CAMHRA Career Development Research Fellow

Job title: CAMHRA Career Development Research Fellow

Department: Anthropology and Sociology

Contract Type: Fixed-term, 12 months, August 2025-July 2026

Grade: 7

Salary: £42,217.29 - £49,381.29 per annum inclusive of London Weighting 

Location: Bloomsbury

Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week

SOAS University of London is the leading Higher Education institution in Europe specialising in the study of Asia, Africa and the Near and Middle East.  SOAS University of London is positioned to play a leaing role in reimagining higher education globally, with a new strategic plan in place as the basis for the renewal and revitalisation of the School which commits SOAS to both student responsiveness and research intensity. SOAS is moving towards a new model of international partnerships which is responsive to the transnational character of our global challenges.

About the Department:

The Centre for Anthropology and Mental Health Research in Action (CAMHRA) is a globally oriented and locally connected Centre of excellence for cutting edge anthropological research, education and public engagement in the field of mental health. It works to promote research on critical issues of inequality in access, experience and outcomes of mental health care with benefits for marginalised groups in the London area and cascading effects at national and global levels, and with special emphasis on mental health lived-experience and clinical practice-based research, and coproduced research outputs.

CAMHRA is funded for 5 years with a £7.8m grant from UKRI Research England, as a sustainable enhancement of research capacity in anthropological theory and ethnographic methods for mental health research, through additional academic staff, postdoctoral fellows, scholarships for doctoral and master’s research. Partnership is central to the working of CAMHRA which has collaboration for research and education/training in anthropology with NHS Trusts, Thrive LDN, voluntary sector and Higher Education and international partners. CAMHRA is well placed for policy and public engagement while deepening SOAS’s connections with London’s diverse diasporic populations and international collaborators.

About the Role

The Centre for Anthropology and Mental Health Research in Action seeks to recruit a Career Development Research Fellow to develop their portfolio of innovative and collaborative research on anthropology and mental health. This 1-year position is intended to support an exceptional early-career academic, with existing anthropological training at doctoral and/or postdoctoral level, to develop a path breaking large-scale research project, and to seek external grant funding for this project. By the end of the award, the fellow will be ready to lead their own research programme with the opportunity to be hosted at CAMHRA. The Fellowship is designed to encourage further in-depth research which could potentially result in publications such as an ethnographic monograph, and a programme of public engagement activities.

The Career Development Research Fellow will work on their projects within CAMHRA and advance its research agenda, engagement, and partnerships in the field of anthropology and mental health. They will conduct individual and collaborative research projects that include ethnographic fieldwork and produce high-impact academic and knowledge exchange outputs. They will support the work of the Centre, its organisation and intellectual life through education, teaching and training, workshops, events, and conferences convened by CAMHRA. They will be supervised by CAMHRA core academic staff and will be based in the Department of Anthropology at SOAS.

You can find further information on the key criteria for the role in the Job Description and Person Specification, along with a full list of duties and responsibilities, which can be found on the SOAS website.

How to Apply: 

Please complete the online application form and upload your CV and a supporting statement

In your supporting statement, please outline your program of proposed research, publication and public engagement activities.

In your CV, please include a list of publications.

Closing date: 9 December 2024

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to submit a full research proposal in advance of the interview.

Interviews to be held: mid-late January 2025

Further information

If you have any questions or require any assistance with regard to the application process, please contact us via the HR Contact Form | SOAS, and if you have questions about the role and the centre, please contact Alexa at aw96@soas.ac.uk.

'Successful candidates will need to demonstrate their eligibility to work in the UK or have limited leave to remain in the UK and associated right to work for the duration of their employment with SOAS, in accordance with the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006'. for the duration of their contract

For information on how and why SOAS processes personal data about its job applicants, please read our Job Applicant Notice.

We are not able to offer sponserships for candidates outside the UK, however we will be able to endorse a Global Talent visa for candidates outside the UK

We would particularly welcome applications from candidates from working class, first generation Higher Education, Black, Asian, other minority ethnic and underrepresented groups from within the UK and beyond. All appointment decisions will be made on merit, following a fair and competitive process.