Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme

NINE DTP will be offering six postdoctoral fellowship funding for candidates to start in October 2022 shortly. Details of the competition to be announced once the ESRC launch the scheme.

Applicants should submit an expression of interest to their department by 31 January The deadline for full applications: 23 March 2022

Postdoctoral Fellowships

Take the next step towards a career in Research

The Northern Ireland and North East Doctoral Training Partnership (NINE DTP) invites applications for up to six ESRC-funded postdoctoral Fellowships to commence in October 2022. The fellowships are aimed at those in the immediately postdoctoral stage of their career, to provide the opportunity to consolidate their PhD through developing publications, their networks, and their research and professional skills.

The call is open to applicants who have completed their PhD at a research organisation that is part of a DTP or CDT and who have less than twelve (12) months postdoctoral research experience. At the submission deadline, the applicant must either have been awarded a PhD or have submitted their thesis and passed their viva voce with minor corrections, with the expectation that the PhD will be awarded by the fellowship start date.

The posts may be based at any of our partner institutions, and will be fixed term positions on either a one-year full-time or two year part-time contract. The Fellowship will include salary costs, and additional funds may be applied for to support additional research activity, including travel, subsistence, conference attendance, training, and fieldwork. Pay may vary from institution to institution, but is likely to be on point 30 of the national HE pay-scale (set at £33,797 in 2019).

The ESRC particularly encourage proposals that involve the use of advanced quantitative methods (AQM), data skills or engagement with partners in the business sector.

Please note: the ESRC provided a slightly updated versions of the Call Specification and FAQs on 9 November 2021. The links below have been updated with the new versions of the documents, which provide additional clarification around eligibility (pg. 3 of the Call Specification).

Apply

Deadlines: Expressions of Interest: 31 January 2022 Full Application: 16:00 on 23 March 2022

Download the Application Form

ESRC Call Specification

Download Call Specification

ESRC FAQs

Download FAQs

Equal Opportunities Form

Please submit to your department; the information collected will not form any part of the reviewing process.

Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

Data sharing form

To review your application, we require your consent to share your details with reviewers in our universities, and with external academic experts.

Consent Form

Applying for a Postdoctoral Fellowship

Slides from the presentation from the DTP Director on Applying for Postdoctoral Fellowships

Slides

Find out more about the position, including the benefits and job specification

How to apply, and how to construct your application

The benefits of a NINE DTP Postdoctoral Fellowship

A year-long paid position

(or two years part-time) working at one of our seven partner institutions, developing your research and establishing your professional credentials.

Opportunities to create networks, disseminate research, and deliver impact

Over the course of the year, the successful appointees will work to develop their research, with a focus on dissemination, publication and research impact

Develop your employability

Whether you are working towards a career in academia, or the wider research environment, the fellowship will provide opportunities for valuable personal and professional development.

Get to know our fellows!

Find out more about our current fellows, and the exceptional work they are performing across the North East and Northern Ireland

Our Fellows

Eligibility

The ESRC have established a number of core requirements for the post, as described in the documentation above (summarised below).

In addition to meeting the ESRC requirements, all candidates will need to meet the employment requirements of their proposed research organisation, and may be required to prove they have the right to work in the United Kingdom.

Applicants may only apply to one research organisation within the partnership.

ESRC Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must have completed their PhD at a research organisation (RO) that is part of a DTP or CDT.
Applicants must ensure that their research is aligned to a DTP Training Pathway; applicants may only apply to those departments who are part of the specific training pathway.
Applications are welcome from all eligible candidates; they need not be current NINE DTP students.
Applicants do not have to have had an ESRC-funded studentship in order to be eligible to apply.
The call is not open to applicants who are established permanent members of staff in an academic position with a research component
At the time of submitting a proposal, the applicant must:
- have been awarded a PhD; or
- have submitted their thesis and passed their viva voce with minor corrections, with the expectation that the PhD will be awarded by the fellowship start date.
Applicants may have no more than 12 months of active postdoctoral experience at the closing date of the competition. Active postdoctoral experience is defined as that accomplished between the viva voce being passed and the proposed start date of the fellowship. This includes professional doctorates as well as the PhD. In calculating ‘active’ experience we will make allowance for career breaks, where the applicant has interrupted their career for family, health or other personal reasons.
Proposals are welcome from applicants who are returning to research following a career break, subject to meeting the eligibility requirement of possessing no more than 12 months of active postdoctoral experience.

