Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (Fixed Term)

University of Cambridge; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

The Cambridge Interfaith Programme (CIP) invites applications from outstanding early-career researchers keen to develop an independent research project contributing to CIP's research programme Peace, Conflict and Religion. Based in the Faculty of Divinity, CIP is a research centre for interreligious and interdisciplinary inquiry and dialogue between communities of faith and secular society.

The successful fellow will be mentored by the Academic Director and contribute to CIP's seminars,

Job description

The Cambridge Interfaith Programme (CIP) invites applications from outstanding early-career researchers keen to develop and independent research project contributing to CIP's research programme Peace, Conflict and Religion.

Based in the Faculty of Divinity, the Cambridge Interfaith Programme is a research centre for interreligious and interdisciplinary inquiry and for dialogue between communities of faith and secular society.

From 2026-2031, CIP's research programme examines how people and communities create, experience, contest and sustain peach in contexts of conflict and political violence. We are particularly interested in the cultural, religious, ethical and lived dimensions of peace and conflict: how people interpret violence, develop moral and political responses to it, mobilise religious and cultural resources, and imagine or enact alternative forms of social and political life.

We invite excellent researchers to apply for the internal selection process at CIP. The successful candidate will be supported in putting forward an application for an Early Career Fellowship to the Leverhulme Trust.

The Faculty of Divinity will provide the required match-funding, which will be contingent on the candidate's successful selection by the Leverhulme Trust.

The successful fellow will work closely with the Academic Director of CIP, Professor Esra Özyürek, who will serve as their mentor throughout the fellowship. The fellow will also be expected to contribute to CIP's research culture through participation in seminars, workshops and other intellectual activities.

We are particularly interested in projects that:

• use ethnographic, anthropological, or closely related interpretative approaches to examine contemporary societies;
• investigate how religious and cultural resources shape experiences and understandings of conflict, violence, peace, justice or resistance;
• examine how individuals and communities negotiate, contest or rework boundaries between religion, politics and society;
• explore practices of peacebuilding, nonviolent resistance, reconciliation, repair, solidarity or social transformation;
• investigate how memories, narratives and representations of violence shape contemporary understandings of conflict and possibilities for peace.

Projects may address different geographical, cultural and religious settings, but should concern the recent or contemporary period (i.e. from the 1950s onwards). We particularly welcome projects that focus on the Middle East and its related geographies.

Applicants should submit:

• Curriculum Vitae (CV), maximum two sides of A4
• List of publications, maximum one side of A4, under the headings in preparation, Submitted and Published
• Statement of current and previous research, maximum 250 words
• Research Proposal, (maximum two sides of A4), outlining: the research question and aims; methodology and proposed research activities; the project's contribution to existing scholarship; anticipated outputs and a realistic plan for the three-year fellowship; potential contribution to and benefit from the intellectual environment of CIP
• The names and contact details of two referees who are familiar with your work.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 3 years in the first instance.

The closing date for applications is midnight (GMT) on Tuesday 15 December 2026.

Informal enquiries about the role are welcomed and should be directed to Professor Özyürek at [e-mail]. For questions on the application process, please contact the School's HR Team at [e-mail]

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.