Refugee Family Reunion Postdoctoral Research Associate (Forensic)

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 DNA @ King’s, King’s Sanctuary Programme,  and Refugee Legal Support.  The project aims to make the UK immigration system fairer and more compassionate through: 

1. Establishing a pilot Clinic providing legal and DNA testing assistance to refugees in the UK 
2. Conducting research to assess decision making at the Home Office
3. Conducting research to improve the use of DNA evidence. 

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

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

• interpretation of DNA evidence by decision makers
• identify differences in the tests and reports provided by laboratories/agencies accredited by the Ministry of Justice
• transparency of capabilities of accredited laboratories/agencies offering accepted legal DNA reports
• transparency of official DNA guidance and how it is interpreted by decision makers
• transparency of the process from identifying and instructing DNA services through to Home Office evaluation
• accepted identification and supporting documents and accepted alternatives where families cannot provide these

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.

This is a part-time post for 21 hours per week (3 days) on a fixed term contract until 30th June 2025, with the possibility of a further short extension of the contract.

About you

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

Essential criteria  

1. Research expertise on Refugee law and/or UK immigration law. 
2. Demonstrable knowledge in one or more of the following fields; Demonstrable knowledge in one or more of the following fields; forensic genetics, accreditation for DNA testing laboratories, use of DNA in support of applications, Human Tissue Authority Act legislation on consent, Home Office legal DNA testing and sample collection guidance, political sociology and human geography. 
3. Undergraduate degree and PhD in related subjects. Additional research experience would be an advantage.
4. Previous experience of conducting high quality desk-based and empirical research, including quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. 
5. Demonstrable writing skills, including report writing.  
6. Demonstrated ability to plan, troubleshoot own work and work to deadlines.  
7. Good interpersonal, communication and teamwork skills, including ability to communicate well with colleagues and all stakeholders. 
8. Understanding of the benefits and challenges of working in an interdisciplinary field. 
9. Commitment to diversity and inclusion in alignment with King’s Guiding Principles 
10. competent in the use of MS Office. Experience with Clio would be an advantage but not essential 

Desirable criteria 

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

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