SOAS University of London is positioned to play a leading role in reimagining higher education globally, with a new strategic plan as the basis for the renewal and revitalization of the school that commits SOAS to both student responsiveness and research intensity.

ARole shift:

The Critical Research on Industrial Livestock Systems (CRILS) Network aims to connect academics with practitioners (a broad term for non-academic collaborators – civil society, NGOs, activists, artists, investigative journalists, food systems workers, legal scholars, policy makers, etc.) to develop a critique of the drivers and negative externalities of animal agriculture Industrial. Research can focus on topics such as, but not limited to, mechanisms of corporate concentration and financing of livestock production, labor movements in globalized industrial animal value chains, and the political economy and/or ecology of expanding industrial animal agriculture in Global South contexts.

Over the course of two years, the research fellow will

• Lead the delivery of two in-person workshops (Spring 2026 and 2027)
• Facilitate collaborators to deliver online workshops annually (see www.crils.org for an example of such workshops)
• Manage and participate in two working groups under the supervision of working group experts, including submitting research outputs to a peer review journal and other platforms
• Conduct ongoing network research on leading academics and practitioners involved in the critique of industrial animal agriculture
• Manage CRILS communications (written, online, in-person and website)
• Attend relevant events, conferences and workshops to represent the CRILS network
• Apply for grant funding to continue CRILS activities

This is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious and creative early-career researcher to develop research expertise in political economy, political ecology, human geography, critical public health or similar disciplines, as well as project management skills.

About the department:

You will work under the supervision of Dr. Mehroush Tak and will be based in the Economics Department at SOAS.

About you:

The role is a combination of academic research – where the post holder will be expected to conduct interdisciplinary research as part of an international and cross-sector team – and networking and events – where you will be expected to deliver online and in-person events of a high standard and motivate a diverse network of actors to contribute and participate in CRILS activities.

Experience writing and translating research for a wide audience is essential, as is knowledge of important food systems literature, agricultural policy or political economy, especially in the Global South. The primary focus of CRILS is to share research in a constructive and discursive environment to ensure that the research is relevant, useful and responsive to the situation on the ground, so although this is an academic publication, it would suit someone with an interest or experience in politics, campaigning and public engagement.

Informal inquiries are encouraged. Please send an email to Yannis Davremos yd6@soas.ac.uk . To learn more about the project please visit https://www.crils.org.

How to apply:

Closing date: 29^y October 2025 at 11:59

Interviews to be conducted: 14^y November 2025