Durham University
Assistant Professor in Comparative Politics
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Working at Durham University
A globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a warm and friendly place to work, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other.
As one of the UK’s leading universities, Durham is an incredible place to define your career. The University is located within a beautiful historic city, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and surrounded by stunning countryside. Our talented scholars and researchers from around the world are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.
We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things in the world. Being a part of Durham is about more than just the success of the University, it’s also about contributing to the success of the city, county and community.
Our Purpose and Values
We want our University to be a place where people can be free to be themselves, no matter what their identity or background. Together, we celebrate difference, value one another and are each responsible for creating an inclusive community that is respectful and fair for all.
Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Join Us? - Information Page.
Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here.
The Department
Since its founding in 2004, the School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA) has developed into one of the UK’s leading departments in Politics and International Relations. The School combines strong core disciplinary foundations with embedded regional expertise, reflecting a long-standing commitment to integrating area studies within mainstream political science and IR scholarship. SGIA is currently ranked among the top Politics departments in the UK by the Complete University Guide and is placed within the QS World University Rankings top 100 globally for Politics and International Studies.
We offer three single honours undergraduate programmes (BA Politics, BA International Relations, and BA Politics & International Relations), alongside joint honours degrees with Philosophy and Economics, and a PPE programme. We also contribute substantially to Combined Honours in Social Sciences and Liberal Arts pathways.
At postgraduate level, we offer a diverse portfolio of taught Masters programmes, including practitioner-oriented MSc degrees. We are home to a vibrant postgraduate community of research students and taught postgraduate students. Across all levels, our teaching is explicitly research-led and supported by a highly international academic and student body, a defining strength of the School.
Demand for our programmes remains consistently high, attracting students of outstanding calibre who progress into careers across academia, government, international organisations, the private sector and civil society. Our strategic priorities include widening participation, enhancing diversity, strengthening international partnerships, and fostering a research-led learning community that equips students to address complex global challenges.
In REF 2021, over 80% of our research was rated internationally excellent or world leading, confirming SGIA’s position as a major centre of research excellence. Within the School, four core research groupings structure intellectual activity: Comparative Politics, International Political Economy, International Politics and Security, and Political Theory. These are complemented by cross-cutting institutes and centres. The successful candidate will join colleagues in the Centre for Institutions and Political Behaviour, which provides a stimulating and supportive environment for developing and refining research projects and outputs, networking with colleagues within and beyond Durham and providing pump-priming financial support for research.
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Job Description
The School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA) at Durham University seeks to appoint an exceptional scholar as an Assistant Professor with research and teaching expertise in Comparative Politics, whose work uses quantitative research methods and has a regional focus on Africa, Asia, Latin America or the Middle East.
This post offers an exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to the development of internationally excellent research and teaching while allowing unrivalled opportunities to progress and embed your career in an exciting and progressive institution. For more information, please visit our School page at School of Government and International Affairs - Durham University as well as the web page of the Centre for Institutions and Political Behaviour - Durham University.
The successful candidate will benefit from individual research support funding, access to SGIA and University-wide research funding and be entitled to apply for sabbatical leave on a basis of one term of leave in each seven terms of service. SGIA and Durham University provide high-quality administrative support to assist with applications for research funding, to facilitate research-based engagement and impact work with non-academic communities, and to enable the introduction and dissemination of new educational practice.
The successful candidate will get involved in the development of our research community in Comparative Politics, including its connections with other Durham departments and other institutions, and innovative educational practice to enhance the learning experience of both undergraduate and postgraduate students, including PhD candidates. Among other EDI initiatives, the department is currently in the process of diversifying its curriculum, and this is a project we would be keen on the post-holder to contribute to.
For more information, please visit our department pages at www.dur.ac.uk/sgia/.
Assistant Professors at Durham
Assistant Professors on the Education and Research track are encouraged to focus on research and teaching but are also expected to engage in wider citizenship to enhance their own development, support their department and discipline, and contribute to the wider student experience.
Academic colleagues are supported to publish excellent research in their area of interest with a focus on high-quality outputs (including monographs and journal articles), rather than quantity. We aim to support your research needs, including practical help such as resources to attend conferences and to fund research activities, as well as a generous research leave policy and a designated mentor.
Durham University is also committed to ensuring outstanding teaching quality, stimulating learning environments, and innovative curricula for all our students. You will be supported to develop your teaching expertise and skills.
We are confident that our recruitment process allows us to attract and select the best talent to Durham. We, therefore, offer a reduced probation period of 1 year for our Assistant Professors and thereafter, subject to satisfactory performance, your position will be confirmed as permanent.
The Successful Applicant
The successful applicant will play an important role in leading the development of research and teaching in Comparative Politics within the School of Government and International Affairs. The person appointed will be required to undertake research in Comparative Politics that uses quantitative research methods, has a regional focus on Africa, Asia, Latin America or the Middle East, and makes a significant contribution to the academic literature. The successful candidate will also actively pursue research grant applications and contribute to the growth and development of the Centre for Institutions and Political Behavior and its MSc in Public Policy.
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Applicants must demonstrate research excellence in the field of Comparative Politics, and an innovative approach towards the use of methods that can be applied to generate new insights and research questions. Candidates must establish their demonstrated ability to teach our students to an exceptional standard and to fully engage in the services, citizenship and values of Durham University.
We strive to provide a working and teaching environment that is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate these key principles as part of the assessment process.
Key Responsibilities
- To pursue research that is high quality in terms of originality, significance and rigour.
- To develop clear plans for the pursuit of national and international funding opportunities to support research and end-user engagement.
- To play a role in relevant teaching and research supervision, and contribute to ongoing curriculum development.
- Contribute to enhancing the quality of the research environment in the Department, the wider University and beyond through collaborative research activity.
- Demonstrate a willingness to contribute to the administrative work, citizenship and values of the Department.
- To deliver lectures, seminars and tutorials at undergraduate and taught postgraduate levels, as well as engaging in related activity such as assessment.
- To fully engage in and enhance the values of the Department.
- To contribute to attracting and supervising research students, and to enhance the Department’s commitment to its vibrant and inclusive postgraduate culture.
- Carry out other duties as specified by the Head of Department.
Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion
Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key component of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our Purpose and Values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive.
We welcome and encourage applications from those who are currently under-represented in our workforce, including people with disabilities and from racially minoritised ethnic groups.
If you have taken a career break or periods of leave that may have impacted on the volume and recency of your research outputs and other activities, such as maternity, adoption or parental leave, you may wish to disclose this in your application. The selection committee will take this into account when evaluating your application.
The University has been awarded the Disability Confident Leader status. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.
Person Specification
Candidates will have completed their PhD (or be close to completion) and should outline their experience, skills and achievements to date, which demonstrate that they meet the essential criteria.
Research
Candidates must have the capacity for and be progressing towards the independent development of internationally excellent research that produces high-quality outcomes, including some work that is recognised as world-class or that has world-class potential.
Essential Research Criteria
- Qualifications – a good first degree and a PhD in political science, political economy, international relations or a related subject. 2
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