King's College London

About us

The Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London is one of the oldest law schools in England and recognised globally as one of the best law schools in the world. The School was established in 1831 and has played an integral role in the life of King's since the university was formed almost 200 years ago.

King’s has been in service to society since its foundation and we’re proud to continue that tradition to this day. Our research and teaching address some of the most pressing questions of our time relating to equality and human rights, the legal implications of climate change, globalisation, international relations, trade, competition and global finance, to name but a few. Members of The Dickson Poon School of Law advise governments, serve on commissions and public bodies and are seconded to national and international organisations, helping to shape policy and practice nationally and internationally.

About the role

We are seeking two dynamic researchers interested in working as part of an interdisciplinary research team on a project funded by the Wellcome Trust (Discovery Award) Between Deception and Dissent: regulating unproven, disproven and misleading health-related claims.

This 6-year Discovery Award will critically explore how contemporary seek to control and regulate unproven, disproven, or misleading health-related claims. Bringing together perspectives from socio-legal studies, science and technology studies (STS), and philosophy our project will critically explore regulatory approaches and their unfolding impacts in three regions: Europe (France/Greece/Ireland/UK), West Africa (Ghana/Senegal), and North America (Canada/Mexico).

The postdoctoral associates will be responsible for delivering the research, alongside and under the supervision of the PI, across the UK and either France or Ireland). The post holders will also work closely with Prof. Cloatre and the rest of the team towards the broader objectives of the project, and will be embedded in its broader cross-national team and activities.

This is a full time post (35 Hours per week), although applications for part-time positions of a minimum of 28 hours per week will be considered. You will be offered a fixed term contract for 3 years.

About you

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

Essential criteria

1.      PhD in Law/Socio-legal Studies, Science and Technology Studies (completed, or to be completed before post start date), or a cognate field.

2.      Experience of qualitative archival or interview-based research methods in a relevant field

3.      Proven track record of research and writing to the standard required for publishing in leading international journals.

4.      Experience of working as part of a research team, and ability to research both independently and with direction.

5.      Experience of, and enthusiasm for, communication of research findings to stakeholders and wider publics through non-academic mediums.

6.      Experience in organising and sharing research data so as to make it available to other members of the research team

7.      Excellent oral presentation skills, with the ability to communicate complex specialist material to a variety of audiences.

8.      Willingness to travel internationally for data collection and/or other project activities

Desirable criteria

1.      Postdoctoral research experience.

2.      Previous experience of working in an international and/or interinstitutional research environment.

3.      Ability to speak languages relevant to the project, in addition to fluency in English.

4.      Website development and administration skills.

5.      Experience of research in either France or Ireland.

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 next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

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 in Early September.