Job Description

Postdoctoral Research Associate

(

Job Number:

25000542

)

Department of Mathematical Sciences
Grade 7: - 38,249 per annum
Fixed Term - Full Time

Contract Duration

:

104

Contracted Hours per Week

:

35

Working Arrangements

:

TBC

Closing Date

:

01-Jun-2025, 5:59:00 PM

Disclosure and Barring Service Requirement

:

Not Applicable.

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 is 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 is also about contributing to the success of the city, county, and community.



Our University Strategy is built on the three pillars of research, education, and wider student experience, but also on our keen sense of community and of inspiring others to achieve their potential.

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

The Department

The Department of Mathematical Sciences at Durham is one of the UK's best Mathematics departments, with an outstanding reputation in research, teaching, and student employability. Ranked 7th in terms of grade point average intensity in the Research Excellence Framework 2014, it has an active programme of internationally recognized research in Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics (including Applied and Computational Mathematics as well as Mathematical and Theoretical Particle Physics), and Statistics and Probability. The research culture is vibrant, with many visitors, seminars, international conferences, and workshops. We aim to provide a supportive and friendly environment with a strong sense of community. The Department has recently grown significantly; it currently has around 100 permanent members of staff. In 2021, the Department moved to a newly constructed building. The building is also home to Computer Science, with the goal of fostering constructive interdisciplinary exchanges. Both the Department and the University run High Performance Computing services.



The Statistics Group within the Department of Mathematical Sciences has 23 academic staff, plus postdoctoral researchers and PhD students. Research spans a wide range. Current interests include: Bayesian statistics; modelling of structure, geometry, and shape; statistical machine learning; computational statistics; high-dimensional statistics; nonparametric statistics; foundations of statistics and decision theory; applied statistics, with specific attention to large-scale applications in a wide variety of contexts.



There are many active collaborations with other Durham University departments and research institutes, including the recently founded Institute for Data Science, as well as with companies and governmental bodies. The Department operates a Statistics and Mathematics Consultancy Unit, which provides a focus for external liaison with outside and commercial organisations. Clients include local companies, multi-nationals, and national and international governmental organisations. The Group provided 6 impact case studies for REF 2014.



The Department holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award. Athena SWAN is a national initiative that recognizes the advancement of gender equality, representation, progression, and success for all in academia. The Department also supports the London Mathematical Society Good Practice Scheme, whose aim is to support mathematics departments to embed equal opportunities for women within their working practices.

The Role

Applications are invited for a two-year full-time Postdoctoral Research Associate position beginning around October 2025 (although there is some flexibility in this date, in both directions). The position is funded by NSF-EPSRC grant 'Stochastic Shape Processes and Inference', in collaboration with the University of Nottingham, Ohio State University, and Florida State University. The successful applicant will work primarily with the UK PI Prof Ian Jermyn (Durham) and Co-I Prof Karthik Bharath (Nottingham), but will also have the opportunity to collaborate with US PI Prof Sebastian Kurtek (Ohio) and Prof Anuj Srivastava (Florida) and their teams. The project concerns methods for the statistical modelling of shapes changing in time, and involves mathematical and statistical techniques from statistical shape analysis, Riemannian geometry, time series and stochastic processes, and Bayesian statistics.

Key responsibilities:

To carry out research within the framework of the project, under the direction of the Principal Investigator, and in collaboration with the Principal Investigator, the Co-Investigator, and other project members. To contribute to the development of research objectives and proposals.
To liaise with research colleagues and internal and external contacts to further the research objectives.
To work with the Principal Investigator and other project members, as appropriate, to identify promising research directions, to develop new research methods, to implement those methods in computer code, and to evaluate their performance on various data sets and applications. To take part in regular meetings, both in-person and online with UK colleagues, and online with US colleagues, and to present reports to such meetings on research progress. To write and publish high quality outputs, including papers for submission to peer-reviewed journals and papers for presentation at conferences and workshops, under the direction of the Principal Investigator. To prepare and deliver presentations on research outputs/activities to audiences which may include: research sponsors, academic and non-academic audiences. To deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines by discussing with the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder and offering creative or innovative solutions. To plan and manage own research activity, research resources in collaboration with others, and contribute to the planning of research projects. To contribute to fostering a collegial and respectful working environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect. To engage in citizenship to support the department and wider discipline. To engage in continuing professional development by attending relevant training and development courses or by participation in undergraduate or postgraduate teaching programmes or by membership of departmental committees, etc..

