Research Associate: Mission Oriented Innovation Policy for Sustainability

Job reference: HUM-029342

Salary: £37,174 to £45,413 per annum dependent on relevant experience

Faculty/Organisational Unit: Humanities

Location: Manchester

Employment type: Fixed Term

Division/Team: Innovation Management and Policy

Hours Per Week: Full Time (1 FTE)

Closing date (DD/MM/YYYY): 12/09/2025

Contract Duration: 24 months

School/Directorate: Alliance Manchester Business School

Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester

Are you a highly motivated researcher with an interest in understanding and shaping effective transformative policy for sustainability? The world-renowned Alliance Manchester Business School is seeking a Post-Doctoral Research Associate to join a team working on Mission-Oriented Innovation Policies for Sustainability.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to an ESRC/Trans-Atlantic Platform (TAP) international project that is exploring “Policy Failures in the design and implementation of Mission-Oriented Innovation Policies (MOIPs) for Sustainability. Working collaboratively with partners in Canada and Poland, the successful candidate will analyse why MOIPs for sustainability sometimes fall short of their goals and contribute to the identification of strategies to mitigate these policy failures. The project aims at answering the following overarching research questions: (a) what are the main policy failures in in the design and implementation of MOIPs for sustainability? (b) What configurations of factors (causes) lead to specific failures? (c) Which governance and policy strategies are suitable to address these failures? The research employs in-depth qualitative analysis, including case studies, questionnaires, interviews, and workshops with policymakers and relevant stakeholders.

We are specifically looking for someone with research experience in sustainability and transformative policy, committed to impactful research and publication, and with strong qualitative research skills. We particularly welcome candidates who can demonstrate excellent qualitative research skills and the ability to interact with a diversity of stakeholders (including policy makers) and communicate research findings to both academic and non-academic audiences. The position is open to applicants with diverse educational backgrounds including innovation policy, sustainability transitions, public policy, or management studies.

The PDRA will be based at the Alliance Manchester Business School and become part of the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (MIOIR). The Alliance Manchester Business School is one of the world’s leading business schools, ranked 2nd in the UK for research power. The University of Manchester, located in the heart of Manchester and the Oxford Road Innovation District, enjoys a reputation for ground-breaking research and innovation. They will also be able to interact with colleagues at The Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI) widely recognized for its international reputation and pioneering research in the field of sustainable transitions.

The appointed candidate will be expected to play a full part in the intellectual life of the school and be physically based in Manchester for the duration of the contract.

In the Additional Information section of the application form, please include a discussion of your capabilities, experience including required and desirable methodological skills, and research interests related to sustainability and transformative innovation policy.

Hybrid working arrangements may be considered.

Please note that we are unable to respond to enquiries, accept CVs or applications from Recruitment Agencies.

Any CV’s submitted by a recruitment agency will be considered a gift.

Enquiries about the vacancy, shortlisting and interviews:

Name: Prof. Mercedes Bleda

Email: mercedes.bleda@manchester.ac.uk

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