Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Branded Content Governance Project)

The opportunity

We are seeking an outstanding, enthusiastic and ambitious postdoctoral research fellow, ready to undertake collaborative research on an exciting new research project supported jointly by the ESRC and AHRC. You will work on an international research project examining the regulation, policies, practices and communications surrounding brand-funded content, including sponsored content, native advertising and influencer marketing. You will carry out and help to coordinate research to produce a detailed, comparative mapping of the emerging rules and practices for content funded or produced by brands across the UK, all EU countries, the US, Canada and Australia. The second stage of analysis will involve you working with UK and Spanish research teams, to examine how branded content governance is practiced and understood by practitioners, policy actors and stakeholders, and discussed within professional and public media. An international network of academics and industry partners will contribute and advise. You will carry out research activities including documentation research, media content and policy analysis, interviews, surveys and ethnographic research. You will co-author reports and have opportunities to co-present research findings and policy briefings. You will contribute to the organisation and administration of project activities including events and meetings and will produce and manage communications.  

About you

You must be of postdoctoral standing. This means you must have been awarded a PhD or have passed your viva voce with minor amendments by the application deadline.

You will have sound knowledge of literature and current research relating to one or more of the following: media and communication industries; marketing communications; communications law and policy; comparative research. You will have experience working with qualitative and quantitative research methods, including statistical data analysis. You will have a strong record of research dissemination and of summarising research in effective ways. You will possess excellent organisational skills to coordinate the data analysis and reporting, project management skills to help plan and deliver, and awareness of and interest in the challenges and opportunities of working collaboratively. Skills and interests in public and internal communications, content creation, management and design are also desirable.

Please note this vacancy is not suitable for sponsorship.

If you have any queries about this role, please contact Jaspreet Kaur, Resourcing Adviser via email on RKEEstaffrecruitment@arts.ac.uk or 020 7514 9627.

What we offer

We are UAL

For the fourth year running, University of the Arts London is the world’s second University for Art and Design in the QS World University Rankings® 2022. Our diverse and talented community comprises over 5,000 academic, professional, and technical staff. Together we are committed to social purpose. This includes creating a better a more sustainable world and championing race equality. 

We offer highly creative working environments that inspire staff across all areas to fulfil their potential and continuous training to further develop their skills and expertise. We also offer hybrid and flexible working practices, and excellent staff benefits to improve your work life balance. 

London College of Communication is a pioneering world leader in design and media education. With the communications sector constantly evolving at a rapid speed, we work at the cutting edge of new thinking and developments to prepare our students for successful careers in the creative industries of the future. Our course provision reflects the breadth of expertise housed within the most diverse creative agency including: journalism, advertising, PR and publishing; photography; film, television and sound; communications and media; graphic communication; spatial communication; design cultures; and interactive and visual communication.

Our culture