About this role
Location: Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6GG
About the Blavatnik School of Government
Our vision is of a world better led, a world better served and a world better governed. We are a global school committed to improving the quality of government and public policymaking worldwide, through three routes: teaching current and future leaders; generating research with impact; and engaging with governments and practitioners.
More information about working at the School can be found on our web site.
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.
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 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.
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.
Closing date: 12 noon (UK time) on Monday 12 January 2026