Research Fellow

LSE is committed to building a diverse, equitable and truly inclusive university

Salary from £53,949 to £62,160 pa inclusive with potential to progress to £69,073 pa inclusive of London allowance

Funding is available to support this position from September 2026 to August 2028

The Department of Government is recruiting a Research Fellow (Postdoctoral Researcher) with a specialisation in empirical political science or a related field. We are looking for an excellent candidate with the potential of pursuing a successful career in academia. The successful candidate will be part of the research project “Political Finance in Africa” led by Associate Professor Sarah Brierley. The position is a fulltime appointment for a period of two years.

Candidates should have completed their PhD in Political Science or a related field by the post start date and have excellent research skills, the ability to work independently and in a diverse team, and to solve complex research challenges creatively. The successful candidate will have a research interest in governance and corruption, political institutions and elites and/or political behaviour. The successful candidate will have experience collecting and/or compiling original data (for example, by conducting surveys, interviews, or generating new data from existing sources) and have training in qualitative and quantitative methods for political science. Experience working in Sub-Saharan Africa is desirable. Please see the Person Specification for further details on the essential and desirable criteria.

The successful candidate will contribute to realizing the UKRI-funded research project POLFINA. POLFINA studies political finance in SSA and asks the following question. 1. How does political finance legislation vary over time and across countries in SSA? 2. What triggers political finance reforms? 3. What are the consequences of reforms? To answer these questions, POLFINA will construct the first-ever longitudinal dataset (1990–2024) on political finance legislation across SSA countries, collect standardized survey data from politicians and the public, and conduct semi-structured interviews with a range of stakeholders, including members of domestic civil society groups in select African countries. 

The focus of the position is research, with no teaching obligations. The candidate is expected to contribute to and work collaboratively on all aspects of the project, and to lead fieldwork in select countries. Beyond fostering the candidate’s research profile, the PI and the Department of Government are committed to promoting the career development of the successful candidate through systematic career development reviews, regular mentoring, as well as formal training opportunities. Please refer to the Job Description for further details.

We offer an occupational pension scheme, generous annual leave, hybrid working, and excellent training and development opportunities.

For further information about the post, please see the how to apply document, job description and the person specification.

To apply for this post, please click the 'Apply' button above. If you have any technical queries with applying on the online system, please use the “contact us” links at the bottom of the LSE Jobs page. Should you have any queries about the role, please email Associate Professor Sarah Brierley (s.brierley@lse.ac.uk).

The closing date for receipt of applications is 12 January 2026 (23.59 UK time). Regrettably, we are unable to accept any late applications.

Interviews are likely to take place in w/c 9 February 2026.

Advert information