Postdoctoral Researcher (Phase 2)

Reporting to Dr Natalie Kyneswood, the post holder will be based at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies as a Postdoctoral Researcher during Phase II of the Wellcome funded project: ‘Care in the Courtroom: Trauma-informed Specialist Courts and the Medicalisation of Justice’.

 

This five-year, interdisciplinary project explores the role of trauma informed care and neuroscience in transforming trial procedures, courtroom environments, and the treatment, questioning and wellbeing of victims of sexual violence. It will do so through in-depth, empirical case studies examining the emergence of specialty courts and trauma-informed justice in the UK. Throughout the project, the team will work closely with victim-survivors and UK government to evaluate the pilot of Specialist Sexual Violence Support (SSVS) project courts in England and the creation of a trauma-informed Sex Offence Court for Scotland.

The Postdoctoral Researcher will contribute to research activities and outputs during Phase II of the project - the English Case Study investigating SSVS pilot project courts. This includes data collection, including court observation and participants interviews, coding and analysis of data, the development of project findings, the co-creation of a report on Phase II findings and co-authorship of a journal article on SSVS courts.

 

The postholder will be responsible for researching the provision of ‘enhanced support measures’ at one of two SSVS project court sites that form part of the case study, namely Snaresbrook Crown Court (London). It is therefore essential that post holder is ordinarily based in London, or at least resident in London during the duration of the fieldwork, so that they can travel to Snaresbrook Crown Court (to attend and observe court hearings) and surrounding areas (North London and East London) to interview victim-survivors who have relevant experience of SSVS court processes. Travel expenses will be reimbursed but accommodation costs are not provided.

 

The successful candidate should hold or be close to completion of a relevant PhD/DPhil, together with relevant experience; possess sufficient specialist knowledge in Socio-Legal Studies, Law of Evidence, Psychology or Psychiatry to carry out the research required; manage their own academic research and associated activities; demonstrate previous experience of contributing to report writing, scholarly publications and presentations at conferences, meetings, or research dissemination events;  have experience of conducting empirical research, especially in sensitive research areas and with vulnerable participants; command excellent communication skills, including the ability to write for publication and present research proposals and results to a range of audiences, e.g., academics, stakeholders and policy makers.  Experience of working with victim-survivors of sexual abuse in a professional, voluntary or academic capacity and an understanding of the neurobiology of trauma and trauma-informed approaches to care in medical or criminal justice settings is desirable.

 

Applications for this vacancy should be made by clicking the 'Apply' button above. You will be required to submit a supporting statement, a CV, and a sample of your written work, published or unpublished, as part of your application. Note that the written work should be sent in a single email in one pdf file to the Faculty HR Team, recruitment@law.ox.ac.uk.

 

The closing date for applications is 12 noon, midday on Monday 2 June 2025. Interviews will be held, in-person, on Monday 23 June 2025 at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford. Shortlisted applicants will be asked to arrange for two references to be submitted before interviews take place

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