Sensory Lives: Neurodivergent Children and Families in Temporary Accommodation King’s College London in United Kingdom

About us

The Department of Geography at King’s College London invites applications for a one-year (12 months), full-time (1.0 FTE) position as Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA). The post will be based in the research team of Professor Katherine Brickell in the Department of Geography at KCL’s Strand Campus in central London.

About the role

The Department of Geography at King’s College London invites applications for a one-year (12 months), full-time (1.0 FTE) position as Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA). The post will be based in the research team of Professor Katherine Brickell at KCL’s Strand Campus in central London. Hybrid working can be accommodated.

The PDRA will report to Professor Katherine Brickell (Department of Geography) and work closely with Dr Rosalie Warnock on their Leverhulme-funded research project “Sensory Lives: Neurodivergent Children and Families in Temporary Accommodation”. The PDRA will also liaise with research collaborators, including the Shared Health Foundation in Greater Manchester.

The research aims to better understand how homeless families with neurodivergent children experience Temporary Accommodation in the United Kingdom. Its goal is also to create spaces for their insights to be represented and registered in national discussions on the child homelessness crisis.

See  https://www.sensorylivesproject.org/  about for more information.

Under the direction of Professor Katherine Brickell and Dr Rosalie Warnock, the PDRA will take on responsibilities for year-two of the 24-month Sensory Lives study. In year one (January-December 2025), the team developed playful, creative and inclusive methods for working with neurodivergent children and their families, and conducted the bulk of data collection. The primary role of the PDRA is to support the design and UK-wide tour of a playhouse tent which will communicate children’s experiences to diverse audiences. The playhouse tent looks to re-centre children’s perspectives in discussions of homelessness and communicate neurological difference more inclusively in research and policy. The PDRA will work with children and families to co-design the playhouse tent; travel with the tent and facilitate public engagement with it; and conduct qualitative data analysis (of engagement with the tent). Other responsibilities may include: organising national stakeholder interviews; engaging in policy-applied and/or academic writing; active participation and leadership in team-based workshops; travel and managing travel logistics; delivering academic presentations at conferences; and project talks to the public and policy stakeholders.

This is a full-time position (FTE 1.0 or 37.5 hours/week) starting at salary Grade 6. The start date of 1 January 2026 is fixed, and the successful candidate will be offered a fixed term contract for 12 months.

Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade 7. Visit the Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.