Postdoctoral Research Associate in Public Health – Grade 7

Hours of work: Full-time, 1.0 FTE

Tenure: Fixed term for 24 months

We are recruiting a lead post-doctoral researcher with a background in psychology and/or public health for an NIHR project examining the impact of brand-only food advertising on eating behaviour in adults and the effectiveness of Liverpool City Council's ban on advertising of unhealthy food on council-controlled spaces. The researcher will join the Department of Psychology and be based in the Appetite & Obesity research group. The project is led by Professor Emma Boyland and Dr Charlotte Buckley (Psychology, University of Liverpool) with Professor Mark Green (Geography and Planning, University of Liverpool) and Professor Heather Brown (Health Economics, Lancaster University). Project partners include Oxford University, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, City St George’s (University of London).

The post will involve leading on the development of protocols, conducting laboratory-based eating behaviour experiments, collecting and analysing outdoor food advertising data, and management of research staff. For related previous research, see: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84572-4

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666326001285

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/oby.24127

The earliest start date available for this post is October 2026 and we do not anticipate it being possible to support a start date later than 2026.

Key responsibilities and duties:

• Leading on protocol development, data collection (lab and outdoor advertising), data analysis (quantitative), stakeholder engagement (local government).
• Supervising a graduate level research assistant to support data collection and co-supervising a PhD student to support completion of behavioural experiments.
• Working as part of a wider team and programme of research.
• Supporting the dissemination of the research, including contribution to research publications and conference presentations.
• Contributing to project reports and presentations to stakeholders where appropriate.
• Identifying and engaging in personal development opportunities to support your career development.

If you are still awaiting your PhD to be awarded you will be appointed at Grade 6, spine point 30. Upon written confirmation that you have been awarded your PhD, your salary will be increased to Grade 7, spine point 31.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion 

We are committed to enhancing a workforce as diverse as our community and particularly encourage applicants who are of minoritised genders and ethnic backgrounds, living with a disability, and/or are members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Closing Date: 26 July 2026 23:30

For full details and to apply online, please click on the apply button above. 

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