PhD Studentship: Sustainable Procurement and Purchasing

Our CES Practitioner Doctorate Student (PDS) programme gives its multi-disciplinary Doctoral Researchers a unique opportunity to develop and apply the latest thinking in sustainability research to solve a sustainability challenge in industry.

The University of Surrey Estates and Facilities department are looking to hire a new Practitioner Doctorate in Sustainability (PDS) to build on the success of previous placements. This student will be embedded within the Sustainability Team, working on behaviour change relating to purchasing of goods and services.   

The aim of the project is to increase the uptake and success of sustainable procurement practices and enhance wider circular economy activity at the University.

The objectives of this research project are to understand the capabilities, opportunities, motivations and behaviours of staff involved in purchasing and procurement in public bodies and education institutions. In particular, we seek to understand how behaviours differ according to job roles, particularly between procurement, administrative, finance, academic and professional services, as well as according to commodity areas, to overcome barriers and improve performance.

Expected Impacts

• Comprehensive mapping of the purchasing and procurement activities and processes of HEIs and public bodies, including capabilities, opportunities and motivations of key staff.
• Testing of behavioural interventions in sustainable procurement.
• Informed proposals for practical behavioural interventions for sustainable procurement and policy recommendations for organisations.

Methodologies

• Collation of emission data from purchased goods and services in UK HEIs to identify the most impactful commodity areas.
• Questionnaires sent to HEI (pre-existing network) and public body staff using a snowball sampling methodology to identify and recruit non-procurement staff involved in purchasing.
• Semi-structured interviews informed by questionnaire results and used to explore capabilities, opportunities and motivations and identify current behaviours.
• Thematic analysis performed on semi-structured interview transcripts to discover common capabilities, opportunities, motivations and existing behaviours.
• Statistical analysis of questionnaire results to support the identification of differences in capabilities, opportunities, motivations and behaviours, according to job role and commodity area.

Location:

• Training and project based in Sustainability, Stag Hill, University of Surrey, Guildford.

Supervisors: Martin Wiles, Nick Jones, Dr Elena Dawkins, Professor Birgitta Gatersleben and Professor Angela Druckman.

Entry requirements

Open to candidates who pay UK/home rate fees. See UKCISA for further information. Starting in October 2025.

You need to meet the minimum entry requirements for our PhD programme.

Candidate profile:

Essential:

• English proficiency.
• Ability to work independently and in teams.
• Strong communication skills.
• Capacity for independent thought, as well as a pragmatic attitude to working within industry.
• Passion for sustainability.
• Knowledge of behaviour change theories and/or circular economy/procurement.

Desirable experience:

• Experience of working with stakeholders at varying levels.
• Technical skills such as questionnaire creation, interviewing, data analysis.

How to apply

Applications should be submitted via the Practitioner Doctorate in Sustainability PhD/EngD programme page, by clicking the 'Apply' button, above.

In place of a research proposal, upload a document stating the title of the project that you wish to apply for and the name of the relevant supervisor. Applicants should ALSO send their CV and covering letter to pds@surrey.ac.uk.

Funding

The studentship funding covers UK academic fees for UK/home students. You will receive an enhanced stipend of £22,000 per annum for 3.5 years with research training support grant covered.

Application deadline: 28/03/2025

Enquiries: Contact Martin Wiles

Ref: PGR-2425-022

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