Postdoctoral Research Associate (Finland focused)

Job reference: REQ260192

Date posted: 14/04/2026

Application closing date: 17/05/2026

Location: Loughborough

Package: Specialist and Supporting Academic Research grade 6 from £35,608 to £46,049 per annum. Subject to annual pay review.

Job description

School of Social Sciences and Humanities

Geography and Environment

Post-doctoral Research Associate

Full-time and fixed term for 42 months starting 1st September 2026, Hybrid

The Department of Geography and Environment at Loughborough University is seeking to appoint a Post-Doctoral Research Associate (PDRA) to work on a project entitled ‘Geographies of example: Finding the example within the exception and beyond (GeoEx)’. The project is funded through a Leverhulme Trust Research Leadership Award to Loughborough University. The research is led by Dr Azmeary Ferdoush and encompasses the fields of Geography, Sociology, Politics, and Anthropology.

The post will be based at Loughborough University but will entail ethnographic research in Finland and short trips to other field sites in the UK and Bangladesh.

The successful applicant will:

• be an experienced researcher with a PhD in Geography, Sociology, Politics, Anthropology or other cognate disciplines
• have excellent English-language (along with other languages mentioned in the desirable criteria)
• have excellent interpersonal skills
• have experience of conducting and analysing semi-structured interviews with protection seekers and/or other marginalised communities.

The successful candidate will play a full role in the design, execution, and dissemination of the project.

About the Department

The Department of Geography and Environment at Loughborough University is consistently ranked among the top ten in the UK. More about the Department can be found here.

Informal enquiries should be made by email Dr Azmeary Ferdoush, Department of Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, m.ferdoush@lboro.ac.uk.

For more information refer to the Job Description and Person Specification.

Application Process

As part of your application you will need:

i) a full CV including list of publications,

ii) a supporting statement that clearly demonstrate, using examples, how you meet each of the "essential" and as many of the "desirable" criteria as possible (maximum 12,000 characters including space), and

iii) a Research Vision stating your plans for conducting the research both independently and as part of the wider project (maximum 6,000 characters including space).

Please note that your CV and Research Vision will need to be uploaded as one document while the online portal will give a sperate space for writing the supporting statement.

Closing Date: 17 May 2026

Interview Date: between mid to late June 2026