Working at Durham University
A globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a warm and friendly place to work, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other.
As one of the UK’s leading universities, Durham is an incredible place to define your career.The University is located within a beautiful historic city, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and surrounded by stunning countryside. Our talented scholars and researchers from around the world are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.
We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things in the world. Being a part of Durham is about more than just the success of the University, it’s also about contributing to the success of the city, county and community.
Our University Strategy is built on three pillars of research, education and wider student experience, but also on our keen sense of community and of inspiring others to achieve their potential.
Our Purpose and Values
We want our University to be a place where people can be free to be themselves, no matter what their identity or background. Together, we celebrate difference, value one another and are each responsible for creating an inclusive community that is respectful and fair for all.
Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Join Us? - Information Page
The Department
Durham University’s Global Centre for Contextual Safeguarding, in conjunction with Durham University’s Sociology department, seeks to appoint a talented individual to a fixed-term Research Fellowship.
The Global Centre for Contextual Safeguarding (GCCS) launched in September 2025, building on the work of a decade-plus Contextual Safeguarding Programme and a team that has been at the forefront of reforming safeguarding systems to promote the welfare of young people in places where they spend their time. The GCCS is an interdisciplinary Centre based in Durham’s Sociology Department with direct integration with various departments across the four faculties of the University – including Law, DUBS, Education and Psychology. It works to: transform how societies understand and deliver services that safeguard young people beyond their homes; create systems that look beyond the capacity of parents to protect children; and build sustainable partnerships in which safeguarding is truly everybody's business.
GCCS is committed to a radical transformation in how safeguarding is conceptualised, studied, and practiced, and by whom. Over the coming years, GCCS will achieve this by building a critical interdisciplinary effort to cement an emergent field of research. This Research Fellow role will directly contribute to this interdisciplinary effort by working primarily within the GCCS team but being structurally embedded within the Criminology team within the Sociology Department.
The Criminology team is closely connected to the Department’s C-SHINE (Criminal Justice, Social Harm and Inequalities) research theme, an interdisciplinary research environment bringing together scholars working across crime, victimisation, policing, prisons, social harm, inequality, disability and neurodiversity, safeguarding, and criminal justice practice. C-SHINE is committed to producing theoretically informed and socially engaged research that contributes to policy, practice, and wider social change through collaboration with practitioners, policymakers, and community organisations at local, national, and international levels.
The Role
The postholder will join the GCCS team to consider the wider application of Contextual Safeguarding and associated themes via a Criminology lens. Crucially, the postholder will bring together the fields of criminology and contextual safeguarding to advance this area of investigation and conduct research of real-world and applied significance. The overall programme of research will be shaped collaboratively upon appointment with the GCCS and the Criminology team.
We welcome applications from those with research interests in areas such as youth justice, health and justice, hate and victimisation, evidence-based policing, organised crime, child criminal exploitation, crime and social harm, crime and disability/neurodiversity, transnational criminology, or criminology and race. Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to interdisciplinary and applied research that is capable of informing policy, practice, and wider social change.
The GCCS is a hybrid team, with most members working remotely. Presence in Durham for GCCS business is expected a minimum of once a month, and there are 2-3 multi-day GCCS events that will require travel and overnight accommodation as well as any project-based travel. Additional Durham presence is likely to be required for Criminology business.
Key responsibilities:
This post is fixed term for 2 years. It is not anticipated that the post will be extended beyond the initial 2-year fixed term, as that is the duration of the funding available.
The post-holder is employed to work on research/a research project which will be led by another colleague. Whilst this means that the post-holder will not be carrying out independent research in his/her own right, the expectation is that they will contribute to the advancement of the project, through the development of their own research ideas/adaptation and development of research protocols.
Successful applicants will, ideally, be in post by 1 September 2026.
Working at Durham
A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University:
You’ll receive 30 days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 42 days per year. The University closes between Christmas and New Year.
We offer a generous pension scheme, and as a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into the University Superannuation Scheme (USS).
No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have ample parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies. You can also take advantage of our cost-effective and environmentally friendly Tusker Car Benefit Scheme, allowing you to lease a brand-new electric or hybrid vehicle with savings on tax and National Insurance.
We have a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.
We provide wide-ranging health and wellbeing support including discounted membership for our state-of-the-art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
Our on-site nursery is rated Outstanding by Ofsted, and you can access holiday camps for children aged 5-16.
Our family-friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
We offer all staff the opportunity to take part in volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community.
You can access exclusive discounts via our benefits portal including money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, eating out and days out at various attractions.
Various salary sacrifice schemes are also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.
If you are moving to Durham, you may be eligible for help with removal costs, and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools. If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest-free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.
Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here.
Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion
Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key component of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our Purpose and Values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive.
We welcome and encourage applications from those who are currently under-represented in our work force, including people with disabilities and from racially minoritised ethnic groups.
If you have taken a career break or periods of leave that may have impacted on the volume and recency of your research outputs and other activities, such as maternity, adoption or parental leave, you may wish to disclose this in your application. The selection committee will take this into account when evaluating your application.
The University has been awarded the Disability Confident Leader status. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.
Contact Information
Department contact for academic-related enquiries
Professor Carlene Firmin [email protected] or Professor Stephen Macdonald [email protected]
Contact information for technical difficulties when submitting your application
If you encounter technical difficulties when using the online application form, we prefer you send enquiries by email. Please send your name along with a brief description of the problem you’re experiencing to [email protected]
Alternatively, you may call 0191 334 6801 from the UK, or +44 191 334 6801 from outside the UK. This number operates during the hours of 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday, UK time. We will normally respond within one working day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays).
University contact for general queries about the recruitment process
[email protected]
How to Apply
To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification below. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria.
While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.
Submitting your application
We prefer to receive applications online. We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.
What to Submit
All applicants are asked to submit:
Next Steps
Short-listed candidates will be invited to the University, either virtually or in-person and will have the opportunity to meet key members of the Department. The assessment for the post will normally include a presentation followed by an interview and we anticipate that the assessments and interviews will take place over two days in or around 15 July 2026.
In the event that you are unable to attend on the date offered, it may not be possible to offer you an interview on an alternative date.
Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Job Applicants/Potential Job Applicants - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.
When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.
