Salary: £35,608 to £46,049 per annum Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you. Closing Date: 29 August 2025 The Role Newcastle University is seeking to appoint an outstanding Research and Innovation Associate (R&IA) to join the Green Corridors North East (GCNE) team delivering a £3m AHRC Mission project. The role will focus on the theme of ‘Nature and Natural Heritage’ and will concentrate on the Tyne Derwent Way (TDW) in Gateshead ( https://www.tynederwentway.co.uk ), especially the parts of its route that run past the Metro Centre, between Dunston Staiths and the river Derwent. However, the role will also enable work across the region’s other two green corridors: the Durham City Green Corridor, that will appoint another R&IA focusing on ‘Heritage and History’, and the South Teesside Green Corridor in Middlesborough, whose additional R&IA will focus on the theme of ‘Culture and Creativity’. Collectively, all three R&IAs will be expected to work together collaboratively, across all three areas, to facilitate development of the region’s green corridors in conjunction with key stakeholders and community-based groups. The role will involve working with researchers at Newcastle University, staff at the National Trust, Gateshead Council, Tyne and Wear Building Preservation Trust, and community-based groups to shape and implement collaborative approaches to generating research questions together, co-producing research, and supporting collective action. The successful applicant will work in partnership with the GCNE team and the TDW teams to co-produce research that nurtures environmental stewardship and well-being, and that could enable stakeholders to address key policy objectives (e.g. nature recovery, climate regulation, flood prevention, public health and wellbeing). As part of their role, the postholder will also help co-develop ways of experiencing, exploring, relating to, and understanding nature. The post holder will be supported to develop their own contributions to the project, to develop new activities and co-create new research and/or impact activities funded by the GCNE Flexible Fund. Their work will contribute to new funding bids that will help the future development of the region’s green corridors for the benefit of nature, communities, and visitors. The postholder will have a PhD relevant to supporting GCNE’s work on the theme of ‘Nature and Natural Heritage’; their doctorate might, for example, be in environmental humanities, environmental creative practice, environmental social, earth, or soil sciences, nature and well-being, or another cognate field. The postholder should have experience of working collaboratively with academic and non-academic partners to develop and deliver applied research and/or impact. They should also have experience of using participatory methods when working with stakeholders (e.g. local authorities, third-sector actors, heritage organisations, and/or community-based organisations). Experience helping to organise and host public engagement events (e.g. workshops or walk and talks) is highly desirable. The postholder must be independent, team-orientated, and able to coordinate activities with diverse collaborators. They must also have excellent oral and written communication skills and a proven track record of peer-reviewed publications or equivalent practice-based research outputs. The postholder will be based in Newcastle University’s School of Arts and Cultures or, if more appropriate to their proposed work, in the: School of History, Classics, and Archaeology; the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape; or the School of Natural and EnvironmentalSciences. The GCNE Project Lead and Newcastle University’s GCNE Co-Leads are based in those Schools, and together they will co-supervise the postholder who will spend part of their working week co-located with the TDW delivery team at one of their spaces in Gateshead. The role is a full-time appointment from as soon as possible for a period of up to 27 months dependent on start date. We are committed to building a fair and inclusive workplace and would welcome requests for flexible working and — depending on the needs of the role — blended working opportunities will also be considered. Informal enquiries are welcome. Please contact Alex Bulmer (Alex.Bulmer@newcastle.ac.uk), quoting the job reference in your email, to request a job pack which will include further details of the GCNE project. Knowledge, Skills and Experience Experience of working in interdisciplinary and/or multi-disciplinary ways Experience of using participatory methods when working in collaboration with non-higher education collaborators (e.g. local authorities, third-sector actors, heritage organisations, and/or community-based organisations) Experience of producing peer-reviewed publications or equivalent practice-based research outputs Experience of project work Attributes and Behaviour A positive and supportive attitude; ability to work flexibly and cooperatively with others Ability to work to deadlines, to work independently, to organise own workload, to prioritise complex workloads and tasks Ability to communicate complex and conceptual concepts in ways that are accessible to colleagues from various organisations, including community groups Ability to be adaptable, innovative and proactive in project work, shaping work in response to discussions with the wider project team to help a project achieve its aims and objectives Ability to play a positive role in teams, to establish and grow relationships across groups where different skills, expertise and opinions are valued Ability to coordinate activities with diverse collaborators Enthusiasm to undertake training, learn new skills, and to share learning within and beyond the GCNE team Qualifications PhD in a relevant subject area as demonstrated in the applicant’s covering letter Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution. We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population. At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme. In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. Requisition ID: 28523