"Postdoctoral Research Fellow"

Oxford Saïd Business School is seeking to appoint two Postdoctoral Research Fellows to join the Oxford/EY Corporate Transformation research programme, a multi-phase research partnership between Saïd Business School and global advisory firm Ernst & Young (EY). The research programme explores the organizational conditions and leadership practices that enhance the odds of success for large-scale corporate transformations. The project pursues a multi-level understanding of the human experience – rational, emotional and relational - of all transformation participants, including transformation leaders, middle managers and members of the operational workforce. The successful candidates will join phases 3 and 4 of this multi-phase partnership and initially explore how organizations can realize the full value of their transformation efforts (see details below). The project closely aligns with Oxford Saïd’s mission to deliver “Impact from Within” and combines rigorous academic research with immediate practical relevance. The research fellows will work in a closely integrated team of Oxford Saïd faculty and senior EY stakeholders and work directly with the principal investigator, Professor Michael Smets. They will primarily lead on the qualitative case study component of this research phase, including participant recruitment, interviews, data analysis, practitioner report writing and academic publication. They will also be granted access to the qualitative as well as quantitative data from research phases 1 and 2 (details below) as well as survey data from phase 3 to develop a publication pipeline from this existing dataset. Additionally, they are encouraged to design and conduct additional strands of enquiry that align with their own research interests and methodological strengths. Finally, the role reserves 30% of the post holder’s time for their own independent research, such as publishing from their doctoral thesis. This will be supported through the supervision of the principal investigator as well as mentorship by other Oxford Saïd faculty and the wider research infrastructure of the school.

Please refer to the attached Job Description below to review the full details of this vacancy including duties of the post, essential and desirable and selection criteria, and application instructions. Applications close at 12:00 midday GTM on Monday 5th December 2026.