These posts will help to deliver key tasks for the FORTH2O Policy Innovation Partnership at the University of Stirling. For a thorough description of the project and its progress, please see: A renewed vision for FORTH2O
We are recruiting very quickly, to reflect the advanced stage of the project: it is due to be completed at the end of 2026, and we hope to have people in place as early as possible in 2026 to create one-year positions.
This post contains my personal thoughts on the role and recruitment process, blending background information and some helpful advice. These notes address a potentially major imbalance in the informal side to recruitment: if you do not have the contacts and networks that help give you the confidence to seek information (on the things not mentioned in the job description), here is the next best thing: the information I would otherwise give you if you asked.
This information seems particularly useful given that we are asking you to respond to our adverts in a far shorter time than we would normally expect. After reading the formal job description, this post, and the background blog post, you should have everything you need to apply with confidence.
The Research Partnership Manager
Research Partnership Manager (deadline 18th November)
Excerpt from the advert:
‘The Research Partnership Manager will take a lead role in developing the portfolio of Partnership activities, building strong relationships with the academic team and wider Partnership, spanning organisations within Scotland, the wider UK and internationally. The role will focus on managing strategy and resources to maximise the potential of the Partnership through detailed oversight and organisation (monitoring and supporting the progress of programme plans and finances to ensure delivery at all key stages). Reporting to the Principal Investigator for the project, they will work closely with the Research Partnership Officer (who will lead on building, developing and delivering effective strategies for information sharing, co-ordination and collaboration between Partnership members), with the Partnership Executive Group (to align activities to governance, monitoring and evaluation guidelines), with other partners to track activities and progress, and with professional services and academic faculty staff at the University of Stirling (to ensure smooth and compliant project administration) … [please see the advert for a list of expected duties and essential criteria]’.
Additional advice
Please see Parts 2 and 3 of this post – A renewed vision for FORTH2O – for background.
You will be joining the project in year 3 of 3, which means that your focus will be on:
- Maintaining existing activities and project managing to completion, such as to ensure the smooth delivery of our already commissioned projects (Part 2).
- Managing the process to support the commissioning of new ‘innovation challenges’ (Part 3), based largely on a model of commissioning that is already established (and the call for applications will likely be ‘live’ before you begin).
- Working with colleagues in Professional Services to initiate and manage contracts for commissioned services, as well as managing partnerships with people in organisations outside of the University.
- Supporting our governance procedures to connect project delivery to committee oversight (largely via the Partnership Executive Group that meets approximately every 6 weeks).
It is a key role at an important stage of the project. As such, we are looking for someone with excellent project management skills and attention to detail, in relation to a large and often complex project. Ideally, you will have experience of working in a University environment.
All going well, we plan to interview on the 10th of December and hope to have someone in place as soon as possible. The recruitment panel will likely include two senior Professional Services representatives as well as me (and one other senior faculty role) to reflect the job profile and focus on essential project management skills. Although I can offer a lot of detail on the project itself (and reflections on progress), please expect me to defer to more experienced Professional Services colleagues in relation to key specialist aspects of the role.
The 5 Research Fellows
Research Fellow Vacancy details | University of Stirling
Excerpt from the advert:
‘We are seeking five experienced and highly motivated Research Fellows to join the Forth20 team for the delivery phase of the project. Each Research Fellow will support the delivery plan produced by one work package but also work as part of a team of Fellows to support cross-package priorities. Fellows will be essential to key aspects of this work including: to answer work package research questions, foster stakeholder/partner engagement, and co-produce research outputs in a variety of formats for different audiences. Overarching questions regard how to:
- Encourage policy change. Understand policymaking ‘bottlenecks’ and anticipate new windows of opportunity for policy change. Ensure that water remains high on policy and planning agendas, and that citizens and communities play a meaningful role
- Rethink how we conceptualise and measure value. Support the development of a multidimensional value framework and decision-making tool to capture the economic, environmental, social, emotional, and functional value of water for communities
- Encourage cross-industry innovation. Understand best practice in innovation in water-based areas including community energy, tourism initiatives, industry skills need, and business model optimisation. Assist with developing and analysing the ‘water business survey’
- Encourage place-based approaches. Identify new opportunities for place-based engagement with nature, such as to focus on the health and wellbeing value of proximity to water (‘blue spaces’) or to encourage oral histories of place that centre water
- Support storytelling and stories. Collect and interpret underrepresented stories of the cultural and natural heritage of water in the Forth, using creative and participatory methods to inform shared understandings and shape more inclusive, future-oriented water narratives’
Additional advice
You would be joining a large project in its third and final year. The recruitment of five new colleagues relates largely to a collection of ‘work packages’ that are in an advanced stage of development, including policy analysis (bullet point 1), cost-benefit analysis (2), engagement with business (3), place-based approaches to research and policy (4), and multi-disciplinary approaches to story and communication (5).
