Post Doctoral Research Associate in Law

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We are seeking to appoint a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to work in the Centre for Protecting Women Online funded by Research England. The successful candidate will work closely with Professor Olga Jurasz, Professor of Law and Director of the Centre, as well as the Law Stream team. We are looking for an effective PDRA who would seek to play an active part in building the research culture in the Centre and who is committed to collaborative research. They will use their research knowledge, skills and grant bidding experience to provide support for research activities, knowledge exchange and bidding. As well as facilitating the bids of others, they will have an opportunity to collaborate with researchers in the centre to initiate, shape and develop funding applications which develop their own research. A successful candidate would also contribute to Centre’s publications and knowledge exchange activities. Relevant training and professional development opportunities will be made available.

Project Description

The Centre for Protecting Women Online is a research unit dedicated to understanding and addressing challenges posed to women’s safety online through a novel, interdisciplinary and ambitious research agenda. This will be combined with cross-sectoral, collaborative outputs and interventions which inform law, policy, technology development and practice to reduce online harms suffered by women and girls; minimise anti-social behaviours online whilst promoting pro-social behaviours and help build tech/ software that helps ensure accountability, credibility and helps facilitate justice. The work of the Centre is delivered through five interwoven Work Streams. Please visit our Centre website - https://cpwo.open.ac.uk/ and LinkedIn page - https://www.linkedin.com/company/centre-for-protecting-women-online/ for further details. Please note the funding for this project is time bound and therefore, whilst we can be flexible with the start date of the contract, the latest possible start date is 1st August 2026.

The person appointed will be expected to contribute to the research, knowledge exchange and administration. The main responsibilities of the role include:

• Play an active part in building and supporting the Centre’s research culture.
• Initiate and contribute to innovative funding bids in collaboration with other researchers.
• Support the development and submission of funding bids in the Centre including working on systematic literature reviews, data and impact plans, networking with non-academic stakeholders and partners, working with internal research staff and scoping of potential funding sources.
• Assist with producing research outputs, including presentation and publication.
• Contribute to and support delivery of knowledge exchange activities.
• Contribute and support current research related activities and projects in the Centre.
• Contribute to the delivery of the University’s research and knowledge exchange strategy.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of the University’s local, national and international academic and community networks related to Centre-related research.
• Work closely with key members of the Centre to support and enhance the postgraduate research culture.

Essential Criteria:

• A completed PhD in Law or related field.
• Expertise in legal research methods.
• Knowledge of and familiarity with critical and feminist approaches to gendered violence.
• Knowledge of and familiarity with research on online environments, in particular social media.
• Experience of grant bidding to external funders.
• Experience of writing or communicating research ideas to non-specialist audiences.
• An existing track record of publications in a relevant area (commensurate with career stage).
• Experience of data management and IT software usage for research design and analysis (e.g., NVivo, SPSS, Qualtrics or similar).
• The ability to work collaboratively as part of an interdisciplinary team.
• The ability to plan and organise own work.
• The ability to adapt to changing situations in a timely manner within scope and direction set by the work stream lead.
• The ability to work in a way that demonstrates an understanding of equal opportunities and application of these to the work.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of working and interacting with external organisations, particularly from culturally diverse backgrounds.
• Experience of working in cross-disciplinary research teams.
• Experience of PhD supervision.
• Experience of carrying out empirical research.

If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on 01908 541111 or email careers@open.ac.uk quoting the advert reference number.

At The Open University, we offer a range of benefits to recognise and reward great work, alongside policies and flexible working that contribute towards a great work life balance. Get all the details of what benefits we offer by visiting our Staff Benefits page (clicking this link will open a new window).

We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you. It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where the successful candidate can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes site, it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d expect this to be 1-2 days per week, but this could be more often if business needs dictate. 

Interviews are likely to be 20th and 23rd March 2026.

We may close this job advert earlier than the published closing date where a satisfactory number of applications are received. We would therefore encourage early applications.

To apply for this role please submit the following document(s):

• CV
• A Supporting Statement of up to 1000 words. You should set out in your statement why you are interested in the role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the essential criteria for this role as detailed in the job description.

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