Research Fellow

About us

Based at the UCL Faculty of Laws, the Global Centre for Democratic Constitutionalism (GCDC) seeks to advance scholarly understanding of the relationship between democratic government and the rule of law in domestic, comparative and transnational perspective, with a particular focus on identifying the supporting conditions for constitutional resilience in electorally competitive political systems.

The GCDC commenced operations in the 2024-25 academic year, with funding from the Leverhulme Trust. The Centre’s programme of activities consists of internal and external research seminars, an annual lecture, international conferences and the regular convening of a scholarly research community. In addition to the permanent membership, the Centre also hosts fellows, postdoctoral researchers and an active cohort of doctoral candidates.

In furtherance of our research mandate, the GCDC seeks to appoint two Research Fellows. These Fellows will be supported to produce their own scholarly work in the field of democratic constitutionalism and constitutional resilience and will be expected to play a central role in the day-to-day operations and activities of the Centre.

About the role

The Research Fellows will play a key role in supporting the Centre’s activities and contributing to high-quality outputs through the conduct of both independent and collaborative research with other Centre members. It is intended that such outputs will ordinarily be published in peer-reviewed publications. While the appointed Fellows will be expected to assist with the production of outputs directed by the Centre’s Director and other members, they will also have significant academic freedom to develop their own independent research profile and agenda.

This role is expected to start no later than 01 September 2025 (although an earlier start could be arranged) and is on an open-ended contract with funding for 3 years. Appointment to the role is subject to final approval by the Leverhulme Trust.

This role meets the eligibility requirements for a skilled worker certificate of sponsorship or a global talent visa under UK visas and immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL welcomes applications from international applicants who require a visa.

The deadline for applications is 31 March 2025 and interviews will likely be held in week commencing 28 April 2025.

About you

The successful candidates will hold, or be close to completion of, a PhD in law, with a good knowledge of legal research methods and databases (e.g. Westlaw, Lexis Nexis). However, those with a background in political science, sociology or a relevant social science field will also be considered, where their research is related to the topic of constitutional resilience or constitutional studies more broadly.

The successful candidates will be able to work independently to produce research outputs, develop strong working relationships with Centre and Faculty staff, and communicate complex ideas in a clear and concise manner.

What we offer

Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We, therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women. You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/.

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