3x ERC Postdoctoral Research Associates

About the Role

Which labour regimes in manufacturing processes sustain solar panel production? How do informal energy markets work? What are the social and environmental challenges raised by end-of-life photovoltaic modules? How can this analysis reveal new ways to provide clean and affordable energy?

We are extending our research team with 3 ERC postdoctoral research associates (for 36 months) interested in joining the 5-year research project Illicit Labour, funded by a European Research Council Starting Grant. The project, coordinated by Dr Carlo Inverardi-Ferri (PI), involves an international consortium comprising Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and the National Research Council of Italy (CNR). It pioneers a study of the linkages between climate change mitigation and illicit economies and the resulting implications for ecological governance. The project investigates global photovoltaic industry production networks to reveal the dark sides of the green energy sector in different geographical sites (China, Ghana, and India) and to advance new perspectives on risk, vulnerability, and mitigation, considering the interplay between the green energy sector and the illicit economy. 

The post-holders will play a central role in the project. They will conduct research under the supervision of the Principal Investigator and in collaboration with an initial team of three PhD students. Key responsibilities include undertaking literature reviews, international fieldwork, and contributing to papers for publication in peer-reviewed journals. Beyond contributing to the research objectives of the project, the post-holders are expected to participate in the intellectual life of the School of Geography, particularly within the research theme Just Worlds, the Centre on Labour, Sustainability and Global Production (CLaSP), and the wider academic community at Queen Mary University of London.

For further details on the project and the positions, please contact Dr Carlo Inverardi-Ferri.

About You

The candidates should hold a PhD in Geography (or close to completion) or another field relevant to the project’s research objectives or research qualification/experience equivalent to PhD level in the relevant subject area for the research programme. Familiarity with research in one of the countries of the project (China, India, or Ghana) is desirable for these roles. For one of the three positions, knowledge of Chinese is particularly welcome. Previous experience in collaborative teamwork is also desirable.

Candidates close to completion of their PhD will initially be appointed in the junior research training zone of the salary scales.

Grade 4 (£37,472-£38,082 per annum).

About the School

The School of Geography is internationally recognised for its theoretically informed, empirically grounded, and politically engaged research and remains one of the top departments for Geography and Environmental Sciences in the UK.

The School was positioned joint seventh in the UK for the quality of our research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021).

About Queen Mary  We believe that a diversity of ideas helps us achieve the previously unthinkable.Throughout our history, we’ve fostered social justice and improved lives through academic excellence. And we continue to live and breathe this spirit today, not because it’s simply ‘the right thing to do’ but for what it helps us achieve and the intellectual brilliance it delivers.
We continue to embrace diversity of thought and opinion in everything we do, in the belief that when views collide, disciplines interact, and perspectives intersect, truly original thought takes form.

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