The University of Portsmouth is a global employer of choice where exceptional people create, share and apply knowledge that makes a difference.
Experience the pride of being part of a select group – one of only four universities in the south-east of England to achieve a prestigious Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework. Additionally, we proudly rank among the top 140 universities globally in the Times Higher Young University World Rankings.
Ambition, Responsibility and Openness drive our every endeavour. Join our esteemed institution with a proven track record of success, and where dedication to excellence is key. We want people to make their mark in a professional community that truly values people, innovation, and achievement.
The Role:
This post-doctoral role is based in the Technology Acceptance Research Group for Energy Technologies (TARG:ET) in the School of Psychology, Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Portsmouth. The successful candidate will take up the post of Senior Research Associate to work on a targeted 6-month project examining the social acceptance of proposed innovations in residential sector heating.
The research forms part of the GasNetNew Project. GasNetNew is a 3-year EPSRC-funded research project, led by engineers at the University of Nottingham, with the support of researchers at the Universities of Birmingham, Loughborough and Portsmouth. It aims to look at how the existing mains gas network can be used differently in order to provide innovative, low-carbon heating and cooling solutions to UK households.
Alongside engineering and technological research and innovation, GasNetNew is focused on the social scientific study of the factors that shape the relative social acceptance of different heating and cooling options among key actor groups, including practitioners (e.g., business, industry) and publics. This aspect of the project will be led from the University of Portsmouth.
We seek a motivated and collegial individual, with good research and interpersonal skills to join the team. The successful candidate will take responsibility for the design, delivery, analysis and reporting of a quantitative questionnaire-based survey. This survey will be distributed online to a representative sample of the UK public and will provided insight into public attitudes towards the technologies being investigated and developed by the GasNetNew team.
The ideal candidate will have knowledge of the social acceptance of science and technological innovation. They will hold a PhD in Psychology (or cognate discipline) and will be familiar with the design, delivery, quantitative analysis and academic reporting of questionnaire-based surveys. The successful candidate will have experience of writing for different audiences, including for academic journals.
This appointment is a fixed term contract for 7 months.
For internal candidates it may be possible to apply for this role under the Secondment Policy. If you wish to apply as a secondee, you must have approval of your line manager in advance of submitting your application form. Please confirm in your application that your line manager has approved this.
Some fractional appointments/flexible working would be considered and can be discussed at interview.
Whilst there is a need to be in Portsmouth a few days a week, hybrid working is available for this role.
Informal enquiries are strongly encouraged and should be made to Dr Chris Jones by email: chris.jones1@port.ac.uk
Interviews are expected to be held 29 November 2024.
Discover the advantages of joining our university. We offer a range of attractive benefits and opportunities to enhance your work experience:
- Competitive salary, including incremental progression within your scale.
- Contributory defined benefits pension schemes – Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) for support and research staff and Teachers Pensions for our academic staff.
- Generous leave entitlement of 32–35 days a year, plus bank holidays, and an additional Christmas closure.
- Family-friendly policies supporting flexible working.
- Staff discounts and loyalty schemes.
- Staff car parking and discounted public travel.
- Excellent training and development opportunities.
- Staff wellbeing programmes.
- Long service milestones, and recognition awards which may be awarded to staff for exceptional performance.
- Recreation facilities, including discounted gym membership, food on campus schemes, use of the Library and staff social activities.
- Discounted learning.
- Start-up business mentoring from expert entrepreneurs via our Entrepreneurs in Residence programme.
- The perks don’t stop there - click ‘apply’ for further information on My Reward and Benefits
UKVI Statement
Prior to submitting your application, kindly ensure that you can either demonstrate or acquire the necessary right to work in the UK. If you currently do not possess the right to work in the UK, please be aware that our offer of employment is conditional upon you obtaining it.
ED&I Statement:
We are strongly dedicated to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within our community. As an Athena SWAN and Race Equality Charter award holder, a member of Stonewall and a Disability Confident Employer we are passionate about creating a welcoming and inclusive environment, regardless of your background. We welcome applications from all talented people. In addition, we want our workforce to be representative of our diverse student population. Please see our EDI Framework and objectives.
Please note that this vacancy may be closed earlier than advertised, so early applications are advised.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident .