Postdoctoral Research Associate in Refugee Family Reunion

About us

King’s Legal Clinic aims to improve access to justice and educate King’s students by providing free legal advice to members of the public through its Legal Advice Clinic and working with local and international organisations on research and justice projects.

We are now seeking to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Associate to carry out research for the Refugee Family Reunion (RFR) project, an interdisciplinary project being led by the Dickson Poon School of Law’s award-winning Legal  Clinic, King’s Legal Clinic in partnership  with King’s Sanctuary Programme, DNA analysis @ King’s and Refugee Legal Support

About the role

King’s Legal Clinic is seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Associate to carry out research as part of the Refugee Family Reunion (RFR) project. The RFR project aims to improve the experience of refugee families seeking sanctuary to the UK through legal representation, research, policy, and education. Funded by One King’s Impact Fund, King’s Legal Clinic is leading a network of interdisciplinary partners from across and beyond King’s, including the King’s Sanctuary Programme, DNA analysis@King’s and Refugee Legal Support.

The project aims to make the UK immigration system fairer and more compassionate through:

• Establishing a pilot Clinic providing legal and DNA testing assistance to refugees in the UK
• Conducting research to assess UK immigration law and policy
• Conducting research to improve the use of DNA evidence.

The successful candidate will work with the Directors of King’s Legal Clinic and the Sanctuary Programme and partners, including Refugee Legal Support, DNA Analysis @King’s and wider stakeholders in the project.

The research associate’s main responsibilities will include, the development of research evaluating:

• The definition and construction of family in the UK RFR legal framework through an interdisciplinary lens
• The efficacy and fairness of Home Office policy and practice in respect of evidential requirements in RFR cases; and
• Scoping of research on safe pathways to sanctuary in the UK.

The successful candidate will also be supported and expected to contribute to project-related engagement activities, including event organisation, conference and workshop participation, presentation of findings, and writing publications.

We are looking for a candidate with knowledge and previous experience of:

• Research and report writing on issues relating to Refugee law and/or UK immigration law; and
• Quantitative and qualitative research methods.
• Some knowledge in one or more of the following fields; comparative jurisdictions, anthropology, political sociology and human geography.

This is a part time post for 21 hours per week (3 days) on a fixed term contract from 6 January 2025 until 6 July 2025, with the possibility of a further short extension of the contract.

The Postdoctoral Research Associate will be based at the Strand Campus, King’s College London, able to work in a hybrid model. The post will involve travel to meetings at the Strand campus.

The Dickson Poon School of Law embraces equality, diversity and inclusion. We attract students and staff from across the world, from many different backgrounds, with a variety of ethnicities, religions, and sexual and gender identities. We promote flexible working as a key enabler of inclusion. We particularly encourage and welcome applications from a forced migration background, women, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates, and from candidates who are LGBTQ+ and/or have a disability.

About you

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

Essential criteria

• Research expertise on Refugee law and/or UK immigration law.
• Demonstrable knowledge in one or more of the following fields; comparative jurisdictions, anthropology, political sociology and human geography.
• Undergraduate degree and PhD* or equivalent experience in related area.
• Previous experience of conducting high quality desk-based and empirical research, including quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.
• Demonstrable writing skills, including report writing.
• Demonstrated ability to plan, troubleshoot own work and work to deadlines.
• Good interpersonal, communication and teamwork skills, including ability to communicate well with colleagues and all stakeholders.
• Understanding of the benefits and challenges of working in an interdisciplinary field.
• Commitment to diversity and inclusion in alignment with King’s Guiding Principles
• Competent in the use of IT and technology.

Desirable criteria

• Lived experience of forced migration
• Demonstrable experience of working with a range of stakeholders on interdisciplinary research

*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.

Full details of the role and the skills and experience required, can be found in the attached job description which is provided on the next page.

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.

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 will be held on Monday 16th December 2024 in person at the Strand Campus.

We are able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.