Postdoctoral Research Associate - Relational Harm Project - Gender and IR

About us

The School of Security Studies at King‘s College London is dedicated to the understanding of security issues in an increasingly complex and uncertain world. Harnessing the depth and breadth of expertise across the War Studies and Defence Studies Departments, and the King’s Institute for Applied Security Studies, we are one of the largest multi-disciplinary communities of scholars in the world engaged in the teaching and research of all aspects of conflict, war, security and defence. 

About the role

We welcome applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in Gender and IR to work on the project Relational Harm: Targeting the Family in War and Oppression. The PI is Dr Rebekka Friedman, and the project is an ERC-funded Consolidator Grant. The PDRA position is for a 30-month duration starting in January 2026 and will be based in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London.

The PDRA in Gender and IR will contribute to the project’s conceptual pillars and to its field research. The PDRA will take a feminist and critical lens to examine gendered dimensions of forced separation and its legacies. The project will engage with rich interdisciplinary research on family separation in other fields, e.g. victimology, refugee studies, social reproduction, reproductive politics, and work on mass violence and genocide. The PDRA in Gender and IR theory will help with the project’s archival research (e.g. looking at the archives of the International Committee of the Red Cross or the United States Holocaust Museum).

This will be one of several PDRA positions advertised for the project. Applicants are welcome to apply to more than one position if they meet the application criteria. In this case, they should apply to the other advert separately and focus their applications on that post’s selection criteria. 

Applications from overseas applicants are welcome – however, the successful candidate will be expected to reside in the UK and visa sponsorship is available.

This is a full-time post, and you will be offered a fixed term contract from January 2026 for 2.5yrs.

About you

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

Essential criteria  

1. A PhD specializing in gender or feminist studies and IR (applicants from other social science backgrounds or the arts and humanities may also apply provided that their PhD research has a gender focus).
2. Skills and experience in qualitative research methods.
3. Research experience and knowledge in either South Asia or South America. An interest in historical, cultural and socio-political contexts.
4. A proven capacity to write and present conference papers and publish peer reviewed articles.
5. Field research experience.
6. Knowledge of and familiarity with research ethics, particularly around trauma, and a commitment to socially impactful research.
7. Attention to detail and strong interpersonal and communication skills.
8. Good time management and organisational skills.

Desirable criteria 

1. Language skills in Tamil, Spanish or Rohingya.
2. Website management skills.
3. Archival research experience.
4. Knowledge of any other research methods, e.g. documentary analysis; visual, participatory, and arts-based methods; ethnographic research; participant observation; and discourse and institutional analysis.
5. Knowledge of data protection procedures.

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