The post is fixed term for two years commencing on the start date, as this is the duration of the grant funding for the post.



The post-holder is employed to work on research/a research project which will be led by another colleague. Whilst this means that the post-holder will not be carrying out independent research in his/her own right, the expectation is that they will contribute to the advancement of the project, through the development of their own research ideas/adaptation and development of research protocols.



Successful applicants will, ideally, be in post by October 1, 2025.

Working at Durham

A competitive salary is only one part of the many benefits you will receive if you join the University:


30 days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year - a total of 42 days per year. The University closes between Christmas and New Year. We offer a generous pension scheme. As a new member of staff, you will be automatically enrolled in the University Superannuation Scheme (USS). No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike, and discounts with local bus and train companies. We have a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. We offer a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships, and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities. Lots of support for health and wellbeing, including discounted membership of our state-of-the-art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme. An on-site nursery is available, plus access to holiday camps for children aged 5-16. Family-friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, that are among the most generous in the higher education sector. The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community. Discounts are available via our benefits portal including: discounts at supermarkets, high-street retailers, IT companies such as Apple, cinemas, and entrance at various attractions. A salary sacrifice scheme is also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits. If you are moving to Durham, you may be eligible for help with removal costs, and we have a dedicated team who can help you with practicalities such as housing and schools. If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest-free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.


Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here.

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. It's important to us that all colleagues undertake activities that are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.



We welcome and encourage applications from those who are currently under-represented in our work force, 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.

Contact Information

Department contact for academic-related enquiries

Professor Ian Jermyn. Email: i.h.jermyn@durham.ac.uk.

Contact information for technical difficulties when submitting your application

If you encounter technical difficulties when using the online application form, we prefer you send enquiries by email. Please send your name along with a brief description of the problem you are experiencing to e.recruitment@durham.ac.uk.



Alternatively, you may call 0191 334 6801 from the UK, or +44 191 334 6801 from outside the UK. This number operates between 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday, UK time. We will normally respond within one working day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays).

University contact for general queries about the recruitment process

For general queries please contact e.recruitment@durham.ac.uk.

How to Apply

To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification below. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria.



While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.

Submitting your application

We prefer to receive applications online. We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.

What to Submit

All applicants are asked to submit:


a CV and cover letter which details your experience, skills, and achievements in meeting (or having the potential to meet) the criteria set out below. Please make sure that any publications listed in the CV are available from publicly accessible repositories or include links to downloadable copies.

Next Steps

Short-listed candidates will be invited to an online interview; the interview date is TBC.



In the event a candidate is unable to attend on the date offered, it may not be possible to offer an interview on an alternative date.



Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Job Applicants/Potential Job Applicants - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.



When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria:

Qualifications

A good first degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related subject.

A PhD (or be close to submission) in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related subject.

Experience

Experience in conducting high quality academic research. Demonstrable ability to write material of a quality commensurate with publication in highly-ranked journals.

Demonstrable ability to present research papers at conferences and communicate complex information to specialists and within the wider academic community.

Experience in research areas relevant to the project: statistical shape analysis, Riemannian geometry as applied to Statistics, times series, stochastic processes, or closely related areas.

Skills

Demonstrable ability to work cooperatively as part of a team, including participating in research meetings.

Ability to work independently on own initiative and to strict deadlines.

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Demonstrable ability to code effectively in areas relevant to the research project: statistical shape analysis, times series, stochastic processes, or closely related areas

Desirable Criteria:

Experience

Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals, commensurate with stage of career.

A track record of presenting research at conferences, symposia, or meetings, commensurate with stage of career.

Skills

* Demonstrable ability to plan and manage independent research.