Postdoctoral Research Associate

This new part time (0.6FTE) post is available from 1 July 2025 on a fixed term basis until 31 March 2026.

The post

The Faculty wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Associate to support the work of Professor Stewart Barr, Professor Gareth Shaw and Dr Ewan Woodley to undertake an Economic and Social Research Council funded impact project entitled Travel Towards Net Zero: co-creating low-carbon tourist travel mobility practices. This Economic and Social Research Council funded post is available from 1st July 2025 to 31st March 2026. The successful applicant will work with the co-investigators and the research partner (Hotel Plan UK) to co-design consumer-focused co-creation workshops with clients of Hotel Plan UK. These will explore current holiday travel practices (dominated by air travel), the factors that influence use of air travel for holidays, and the changes that are needed to successfully promote no-fly travel for international tourism in Europe. The project will be informed by Social Practice Theory and use a practice-oriented design framework to examine how changes in tourist travel practices could be promoted. The successful applicant will work on the analysis of workshop data and the writing of an industry-facing low-carbon tourist travel toolkit and two insight reports. They will also have the opportunity to co-author an academic publication from the project.

The post will include:

• Collaborating with the co-investigators and research partner throughout the project.
• Using recognised and appropriate techniques in environmental social science to collect data and analyse and interpret the results of own research, generating original ideas based on outcomes;
• Facilitating the organization, logistics and recruitment for two in-person consumer-focused day-long workshops (locations TBC).
• Liaising with consumer and stakeholder participants for the workshops.
• Contributing to the design and facilitation of the workshops.
• Undertaking the data analysis from the workshops.
• Undertaking the writing of an industry-facing toolkit and two insight reports.
• Contributing to the organisation and running of an end of award London-based showcase event to launch the toolkit to an invited industry audience.
• Writing up research work for publication as non-academic and academic outputs, specifically co-authoring an academic publication arising from the project.

About you

The successful applicant will be able to present information on research progress and outcomes, communicate complex information, orally, in writing and electronically.

Applicants will possess a relevant PhD (or nearing completion) or possess an equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study and be able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge in human geography/environmental social science and of research methods and techniques to work within established research programmes. Applicants will be able to design, facilitate and analyse a qualitative research study using a focus-group based approach, alongside being able to lead on non-academic report writing for an industry audience.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role.

Further information

For further information please contact Professor Stewart Barr, e-mail S.W.Barr@exeter.ac.uk or telephone (01392) 723832.

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