College of Social Sciences

School of Social and Political Sciences

Research Associate in Nuclear Arms Control and Disarmament

Vacancy Ref: 180796

Salary: Grade 7, £41,064 - £46,049 per annum

This post is full time and fixed term for up to 30 months until 2nd June 2028, with a planned start date of 1st December 2025.

The University of Glasgow is seeking an exceptional Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the UKRI funded ‘Atomic Anxiety in the Third Nuclear Age: How Can Arms Control and Disarmament Reduce the Risk of Nuclear War?’ project led by Dr Rhys Crilley.

The successful candidate will contribute to the delivery of innovative research, impact and knowledge exchange on nuclear weapons, arms control, and disarmament. The ‘Atomic Anxiety in the Third Nuclear Age’ project seeks to investigate how the legitimacy of nuclear weapons, arms control, and disarmament is communicated and contested in the contemporary era. The project also aims to critically assess contemporary nuclear arms control and disarmament measures and advocacy.

For informal enquiries or further information about the project, please contact Dr Rhys Crilley, Rhys.Crilley@Glasgow.ac.uk

Job Purpose

To make a leading contribution as a Research Associate to the UKRI funded research project ‘Atomic Anxiety in the Third Nuclear Age: How Can Arms Control and Disarmament Reduce the Risk of Nuclear War?’ working with Dr Rhys Crilley and the project team at the University of Glasgow. The successful candidate will conduct high-quality research as well as impact and knowledge exchange outputs in accordance with the project’s aims of understanding and improving nuclear arms control and disarmament efforts.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

Perform the following activities in conjunction with the Principal Investigator (PI) as appropriate:

1.      Take a leading role in the planning and conduct of assigned research, jointly with the PI/project team and individually, in accordance with the project objectives and research strategy.

2.      Write up research findings/outcomes for publication in leading journals for disseminations as appropriate.  Document research output including analysis and interpretation of all data, maintaining records and databases, drafting progress reports and papers as appropriate.

3.      Establish and maintain a personal research profile and reputation and that of the project and International Relations at the University of Glasgow. Establish and sustain a track record of independent and joint publications of international quality in high profile/quality refereed journals, enhancing the research impact in terms of societal benefit, gathering indicators of esteem and identifying opportunities for knowledge exchange.

4.      Survey the research literature and environment, understand the research challenges associated with nuclear weapons, arms control, and disarmament and the broader subject area, and develop/implement a suitable research strategy.

5.      Present work at international and national conferences, at internal and external seminars, colloquia and workshops to develop and enhance our research profile.

6.      Take a leading role in developing and maintaining collaborations with colleagues across the project and in the broader University and wider community (e.g. Academic and other collaborators/partners).

7.      Take a leading role in team meetings/seminars/workshops and International Relations research group activities to enhance the wider knowledge, outputs and culture of the University.

8.      Take a leading role in the organisation, supervision, mentoring and training of less experienced members of the project team to ensure their effective development.

9.      Perform administrative tasks related to the activities of the project, including budgets/expenditure.

10.   Engage in personal, professional and career development, to enhance both specialist and transferable skills in accordance with desired career trajectory.

11.   Undertake any other duties of equivalent standing as assigned by the Head of School and/or PI.

12.   Take a leading role in the identification of potential future funding sources and assist in the development of proposals to secure funding from internal and external bodies, planning and developing a line of research activities.

13.   If desired, contribute to elements of teaching within a clear and established programme and carry out associated admin as assigned by the Head of School and in consultation with PI.

14.   To contribute to the enhancement of the University’s international profile in line with the University’s Strategic Plan - World Changers Together.

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Knowledge/Qualifications

Essential

A1 Normally Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 12 (PhD) plus track record of emerging independence within a research/professional environment or alternatively possess professional qualifications and experience equivalent to PhD level plus the requisite experience.

A2 Specialist knowledge in the areas of nuclear weapons, arms control, and disarmament.

A3 Sufficient breadth and/or depth of knowledge in politics, international relations, and international security and of research methods and techniques to work within the subject area.

Skills

Essential

C1 Ability to analyse and organise resources in order to manage time and workload effectively.

C2 Ability to collect data, manage it, and analyse it using appropriate methods.

C3 Ability to communicate material of a specialist or highly technical nature and to be effective both orally and in writing at a level appropriate to the activity, including public presentations.

C4 Proven initiative and judgement to resolve problems independently and/or as part of a team.

Desirable

D1 Research creativity and strong cross-discipline collaborative ability.

D2 Ability to collect/organise/analyse data using computational tools (LexisNexis, NVivo, R, Python, etc.) and a familiarity with computational social science methods.

Experience

Essential

E1 Experience of delivering quality outputs in a timely and efficient manner.

E2 A track record of presentation and publication of research results in quality journals and/ or at conferences.

E3 Experience of making a leading contribution in academic activities.

E4 Experience in research independence as illustrated by identification of project objectives from assessment of literature, design and analysis of research data and drafting of papers.

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 7, £41,064 - £46,049 per annum.

This post is full time and fixed term for up to 30 months until 2nd June 2028, with a planned start date of 1st December 2025.

The University of Glasgow has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.  If you require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the UK, you will be required to meet the eligibility requirements of the visa route to be assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship.

Please note that this post may be eligible to be sponsored under the Skilled Worker visa route if tradeable points can be used under the Skilled Worker visa rules. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.

2 An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension - pensions handbook https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/, benefits and discount packages.

3 A flexible approach to working.

4 A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University  https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/.

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.