Post Doctoral Research Fellow in Agri-Food systems

Job title: Post Doctoral Research Fellow in Agri-Food systems 

Department: Economics

Contract Type: Fixed term for 10 months 

Grade: 7/Ac2

Salary: £43,297.57 pro rata inclusive of London Allowance.  (£36,081.30 per annum for 10 months fixed term contract).

Location: Bloomsbury, Camden, Greater London, United Kingdom

Hours: 35 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 leading 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 Role

Proponents of industrial poultry systems claims to boost farmer livelihoods and the availability of affordable proteins, especially in the Global South. While, industrial systems are known to increase the risk of a new pandemic, little is known about the externalities of they generate. Industrial poultry systems are highly corporatised, integrated and consolidated, with only two firms producing global breeding stock for chicken meat. Corporate concentration can create anti-competitive behaviour, skew market power to exclude smallholder producers, undermine environmental standards, affect animal welfare negatively, and reduce the genetic diversity of local chicken breeds. This project will deliver urgently needed evidence on the global health and livelihood implications of corporate capture of poultry industries by focusing on trade-offs generated by corporate concentration in poultry production systems in India and South Africa. Using an interdisciplinary One Health approach based within political economy and competition economics, we will investigate how transnational corporations contribute to risk of pandemic threats and livelihood vulnerabilities. The project will take place in South Africa and India.

About the Department

The SOAS Economics Department has a mission to address the most urgent issues of our times. Today these include the rampant environmental catastrophe, historic levels of inequality, health, economic and social crises, etc. The Department exercises leadership internationally in political economy, development and heterodox economics, and does so by bringing a unique regional lens to bear on its analysis. Research in the Department proceeds along a set of themes including institutions and governance, money and finance; nutrition, health and development; informal economies; labour markets and welfare institutions, poverty and inequality, international financial institutions; feminist political economy and ecological macroeconomics.

About you

The post-doctoral research fellow will conduct independent research on contract farming conditions in poultry industry in India.  You will be responsible for designing a farm level survey to capture the impact of corporate concentration on smallholder farmers in Telangana, India. Specifically, the farm level survey will assess sustainability of participation for smallholders over time. The survey will use a mixed methods – both quantitative and qualitative - approach to capture dynamics of poultry production at local level across contract and non-contract farming systems. It will also include in-depth qualitative interview questions to capture externalities of industrial systems.  You will initiate the study and independently manage the farm level survey. This survey will be constructed in a way that it can be deployed in other countries and study sites in subsequent iterations of the projects. Knowledge or interest in survey tools such as kobo toolbox, mixed methods, and/or agrarian change would be an asset for the position holder.

The postholder will benefit from an encouraging research environment developed through the Critical Research on Industrial Livestock Systems (CRILS) network hosted by the Department of Economics at SOAS.

Knowledge of livestock systems is not essential. It is expected that the you will have some knowledge of critical agrarian change, food systems, agricultural policy or political economy. A core focus of the project is to push the boundaries of existing conceptualisation of corporate concentration in global value chains to lived contract farming and environmental/ ecological degradation.

How to Apply: 

Please complete the online application form and upload your CV publications, and a supporting statement addressing the essential criteria of the Person Specification (Please refer to Job Description).

Closing date:  6th May 2026 at 11:59 p.m.                          

Interviews to be held: 19th May 2026

Further information

Please note that the application system does not currently have a save-and-return feature. To avoid losing any information, we strongly encourage you to complete and submit your application in one sitting. Make sure you have all necessary details ready before you begin.

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.

We may be able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.

If you would like further information about the role, please contact Mehroosh Tak, via email: mt83@soas.ac.uk

If you have any questions or require any assistance with regard to the application process, please contact us via the HR Contact Form | SOAS

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