In order to apply for a Postdoctoral Fellowship, you must have completed your Doctorate at one of the following Universities:

Aberystwyth University
Aston University
Bangor University
Birkbeck College
Brunel University London
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Cardiff University
City University London
Durham University
Edinburgh Napier University
Glasgow Caledonian University
Goldsmiths College
Heriot-Watt University
Imperial College London
Keele University
King's College London
Lancaster University
London School of Economics & Political Science
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Loughborough University
Manchester Metropolitan University
Newcastle University
Northumbria University
Open University
Queen Margaret University Edinburgh
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen's University of Belfast
Roehampton University
Royal Holloway, University of London
School of Oriental & African Studies
Sheffield Hallam University
SRUC
Swansea University
Teesside University
The University of Manchester
University College London
University of Aberdeen
University of Bath
University of Birmingham
University of Bradford
University of Brighton
University of Bristol
University of Cambridge
University of Dundee
University of East Anglia
University of East London
University of Edinburgh
University of Essex
University of Exeter
University of Glasgow
University of Gloucestershire
University of Hull
University of Kent
University of Leeds
University of Leicester
University of Liverpool
University of Nottingham
University of Oxford
University of Plymouth
University of Portsmouth
University of Reading
University of Sheffield
University of Southampton
University of St Andrews
University of Stirling
University of Strathclyde
University of Sunderland
University of Surrey
University of Sussex
University of the West of England
University of Ulster
University of Warwick
University of York

Job Specification

The ESRC Call Specification provides details of the nature of work that candidates will be expected to undertake; a fuller job description will be provided to the candidate upon the issue of the grant, which will reflect the conditions established by the ESRC.

As employees of a University the successful candidates will be subject to the employment policies of the University, including any probation requirements and rules of conduct.

Application Process

NINE DTP Application Guidelines

Download our Application Guidelines

Pre-application preparations

Mentor

All Postdoctoral Fellows will need to identify, and gain the support of a mentor at their University of choice. The mentor should have a strong interest in the applicants area of research, but should not normally be the applicant's PhD supervisor unless there are exceptional circumstances. The mentor should have appropriate skills and experience to assist the fellow in achieving their specific goals and aspirations for the year. We anticipate most applicants will have one mentor, although a second is permitted where appropriate. Situations where a secondary supervisor might be considered more appropriate include:

where the focus of the fellows research is inter- or multi- disciplinary in nature
where the candidate wishes to spend a considerable length of time overseas
where the candidate wishes to retain links to their prior research institute, or PhD Supervisor

We anticipate that Mentors and their fellows will meet for around 1-2 hours per week throughout the duration of the fellowship. We anticipate that many applicants will identify potential mentors independently, or with advice from previous supervisors / academic contacts. However, should candidates need assistance in identifying a suitable mentor, we advise contacting the most appropriate Training Pathway Lead. Please note: all mentors must be located in a department or school which is part of a recognised NINE DTP Training Pathway.

Institutional Human Resources Policies

Stakeholder Engagement and Impact Expectations

All prospective fellows should work to identify and describe the potential impacts of their research on policy and practice, and how these might be developed and maximised. The evaluation of the research impact of the fellowship will be reflected within the assessment process, and will form a part of the academic review process. It should be noted that funds will be made available to develop and deliver impact; candidates are strongly encouraged to make clear and well-considered plans of how they can best deliver impact within the year fellowship.

Additional Advice

The ESRC provide a number of resources to assist applicants in preparing research proposals, providing guidance on the nature of research which is fundable, and considerations of ethics, impact and developing research collaborations. All applicants are encouraged to visit the ESRC website Guidance for Applicants page; we further encourage use of the Impact toolkit when developing impact strategies.

Application documentation

In addition to completing the application pro forma, the following attachments must be produced in a minimum of font size 11. The following seven attachments are mandatory and must be included with your proposal:

Case for support (maximum six sides of A4)

This should be structured to include the following headings:

Abstract/ summary of progress

Applicants should provide either a summary or abstract of their in-progress or completed thesis. This should be no more than one page and should include its main claims to originality and excellence, methodology used and significant findings.

Impacts of your research

This section should describe the impacts your research has had or that you expect it to have. Impacts include the impact of completed research and any planned further limited research, the dissemination of its results and the building up of a publication track record, the development of the research field and the behaviour or understanding of users and policy makers. We are also interested in the impact the applicant's training to date has had on their skills development and on their prospects for a successful academic career.

