Skoll Centre Postdoctoral Research Fellow

UK date and time: 26-September-2026 12:50

Saïd Business School is committed to addressing some of the most important challenges facing business and society through rigorous, impactful research. The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship brings together researchers and practitioners to generate insights on social entrepreneurship, innovation and systemic change, translating these insights into learning and engagement at Oxford and worldwide.

The Skoll Centre Postdoctoral Research Fellow will lead an independent programme of empirical and conceptual research on leading and scaling systemic social change, working collaboratively with the Principal Investigator Paulo Savaget and Academic Director Marya Besharov.

The role spans the full research process, from developing research questions and designing studies to data collection, analysis and dissemination, with a focus on rigorous, practically relevant qualitative and mixed-methods research.

The postholder will produce high-quality academic and practitioner outputs on social innovation and entrepreneurship, while contributing to the wider Skoll Centre community through collaboration, learning programmes, public engagement, thought leadership and key convenings such as the Skoll World Forum
.

• Develop and lead high-quality research within the Skoll Centre’s thematic areas, working with the Principal Investigator and Academic Director to shape research questions and generate original, empirically grounded insights on systemic social change.
• Design and deliver rigorous research
  , developing appropriate methodologies, sampling strategies and data-collection approaches, and analysing complex qualitative and/or mixed-methods data from multiple sources.
• Manage research projects independently
  , including plans, milestones, deliverables, risks, resources and relevant budgets, ensuring high-quality outputs are delivered to agreed timelines.
• Produce and disseminate impactful research outputs
  , including peer-reviewed publications, books and conference papers, alongside practitioner reports and thought-leadership that translate research into relevant insights for business, policy and social-impact audiences.
• Contribute to research development and funding
  , shaping future research priorities, developing new project ideas and supporting grant applications and other funding opportunities.
• Strengthen the Skoll Centre’s research community and impact through collaboration with academic and practitioner partners, mentoring and supporting researchers, representing the Centre externally, and contributing to learning programmes, public engagement and major convenings such as the Skoll World Forum.

Indicative allocation: approximately 70% of time on direct research activities, with approximately 30% on learning programmes, convenings, public engagement and thought leadership activities, while retaining flexibility to respond to research priorities and Centre needs.