Job Description

###

Location

Brighton, UK###

Hours

Full time or part time hours considered up to a maximum of 1 FTE/ 37.5 hours per week.###

Salary

Grade 7 starting at 38,784 to 46,049 per annum, pro rata if part time.###

Contract Type

Fixed Term Contract
About the role



Research post applying systems thinking to food system resilience and vertical farming as part of the "Vertical Farming to Improve UK Food System Resilience (VF-UKFSR)" project.

The role will involve building causal systems maps of the UK leafy green supply chain in workshops with partner farmers (both conventional horticulture and vertical farming) and from interviews and literature. Exploring how different potential risks to the supply chain might impact on it and the broader system and then working with farmers to understand how they might respond and adapt.

There is opportunity for work on novel ways to use systems maps to explore the impacts and interactions of risks and the resilience of complex food systems. Both with developing new network analysis tools and new participatory approaches to uncover and understand risks/vulnerabilities and to explore adaptation strategies.

You will work closely with the interdisciplinary VF-Resilience team across multiple universities and with our farm partners, collaborating across the project to integrate systems approaches with socio-economic and land use modelling and work on social acceptance, and helping to form a roadmap to support policy and industry in understanding the future role of VF in the UK food system.

About you



You must be ambitious and able to work independently, as well as collaboratively, in a diverse and multidisciplinary team. Successful applicants should have, or will soon have, a doctoral degree in a relevant discipline, or commensurate professional experience, with evidence of strong interdisciplinary working and qualitative and quantitative skills or demonstrable capacity to develop them where there are gaps.

You should have skills and enthusiasm for using systems thinking approaches and tools in real world challenges. The ideal candidate will have previous experience in systems thinking or complexity, and in participatory approaches, ideally in systems mapping or other types of participatory modelling.

You must be able to work with stakeholders and have the ability to organize and maintain an ongoing participatory process and stakeholder relationships as well as to adapt the process to on-the-ground constraints.

A strong interest in, and ideally experience of food systems and horticulture/agriculture coupled with an interest in resilience and risk analysis is required.

Quantitative skills in network analysis, causal analysis, risk and resilience or related analysis skills, alongside the ability to code in R or Python, or a demonstrable ability to develop these are highly desirable. As well as sufficient understanding of quantitative and qualitative methods to develop novel map analysis useful to system stakeholders.

You must have sufficient cross-disciplinary understanding and experience to work collaboratively on bridging qualitative and quantitative models, methods and data with other researchers in order to support connections across the project team.

You should have experience in producing academic publications alongside research work and be able to organize your workload and time to do so.

About our Division



Why work here



Our university is situated off the A27, next to the beautiful South Downs where you will enjoy everything that our 150-acre campus has to offer. We are accessible by public transport; Falmer train station is a five-minute walk to campus and several bus stops are located within campus. We also have dedicated cycling paths and encourage our staff to use these with our offering of a cycle to work scheme.

Sussex is a renowned, multi-accredited, research-led International University and this is only possible because of the people that work here. Whether you are a member of Faculty, part of a Professional Services team or a Student, it's our people that make us great and we want you to be part of that.

Find out about our equality, diversity and inclusion

Further Key Information



Please contact Dr Alexandra Penn Alexandra.penn@sussex.ac.uk for informal enquiries.

For full details and how to apply see our vacancies page.

The University is committed to equality and valuing diversity, and applications are particularly welcomed from women and black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in academic posts in Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Mathematics (STEMM) at Sussex.

Please note that this position may be subject to ATAS clearance if you require visa sponsorship.

The University of Sussex values the diversity of its staff and students, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

The University requires that work undertaken for the University is performed in the UK.

Visa Sponsorship Queries: This role has been assigned an eligible SOC code and meets the salary requirements for Skilled Worker Sponsorship if full time and appointed at Grade 7.4. Please consult our Skilled Worker Visa information page for further information about Visa Sponsorship.###


September 3, 2025 5:59 PM###

Expected Interview Date

22nd of September###

Expected Start Date

As soon as possible###

Fixed Term Contract Duration

Fixed term for 12 months