The PDRA will also liaise with research collaborators, including the Shared Health Foundation in Greater Manchester.

The research aims to better understand how homeless families with neurodivergent children experience Temporary Accommodation in the United Kingdom. Its goal is also to create spaces for their insights to be represented and registered in national discussions on the child homelessness crisis. See https://www.sensorylivesproject.org/ about for more information.

Under the direction of Professor Katherine Brickell and Dr Rosalie Warnock, the PDRA will take on responsibilities for year-two of the 24-month Sensory Lives study. In year one (January-December 2025), the team developed playful, creative and inclusive methods for working with neurodivergent children and their families, and conducted the bulk of data collection. The primary role of the PDRA is to support the design and UK-wide tour of a playhouse tent which will communicate children’s experiences to diverse audiences. The playhouse tent looks to re-centre children’s perspectives in discussions of homelessness and communicate neurological difference more inclusively in research and policy. The PDRA will work with children and families to co-design the playhouse tent; travel with the tent and facilitate public engagement with it; and conduct qualitative data analysis (of engagement with the tent). Other responsibilities may include: organising national stakeholder interviews; engaging in policy-applied and/or academic writing; active participation and leadership in team-based workshops; travel and managing travel logistics; delivering academic presentations at conferences; and project talks to the public and policy stakeholders.

This is a full-time position (FTE 1.0 or 37.5 hours/week) starting at salary Grade 6. The start date of 1 January 2026 is fixed, and the successful candidate will be offered a fixed term contract for 12 months.

Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade 7. Visit the Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

• PhD in either human geography or a cognate discipline in the social sciences, or in the arts (e.g. applied arts or applied theatre) – to have been awarded by closing date of post advertised
• Demonstrates excellent academic and practical knowledge of issues pertaining to/research including children and childhood and/or housing
• Familiarity with at least one of the following areas: neurodiversity; homelessness; health and well-being; inclusive research and policy impact; gender and feminism; or audience studies
• Demonstrates knowledge of societal issues impacting families in the United Kingdom
• Experience in qualitative data collection and analysis
• Proven ability to work effectively independently and collaboratively in team settings
• Proven ability to build and manage relationships with research participants and/or community stakeholders in diverse community and local settings
• Ability to travel in the UK with the playhouse tent and to engage tour audiences (NB. The PDRA will not be expected to travel for all showings)
• Expertise of engaging with neurodivergent adults and/or children
• Experience of co-design and participatory research
• Experience of working at the arts-policy interface
• Experience in speaking, writing, and communicating findings and outputs accessible to non-experts and/or the general public (e.g., policy briefs, public engagement, media, exhibitions)
• Experience in promoting research through social media and other media channels

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Further information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit ’ pages.

Interviews are due to be held on Thursday 2 October 2025

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service clearances.