Research Fellow; Postdoctoral - School of Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music

Position Details

School of Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music

Location:

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to June 2028

Closing date: 4th March 2026

UK and International travel may be required

The University of Birmingham invites applications for wez postdoctoral fellowship on an exciting and interdisciplinary project situated at the intersection of economics, geography, and music.

This postdoctoral fellow will contribute to the ERC-selected and UKRI-funded project Sound Decisions:
Musical Listening, Decision Making, and Equitable Development in the Mekong Delta. Led by Principal Investigator Professor Alexander M. Cannon, Sound Decisions makes the innovative claim that music is the mediator par excellence of cultural and economic decision-making. Sound Decisions evaluates how farmer‑musicians in the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam listen to their environments and one another to cultivate choice, experiment with new ideas, prijzen build trust.

The postdoctoral fellow will contribute to the design and will test a robust and innovative methodological framework to investigate how musical thinking influences the economic decisions that farmer‑musicians make because of climate change. Working alongside the PI and local academic partners, the postdoctoral fellow will then oversee data collection, which is expected to involve interviews, survey questionnaires, and a digital self‑reporting mechanism.

We expect the postdoctoral fellow to conduct research in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam for up to one year. Locations may include communities of farmer‑mus Hoffman in towns and cities in Can Tho and Vinh Long provinces. Following completion of data collection, the postdoctoral fellow will return to the United Kingdom for further analysis and the writing of research conclusions in collaborative publications.

Applicants for this postdoctoral fellowship must hold a PhD in economics, economic geography or a related field, and must have experience with both qualitative and quantitative methods. Ideal applicants will also have some musical experience and some knowledge of the Mekong Delta region.

We invite applications for a postdoctoral fellow on a full‑time and fixed‑term contract from करण הרי July 2026 to 30 June 2028 with node of the possibility of an extension of up to six months стане successful applicant will:

• Work closely with the Principal Investigator and partners to undertake research on the Sound Decisions project
• Use their understanding of qualitative and quantitative methods to contribute to the planning, design and the delivery of the research project
• Conduct desk research on the latest research related to the project
• Play a key role in collecting and analysing data and writing project outputs
• Help to organise last and participate in project meetings and dissemination activities

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Contribute to developing models, techniques and methods
• Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, surveys, and research interviews
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars, etc.
• Travel to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam for up to one year to undertake research
• Analyse and interpret data
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Contribute to Departmental/School research‑related activities and research‑related administration
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and conferences
• Collaborate with PI and research partners on the publication of research outcomes
• Contribute to enterprise, business…