Research-related achievements

This section requires a well-structured summary of 'where you are now' in your training and personal development. This will help reviewers decide whether an applicant is at a stage in their career development where a fellowship will have an important and lasting impact on their ability to work as a professional researcher.

Planned programme of activities

This section should detail your planned programme of activities and the key milestones for these activities. Please note that the programme of activities should be tailored to support your longer term career aspirations whether you are aiming for a career in academia or a research career in the broader economy.

Fellows are not expected to undertake new research during an award. However, limited additional research directly linked to the PhD can be undertaken. The Fellowship does not have to be directly building on the work of the PhD; however it does need to follow on or be related to it. The programme of activities should provide the fellows with time to communicate the research findings arising from previous doctoral work, build international networks to develop impact and further develop research, collaborate with users, learn the skills of writing for publication, and further improve their research and related skills. We recognise that during the period of award a limited amount of teaching could be beneficial to the professional development of the fellows. Award holders will therefore be permitted to put aside a maximum of six hours per week (pro rata) to teaching including preparation time.

Justification of Resources (maximum two sides of A4)

This statement should be used to break down and justify the resources required to undertake the research project.

Explain why the indicated resources are needed, taking account of the nature and complexity of the research proposed. Note that it is not sufficient merely to list what is required.
Break down of resources into the summary fund headings Directly Incurred, Directly Allocated and (where appropriate) Exceptions, as outlined in the proposal form. In addition, spend should be justified related to the following headings:
- Overseas institutional visits (including any potential fieldwork costs)
- Funding for networking
- Training costs
- Mobile equipment needs (i.e. laptop)
- Impact-related costs
In some cases, such as investigator time, use of internal facilities and shared staff costs (all likely to be Directly Allocated costs), the basis of the costing need not be justified, but the need for the resources does need justification.
Estates and indirect costs do not need to be justified.

CV (maximum two sides of A4)

List of Publications

Head of Department Statement (maximum one side of A4)

The head of department at the host RO must complete a statement confirming the RO’s support for the proposal. Host ROs must demonstrate their strong support for the proposal guaranteeing as a minimum that the named mentor will be available and that appropriate support facilities, including office space and appropriate computing facilities, will be made available to the fellow during the period of the award. In addition, the host RO will be expected to show they have a commitment to the support and promotion of early career researchers and lecturers. The head of department statement should:

confirm that the applicant would be accepted into the department for the purpose of undertaking the proposed programme of work;
explain how the proposed programme of work would fit in with the department's wider research programme;
confirm that the applicant would have access to the same training and development opportunities open to permanent members of academic staff at the institution;
confirm that the applicant’s work and progress would be subject to the same monitoring and appraisal as those of other academic staff within the host RO.

Mentor Statement and summary CV (maximum two sides of A4)

A combined mentor statement and CV must be included as an attachment to the proposal. Fellows will be required to have a mentor throughout the period of the award and they should be identified at the time of applying. The mentor should ideally have research experience in the same field as the applicant but should not, wherever possible, be the PhD supervisor. The mentor will need to be a senior colleague within the host RO. The reviewers will emphasise the role of the mentor seriously and will look for strong evidence of support. Thus the mentor statement should demonstrate that the mentor:

has considered the individual applicant's needs carefully and tailored their programme of support to their individual needs
will ensure the fellow is kept properly active and focussed throughout the year
will also keep the fellow's long-term career prospects clearly in mind.

Referee statement (maximum one side of A4

Workplan (maximum two sides of A4)

Data Management Plan (max three sides where necessary)

It is a requirement of the ESRC Research Data Policy https://esrc.ukri.org/funding/guidance-for-grant-holders/research-data-policy/ that all applicants planning to generate data as part of their grant must include a Data Management Plan. The Data Management Plan should be used as an opportunity to describe how the data, ie primary input into research and first-order results of that research, are going to be managed - starting from planning for research and through the life-cycle of the grant until data is accepted for archiving by the UK Data Service. The ESRC recognises the importance of research data quality and provenance. Research data generated by ESRC-funded research must be well-managed by the grant holder during the grant period to enable their data to be exploited to the maximum potential for further research.

Other attachments

If you are intending to visit an overseas institution within the period of the fellowship, a letter of support from the institution must be provided, supporting the visit in principle. No other additional attachments will be accepted and your proposal may be returned or rejected if you include attachments that are not permitted under this call or if any of the mandatory attachments are missing.

Any questions?

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