Fellowship Opportunity: Sustainable Consumption and Production in Circular Economy and Society

MMU is independently and consistently judged as one of the most environmentally sustainable universities in the UK, achieving a top-3 placing every year for the last 10 years in the Universities People and Planet League. Interdisciplinary researchers in the Faculties of Business and Law and Science and Engineering at MMU have collaborated extensively with industry and community organisations on projects related to the Circular Economy. Transform CE, Reduces, Cirmap, ShaRepair and Eco-I North West are just some of the recent projects funded by the EU and ERDF to the value of over £25m. These – and other – projects have been led by members of the Waste 2 Resource Innovation Network, a research group that brings together specialist environmental researchers and business and management scholars to create new knowledge and support action from industrial and societal stakeholders.

About the role: 

• To undertake world-leading and internationally excellent research using latest and innovative methodologies, as relevant in your area of research. 

• To prepare, present and publish research outputs through the appropriate forums. 

• To develop ideas for generating income to ensure the continued success and growth of research portfolio.  

• To disseminate findings of research widely to further the institution’s standing in the HE and research community and strengthen the impact of the research.

About the candidate: 

You will be an ambitious researcher with a PhD in either a science and engineering or business and management background and your interests will be in understanding better the environmental and/or social outcomes of circular economy initiatives. We particularly welcome applications from those with innovative ideas to address critical CE challenges such as the:

• conceptual dissonance and empirical tensions of circular economy and climate change;
• contribution and limitations of circular economy practices in reducing biodiversity loss/improving biodiversity protections;
• factors facilitating and hindering the scaling up of circular society initiatives; and
• extent to which circular economy can result in strong sustainability.

Requirements: 

• Doctoral level qualification in a related research area. 

• Possess breadth or depth of specialist knowledge and demonstrate potential for research independence.

• Excellent track record of relevant research outputs. 

• Significant research experience in the chosen field of research, which should include where appropriate: 
  • leading the work of a team, co-ordinating effort and resources to meet objectives 
  • developing partnerships with internal and external agencies 
  • preparing funding proposals and applications to external bodies 
  • using initiative, creativity and judgement to develop appropriate approaches to research 
  • synthesising complex data from different sources and communicating findings via written reports and articles 
  • presenting at national and/or international research meetings 
  • supervising student work and providing appropriate support and feedback. 

• Experience of managing and monitoring performance of research projects in multi-disciplinary teams.

• Ability to manage projects involving academic institutions and funding bodies. 

Please refer to the Job Description & Person Specification for a full list of essential & desirable criteria. 

Academic Contact: Professor Paul Dewick (paul.dewick@mmu.ac.uk) to discuss the fellowship opportunity in detail. 

For more information about the Waste 2 Resources Innovation Network and the Research Fellowship, please contact the Professor Paul Hooper (p.d.hooper@mmu.ac.uk).

Closing Date: 29 May 2024 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us on researchfellowships@mmu.ac.uk  

To return to the main fellowship page, click here  

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