Postdoctoral Researcher

We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to join the AHRC-DFG funded project Forging And Belonging: Researching children's social relations and Imagined futures through Crafting in rural West Africa (FABRIC).

FABRIC is a three-year AHRC-DFG funded project investigating how the changing value of craft in Senegal and Benin shapes social belonging and imagined futures of teenagers in craft families. We have collected ethnographic data from families in three villages in each country. You will have access to this data and will collaborate with the co-Investigators in analysing and writing up the ethnographic material.

This is a highly innovative research project about how the changing economic, ecological, epistemological and cultural value of crafts in West Africa shapes social belonging and imagined futures of teenagers in craft families. Researchers in Benin and Senegal have completed participant ethnographies with potters, weavers and blacksmiths, conducted qualitative interviews with a range of interested actors in each country, and future-me workshops with children in craft families. You will collaborate with the research team on the analysis of this data and on writing research outputs. You will have completed a doctorate in anthropology, sociology or archeology and have knowledge of West African culture and society. Ideally, you should be fluent in French and Wolof or Baatonum.

This opportunity would build on experience developed during PhD and postdoctoral research in the anthropology or sociology of material culture, especially with regard to West African cultures.

Contract

This role is offered on a fixed-term basis for 11 and half months.

This is a part-time role working 21 hours per week. You need to be based in the UK and able to come to the office at least one day a week but you can work remotely for up to 14 hours per week, by arrangement.

Interviews will be held on November 13 2026.

Salary and benefits

£27,079 rising to £30,832 per annum pro rata (60% of £45,132.00 rising to £51,387.00 FTE).

Birkbeck offers a competitive salary and pension scheme, 31 days paid leave, flexible working arrangements and some of the most generous benefits in the HE sector, all while being located right in the heart of Central London.

The salary quoted is on the College's London Pay Scale which includes a consolidated Weighting/Allowance which applies only to staff whose normal contractual place of work is in the London area.

Enquiries

If you would like to know more about the role, please click on apply below or contact Karen Wells, Professor International Development and Childhood Studies, PI FABRIC, k.wells@bbk.ac.uk.

If you have technical issues or difficulties using the recruitment portal, please contact jobs@bbk.ac.uk providing your name and the job reference number of the position. While we are happy to respond to all informal enquiries, only formal applications through the online system will be considered.

We welcome applicants from all sections of the community. The College is committed to improving the gender and cultural diversity of its workforce, holding an Athena Swan and Race Equality Charter awards and operating Disability Confident & Mindful Employer schemes.