Postdoctoral Research Associate (Diaspora by Design)

This full time, AHRC-funded post is available from 3 February 2025 to 30 January 2026 to support the work of Dr Sabrina Rahman.

This role offers the opportunity for hybrid working – some time on campus and some from home.

The post
You will work with the PI, international heritage and museum environments, and local community participants in Austria, the United Kingdom and the United States to organise and run impact and public engagement activities associated with the project Diaspora by Design: Migration, Mills and Interiors. These activities are centred around research on how diaspora communities forged in regional textile mills have cultivated their identities through practices of interior design.

The main duties will include co-producing community meetings and workshops, creating digital resources, running social media platforms, managing data, and organising an end-of-project research symposium. The post also involves archival research in West Yorkshire collections and the building of trusting relationships with local community participants. You will have the opportunity to integrate the outcomes of these activities into your research and developing work for academic publication and/or curatorial practice. You will develop your skills in communicating research to a lay audience and benefit from a heightened online research presence.

About you

You will:

• Possess a PhD or equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study and/or curatorial practice.
• Be able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge in the discipline and of research methods to work within established research programmes.
• Be able to present information on research progress and outcomes, and communicate complex information, orally, in writing and electronically.

Research interests in diaspora and migration studies, art and design history, and the contemporary heritage sector are desirable, as are experience of disseminating research through social media platforms and the ability to conduct community-engaged research.

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

What we can offer you

• Freedom (and the support) to pursue your intellectual interests and to work creatively across disciplines to produce internationally exciting research.
• Support teams that understand the University wide research and teaching goals and partner with our academics accordingly.
• An Innovation, Impact and Business directorate that works closely with our academics providing specialist support for external engagement and development.
• Our Exeter Academic initiative supporting high performing academics to achieve their potential and develop their career.
• A multitude of staff benefits including sector leading benefits around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26wks full pay), Paternity leave (up to 6wks full pay), and a Fertility Treatment Policy.
• A beautiful campus set in the heart of Devon.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment
We are committed to ensuring reasonable adjustments are available for interviews and workplaces.

Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our working community.

With over 30,000 students and 7,000 staff from 150 different countries we offer a diverse and engaging environment where our diversity is celebrated and valued as a major strength. We are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all members of our community are supported to thrive; where diverse voices are heard through our engagement with evidence-based charter frameworks for gender (Athena SWAN and Project Juno for Physics), race equality (Race Equality Charter Mark), LGBTQ+ inclusion (Stonewall Diversity Champion) and as a Disability Confident employer.

Further information
Please contact Dr Sabrina Rahman, s.k.rahman@exeter.ac.uk.

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