Postdoctoral Research Associate in Urban Studies

About us

The Department of Geography at King’s College London invites applications for a two-year (24 months), full-time (1.0 FTE) position as Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in Urban Studies. The post will be based in the research team of Professor Katie Meehan at KCL’s Strand Campus in central London.

About the role

The Department of Geography at King’s College London invites applications for a two-year (24 months), full-time (1.0 FTE) position as Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in Urban Studies. The post will be based in the research team of Professor Katie Meehan at KCL’s Strand Campus in central London.

The PDRA will report to Professor Katie Meehan (Department of Geography) and work on her funded research project Plumbing poverty: insecure access, shutoffs, and the social infrastructures of water in Europe and the USA (PLUMBPOV). The project aims to explain the emergence and persistence of household water insecurity – specifically problems in access to running water and the rise of shut-offs – in European and US cities in relation to the changing political economy of the welfare state, social infrastructures, and public service provision.  

Under the direction of Prof Meehan as Principal Investigator, and working closely with other project team members, the PDRA will be responsible for conducting in-depth fieldwork in a European or US city for extended periods of time and help to develop and implement the academic, theoretical, and policy-applied work components of the project. The PDRA position has three primary work packages:

Work Package 1 (Case Study Fieldwork): The PDRA will be responsible for the development and implementation of a case study in a US or European city (to be confirmed), using ethnographic and qualitative case study methods under a cross-cultural research design. Fieldwork duties will include: cultivate and maintain relations with key informants, gateway contacts, and local stakeholders; develop interview questionnaires; recruit, organize, and conduct interviews with participants; collect and organize primary and secondary documents and relevant case study materials; attend public meetings and assemblies; record and manage fieldnotes, metadata, photographs, and other project data; organize and archive data, consent forms, and ethics paperwork in line with project and KCL policies; and deliver periodic presentations and written fieldwork reports to the Principal Investigator and team. The PDRA will also co-lead data collection for a household survey on water insecurity, which will include sampling; training and managing research assistants (survey enumerators); team-based, quantitative and qualitative data analysis; and working with a network of European collaborators (the EuroWISE collective).

Work Package 2 (Analysis and Data Management): The PDRA will be responsible for data analysis, interpretation, and write-up using a critical social science approach. Duties will include: coding and thematic analysis and of data; interpretation of results; developing a robust qualitative explanation of key social and institutional factors that produce conditions of plumbing poverty; identify and situate key trends, forces, and dynamics in urban inequality, housing trends, and debt-driven governance; developing a broader theoretical explanation of the state of social infrastructures in advanced capitalist countries, drawing on ideas in political economy, social reproduction, and racial capitalism; organize, store, secure, and archive project data; compliance with KCL/funder requirements and the project’s data management policy; management of research assistants.

Work Package 3 (Project Outputs and Outreach): The PDRA is expected to deliver and/or significantly contribute toward an average of four written outputs (e.g., peer-reviewed journal articles) per year; demonstrate leadership in the development of co-authored scientific articles; deliver other public-facing outputs as needed or requested, such as reports and policy briefs; and actively disseminate key findings through media and public engagement, including writing commentaries or briefings for media outlets, press releases, speaking/interview engagements, and collaboration with local journalists.  

Other responsibilities will include active participation and leadership in team-based workshops (data analysis, writing outputs, and project planning); travel and managing travel logistics; delivering academic presentations at scientific conferences; and project talks to the public.

Applicants must have fieldwork experience and strong theoretical grounding in urban political ecology, political economy, and/or critical approaches to urban inequality and housing. Ideally, the candidate will also have language skills and overseas fieldwork experience in a city in one of the project’s focal areas (Greece, Spain, Portugal, Romania, or the USA), experience in primary data collection methods, a track record of working with difficult societal topics or marginalized populations, and a keen interest in social and environmental justice.

The role will suit a self-motivated and reflexive learner who enjoys working with people, who can balance the advancement of social theory through empirically grounded research, and who seeks to advance research with direct pathways to impact. Further, the post will be suitable for someone who can manage international travel (for significant stretches of time, e.g, 4-6 months) and who enjoys working with diverse stakeholders.

This is a full-time position (FTE 1.0 or 37.5 hours/week) starting at salary Grade 6.32. The successful candidate will be offered a fixed term contract until 3 November 2027.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

Desirable criteria

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6. 

Further information 

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘ How we Recruit ’ pages.

We are able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.

Grade and Salary: £44,105 - £47,632 per annum including London Weighting Allowance
Job ID: 119289
Close Date: 04-Aug-2025
Contact Person: Katie Meehan
Contact Details: katie.meehan@kcl.ac.uk