Post-doctoral research associate in public health nutrition

University of Liverpool

Hours of work: Full-time – 35 hours/week

Tenure: Fixed term until September 2028

We are recruiting a lead post-doctoral researcher with a background in nutrition, food and/or public health for an NIHR project examining the feasibility and effectiveness of small out of home food businesses implementing in-store nutritional labelling.

You will join the Department of Psychology and be based in the Appetite & Obesity research group. The project is led by Professor Eric Robinson and Dr Amy Finlay, University of Liverpool. Project partners include Oxford University, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, City St George’s (University of London).

The post will involve leading recruitment of businesses, delivery of the trial, collecting and analysing data, management of research staff. For related previous research, see:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-02032-1

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/14/4/e080405.full.pdf

https://www.emerald.com/nfs/article-abstract/40/6/557/448323/Nutrition-labelling-in-restaurants-a-UK-based-case?redirectedFrom=fulltext

The earliest start date available for this post is October 2026 and we do not anticipate it being possible to support a start date later than 2026.

Although the university has a hybrid working system, the expectation is that the successful applicant appointed to this role will be expected to work more than 60% on campus.

If you are still awaiting your PhD to be awarded you will be appointed at Grade 6, spine point 30. Upon written confirmation that you have been awarded your PhD, your salary will be increased to Grade 7, spine point 31.

Key responsibilities and duties

Leading on business recruitment, data collection and analysis (qualitative and quantitative).

Supervising a graduate level research assistant to support data collection and co-supervising a PhD student to support trial completion.

Working as part of a wider team and programme of research.

To support the dissemination of the research, including contribution to research publications and conference presentations.

To contribute to project reports and presentations to stakeholders where appropriate.

To identify and engage in personal development opportunities to support your career development.

This post is supported by a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) programme which aims to understand how we can change the food environment to prevent diet-related disease and obesity. Staff will be actively encouraged to engage with and learn from the collaborating institutes in the programme, including Oxford, City St George’s, and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Each post has a dedicated budget for personalised training, study visits and external placements, which we anticipate staff will actively use. Staff will also become members of the NIHR academy ( https://www.nihr.ac.uk/career-development/nihr-academy ) : a dedicated network to support their training and development as a researcher

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to enhancing a workforce as diverse as our community and particularly encourage applicants who are of minoritised genders and ethnic backgrounds, living with a disability, and/or are members of the LGBTQIA+ community.