Alfred Landecker Postdoctoral Fellow in Philosophy and Public Policy

About the Blavatnik School of Government

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• Opportunities for hybrid working (typically 60% of working hours on-site and 40% remotely)

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About the role

The Blavatnik School of Government wishes to appoint a Postdoctoral Fellow in Philosophy and Public Policy. This position exists primarily to allow the postholder to develop their research and policy engagement in this field, with a proportion of time (30%) allocated to teaching on the School's programmes and developing the Alfred Landecker Programme.

The post is generously supported by funds from the Alfred Landecker Foundation, to support a programme of activity at the Blavatnik School of Government around strengthening democracy. While no single approach to this is stipulated, applicants should show how their work is consistent with and supports this goal. This postholder will contribute to the Alfred Landecker Programme under the direction of Professor Thomas Simpson, Alfred Landecker Professor of Values and Public Policy, and in collaboration with other academics in the School and beyond. Programmatic activities for the Postdoctoral Fellow include conducting and publishing their own research within its goals, making connections with research partners elsewhere, and helping to manage workshops, conferences, and working groups to produce group reports. Media work and public communication may also be required.

Teaching duties for the postholder will include lecturing and leading seminars on the Foundations module on the Master of Public Policy (MPP), the School's flagship degree programme. Foundations is a compulsory core course which introduces students to the normative principles which inform policy-making. Other duties involve supervising MPP students, and teaching on non-degree courses.

This is a fixed-term appointment for three years, with the successful candidate expected to start from 01 September 2026. The post-holder will dedicate 70% of their time per year to research and policy engagement, and 30% to teaching and programmatic activities.

About you

The ideal candidate will hold, or be close to completing, a PhD/DPhil in ethical or political philosophy, political theory, legal philosophy, or a closely related field. They will bring a developing or established record of internationally excellent research, demonstrated through high-quality monographs and publications in leading peer-reviewed journals or edited volumes, appropriate to their career stage.

They will have an outstanding programme of applied research that addresses normative and philosophical questions relevant to contemporary public policy, coupled with a strong commitment to engaging practitioners and contributing to policy-facing work. The candidate will be adept at managing their own research and associated activities, and capable of working collaboratively across disciplinary boundaries.

The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills, enabling them to write for a range of scholarly and public audiences, present research persuasively, and represent the research group in meetings and media settings. They will also have the organisational ability to lead conferences, workshops, working groups, and partnerships that enhance the impact and visibility of the programme

Application process

Please upload a supporting statement that outlines how you meet the selection criteria in your own words, along with your CV and the details of two referees as part of your online application.

The closing date for applications is at 12 noon (UK time) on Monday 12 January 2026