Innovation Fellow (Humanities and Social Sciences)

This new full time post is available from 1 April 2025 on a fixed term basis until 31 July 2028.

The post

The Faculty of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences wishes to recruit an Innovation Fellow (a Postdoctoral Research Fellow carrying out applied research) in Humanities and Social Sciences, Cornwall to participate in a new UKRI-funded ‘Critical Minerals Accelerating the Green Economy Centre’. This new Centre is co-created and co-funded with industry, government and NGO partners. It will carry out transdisciplinary research to accelerate the start of responsible and sustainable production of critical minerals (lithium, tin, tungsten) the South West of the United Kingdom. It will also carry out research with partners working on critical minerals worldwide. The post is available from 1 April 2025 until 31 July 2028 and is one of six innovation fellows in the Centre, which brings together geology, minerals processing and mining with circular economy, finance, ecology, social sciences, and policy.

About you

The successful applicant will be able to develop research objectives, projects and proposals; identify sources of research funding and contribute to the process of securing funds and make presentations at conferences and other events. They will be a post-doctoral researcher who is enthusiastic about applied research co-created and carried out in direct collaboration with industry, local government, NGO partners, and members of the community. They will be keen to work in a team with colleagues from a wide range of disciplines and sufficiently versatile to work on a range of projects in the Centre, ranging from strategic policy-making to practical community development Previous experience of research or professional work with colleagues outside of academia is expected.

Applicants will possess a relevant PhD or equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study. The successful applicant will be a nationally recognised authority in a social science or humanities discipline or disciplines, and possess sufficient specialist knowledge in the discipline to develop research programmes and methodologies. The successful applicant will also be able to work collaboratively, supervise the work of others and act as team leader as required.

Applicants will be able to evidence the following:

• a strong awareness of the critical minerals sector and its context in Cornwall and the wider South West
• a grasp of appropriate interdisciplinary empirical and theoretical frameworks through which to understand the critical minerals sector and its place in the local, national and global political economy and policy
• a proven capacity to design, conduct and analyse programmes of qualitative research including methods such as semi-structured interviews, focus groups and ethnography;
• an ability to collaborate effectively with communities, industry and civil society organisations, including through the use of action research methodologies;
• excellence in producing written material that is accessible and persuasive to a range of publics and audiences including policymakers, government at different levels and other academics.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role.

Further information

For further information please contact Dr Harry Pitts, Senior Lecturer in Politics and Director of Business Engagement & Innovation, Humanities and Social Sciences Cornwall, telephone 01326 253763 or email f.h.pitts@exeter.ac.uk.

We welcome applications from candidates interested in working part-time hours or job-sharing arrangements.

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