Research Fellow (0.6FTE)

Queen's University Belfast - School of Natural and Built Environment

This is an exciting opportunity to join the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen’s University Belfast and contribute to JustREACH, a Horizon Europe project focused on developing practical and socially grounded approaches to just climate adaptation. The post sits within the Architecture discipline, and supports the JustREACH Belfast pilot, which is exploring how the community-growing sector can contribute to climate adaptation through participatory research, governance learning and place-based action.

The successful candidate will become part of a vibrant interdisciplinary environment, while working closely with colleagues in Architecture and with local, regional and international project partners. The Belfast pilot will work with community groups, policy stakeholders and consortium partners to better understand the barriers, opportunities and implementation pathways for more just and locally grounded climate responses. The postholder will play a central role in the day-to-day delivery of the Belfast pilot. This includes stakeholder engagement, qualitative research, co-design workshop planning and facilitation, research documentation and synthesis, and the preparation of high-quality outputs for academic, policy and public audiences.

The role also involves close collaboration with the Principal Investigator and project partners on coordination, reporting and logistics. A key aspect of the post will be translating complex findings into clear and accessible written, visual and spatial materials, including maps, diagrams, presentations and other publication-ready outputs. The postholder will also work with the project’s social learning video team to support accurate and engaging communication of methods and findings.

About the person:

You will be a highly organised and motivated researcher with a strong background in place-based climate adaptation and experience of working across academic, policy and community settings.

You must meet the following requirements:

• You will bring substantial experience in designing and conducting qualitative and codesign research.
• Proven experience organising and facilitating co-design workshops with diverse stakeholders, including community organisations and public servants.
• Track record of producing publishable research outputs (papers, briefings, reports) appropriate to career stage.
• Ability to translate findings into clear visuals/maps/diagrams that meet academic and policy standards.
• Evidence of project co-ordination: scheduling fieldwork, managing participant recruitment, logistics, and record-keeping to deadlines.
• Demonstrated stakeholder engagement with policy actors and community organisations, ethical practice.
• Competence in graphic and mapping production (e.g., QGIS/ArcGIS; Adobe Illustrator/InDesign) to create accurate, well-structured visual materials.
• Excellent written and verbal communication for mixed audiences (academic, policy, community).

We are looking for someone who is proactive and reliable, with the ability to plan and prioritise work independently while contributing effectively to a collaborative project team. You will understand the importance of research ethics, safeguarding and data protection in applied fieldwork.

An interest in urban adaptation, blue-green infrastructure, participatory governance, community growing or nature-based solutions would be especially valuable, as would familiarity with the Belfast context.

To be successful at shortlisting stage, please ensure you clearly evidence in your application how you meet the essential and, where applicable, desirable criteria listed in the Candidate Information.

This is a part-time post (0.6FTE) for 36 months. Fixed term contract posts are available for the stated period in the first instance but in particular circumstances may be renewed or made permanent subject to availability of funding.