As such, our reference to relevant PhDs is unusually wide, including ‘public policy (political science), economics, management, social innovation. public health research, communication, and heritage (or extensive research and knowledge exchange experience to a demonstrated equivalent level)’.
- If I were you, I would be wondering: should I emphasise my disciplinary expertise to satisfy the requirements of one of the 5 bullet points, or interdisciplinary experience to show that I can contribute to multiple work packages?
- That is not an easy question to answer completely. Some recruitment will favour specialist expertise (e.g. to support relatively technical work on alternatives to traditional cost-benefit analysis, or specific methods to support work on communication and storytelling). Some will favour boundary spanning work (e.g. to connect academic policy analysis to partnership working). Therefore, I recommend that you signal how you will contribute to key aspects of the project as outlined in the job description (and on what relevance experience you will draw).
Further, we would expect you to ‘hit the ground running’ in terms of conducting research tasks already designed by work package leads and relating this work to partnerships already at a mature stage. Of course, there is still high scope for you to bring your ideas and approach to the project, but in a context where we have spent two years developing the key ideas and are seeking to boost our capacity to deliver. As such, I recommend familiarising yourself with this outline of the project: A renewed vision for FORTH2O
Note on the temporary nature of the contracts and working with us
We have funding for (maximum) one-year posts, which is far from ideal. In that context, our team will do all we can to help you to use this experience as a springboard for a more secure career. For example, if you seek a permanent lectureship (research and teaching), we can help enhance your CV through activities such as co-authorship and connections to research and practice networks, and support your ideas for the future (such as if you see opportunities for further funding for your work).
General tips on the application and interview processes (Research Fellow posts)
The application process:
- At this stage, the main documents are the CV and the cover letter. Since most applicants are not shortlisted, I don’t want to present a high burden of work at this stage.
- You should keep the cover letter short to show your skills at concise writing (I like a 1-pager, but the length is at your discretion).
- Focus on what you can offer the project specifically, given the nature of our call, the job description, and – crucially – the ‘essential criteria’ (each criterion translates into a category in the shortlisting spreadsheet, so spell out how you meet them).
- I am almost certain that all shortlisted candidates will already have their PhD.
The interview
The interviews are likely scheduled for the 12th of December 2025 (online, on Teams), so you will know by then if you will be invited for interview. There is no flexibility on the date, although the time could likely be changed if it does not suit you.
By the interview stage, here are the things that you should normally know:
- The basic details of the project: A renewed vision for FORTH2O and FORTH2O Policy Innovation Partnership.
- How your skills and experience would help to produce the work associated with our project.
You also need to be able to articulate why you want to come and work at Stirling. Some variant of ‘Why Stirling?’ is usually the first question in an interview, so you should think about it in advance. We recommend doing some research on Stirling to show that you have a considered reply (beyond the usual ‘it is a beautiful campus’ and ‘I need a job’). Since it is the first question, your answer will set the tone for the rest of the interview. You might check, for example, who you might share interests with (in the University), and how you might develop links beyond a single division or faculty. Further, since ‘impact’ is of rising importance generally – and a key feature of this post – you might discuss your links with people and organisations outside of the University, and how you have pursued meaningful engagement with the public or practitioners to maximise the wider contribution of your research.
The interview format
You will be asked to attend a single meeting of approximately 40 minutes. Usually, you give a 5-10 minute presentation to the recruitment panel based on a broad question we send in advance, then the rest is a structured Q&A (we ask the same questions to each person). The panel will likely be chaired by our Head of Division (Professor Emma Macleod) and will almost certainly include me. Given the unusual nature of our recruitment (5 people in one process), we may have more panel members than usual (likely colleagues in economics, business/management, social science/education, and a water policy and practice specialist).
- I recommend keeping the presentation compact, to show that you can present complex information in a concise and clear way. In my opinion, going under is better than going over (and there is time at the very end to cover anything you think we missed).
- Few members of the panel will be a specialist in the same discipline or field as you, so you need to describe your experience, skills, and success in a way that a wider audience will appreciate.
It sounds daunting, but we are a friendly bunch and want you to do well. Remember to focus on the types of question we ask: whatever the wording, we will likely be asking about your experience in relation to – for example – research, methods, connections to policy or practice, and wider experience (and we have no interest in asking you difficult questions to put you on the spot). It is a good idea to take a breath and consider your answer. We will be happy to smile and wait.
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