LSE is committed to building a diverse, equitable and truly inclusive university

Department of Anthropology

2 x Research Officers

Salary from £43,277 to £51,714 pa inclusive of London allowance

Funding is available to support each position for the period from 1 January 2027 until 30 December 2029.

The Department of Anthropology is recruiting two Research Officers to work on the ERC-funded project ‘Trading Truths: Missions, Mediations, and Extractions in the South Caucasus’. This position is for an early career academic with skills relevant to anthropological and other qualitative social science approaches relevant to understanding how knowledge and truth circulate in the South Caucasus. The successful candidate will work with Prof. Mathijs Pelkmans (Department of Anthropology and Principal Investigator in ‘Trading Truths’) to deliver one of the project’s six case studies.

The post holder will be based in the Department of Anthropology at LSE and carry out research towards a case study on the production, circulation, and reception of ‘truth’ in the South Caucasus under the direction of Prof. Pelkmans. In this role, you will be expected to conduct extensive ethnographic fieldwork and apply specialized data collection techniques and to gather, analyse and write up the resulting data. You will also contribute towards project management, including the preparation of outputs, and information dissemination in support of the project’s scientific goals. Travel will include long-term fieldwork in the South Caucasus and may include short visits to other countries for the presentation of research findings.

Candidates should have:

•  Completed a PhD in Anthropology by the post start date (must have confirmed viva date by the point of application).
•  Very good knowledge of Anthropology, including specialist expertise in the South Caucasus.
•  Experience in using ethnographic data gathering techniques and carrying out ethnographic field research on themes relevant to the Trading Truths project.
•  Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a good command of the English language both orally and in writing.
•  Working knowledge of one national language spoken in the South Caucasus.
•  The ability to work both independently to strict deadlines and cooperatively as part of a team.
•  The ability to self-learn and keep pace with developments in a complex, dynamic, large-scale and fast-moving project.

We offer an occupational pension scheme, generous annual leave, hybrid working, and excellent training and development opportunities.

For further information about the post, please see the how to apply document, job description and the person specification.

To apply for this post, please go to www.jobs.lse.ac.uk. Candidates will need to submit a CV, cover letter, and a 1,000-word statement describing a case study that they could carry out as part of the TRASUS project. If you have any technical queries with applying on the online system, please use the “contact us” links at the bottom of the LSE Jobs page. Candidates should feel free to email m.e.pelkmans@lse.ac.uk to receive further information about the TRASUS project and ask questions they may have about the role.  

The closing date for receipt of applications is 15 June 2026 (23.59 UK time). Regrettably, we are unable to accept any late applications.