Research Associate: Comfortable and Energy Efficient Classrooms - Sustainability through Living Labs

The Welsh School of Architecture (WSA) is looking to appoint a Research Associate to work on an exciting project that will build our understanding of children’s agency for sustainability in primary schools. The successful candidate will work within an interdisciplinary team engaging with primary schools to implement child-led Living labs in schools to investigate environmental comfort and sustainability in schools. They will apply age-appropriate social science methods and co-production participatory research to propose child-led activities where children explore the performance of their own schools through Living labs and citizen science activities, and evaluate their contribution to sustainable learning and the school curriculum. The researcher will be a valuable member of the academic team, contributing to research design, analysis, interpretation and dissemination, including academic publications.  
 
We welcome applications from candidates from appropriate disciplinary backgrounds, which could include, but are not limited to: Education (particularly sustainability education); Children’s Geographies; Citizen Science; and Social Sciences.  

For informal enquiries about the post please contact Dr Gabriela Zapata-Lancaster (Principal Investigator, Welsh School of Architecture) ZapataG@cardiff.ac.uk / Dr Tom Smith (Co-Investigator, School of Geography and Planning) smitht19@cardiff.ac.uk.
 
This post is full-time (35 hours) and is fixed-term for 24 months from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2027.
 
Salary: £40,247 - £45,163 per annum (Grade 6)
It is not expected to appoint above the first point of the scale; £40,247 per annum.

Closing date: Sunday, 26 January 2025

Please be aware that Cardiff University reserves the right to close this vacancy early should sufficient applications be received.

Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds. We therefore welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements. 

Cardiff University is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions we will evaluate applicants on the quality of their research, not publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which the research is published. More information is available at: Responsible research assessment - Research - Cardiff University

Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.

Advert information