• Employment Type: Full Time, Fixed Term for 3 years (35-hour week)
• Remuneration: Level A ($106,337 - $113,737 + 17% Superannuation).  
• Location: Kensington, NSW (hybrid flexible working available)
• To commence from July 2025 (or as soon as possible thereafter)
  
  

About Us:

UNSW Law & Justice is a top-ranking faculty and a global leader in law and criminology education and research, setting the pace in Australia for 50 years. Were inspired by principles of justice and our staff are grounded in well-established legal skills. UNSW Law & Justice is committed to social justice and to making a difference in this world. 


Why The Role Matters:

The Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship on ‘Evacuations in International Law: Disasters, Conflict and Humanitarian Crises’ is a five-year research program led by Scientia Professor Jane McAdam AO. It is based at the Evacuations Research Hub at the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice.

Evacuations encompass an array of measures with different legal underpinnings, ranging across many international law sub-fields. The Evacuations Research Hub provides the first sustained, integrated legal analysis of how evacuations are conceptualized, regulated and carried out at the international, regional and national levels.

While evacuations can be a lifesaving tool, by their very nature they displace people – often for prolonged periods and at great social, economic and personal cost. Evacuees may be left in legal, physical and emotional limbo, without homes, livelihoods or support networks. The Laureate Postdoctoral Fellow will have expertise in international disaster law, including knowledge of disaster risk management (DRM) and disaster risk reduction (DRR). They will examine: (a) how evacuations are understood and treated within international disaster law, including DRR and DRM instruments and other relevant frameworks; (b) the relationship between DRM, climate change adaptation and the management of climate risks; (c) whether and how evacuations could be enhanced as a preparatory measure without contravening people’s rights or constituting arbitrary displacement; and (d) other related areas, as required. The Fellow will undertake fieldwork to explore how particular States are (or are not) integrating evacuations in their domestic DRR, DRM and related frameworks. They must have excellent independent research skills and the capacity to engage in policymaking processes in Australia and elsewhere.

We welcome applications from candidates with lived experience of displacement and/or from the Global South. We also welcome proposals from candidates with fieldwork experience and/or an interest in socio-legal methods. Some funding will be available for fieldwork and related travel. Candidates who are enrolled in a PhD will only be considered if they have already submitted their thesis for examination, or will do so by the end of May 2025.

To learn more about this position, and to view the comprehensive skills and criteria list, a copy of the Position Description can be found by clicking on the position description button beneath our ad on JOBS@UNSW. 

Benefits and Culture:

People are at the core of everything we do. We recognise it is the contributions of our staff who make UNSW one of the best universities in Australia and the world.

Our benefits include:

• Flexible working options (work from home, flexible hours etc)
• Career development opportunities
• 17% superannuation contributions and additional leave loading payments
• Additional three days of leave over Christmas period
• Discounts and entitlements (retail, education, fitness)

For further details on the benefits, please visit https://www.jobs.unsw.edu.au/lifestyle-benefits

How to Apply:

Please submit a document (max 3 pages) addressing how you meet the requirements of this position, together with your CV and a sample publication or draft article/chapter and complete your application online before 11:30pm AEDT on Thursday 15th May 2025.      

A copy of the full Position Description is available here:  Position Description - Laureate Postdoctoral Fellow - Level A.pdf

Get in Touch:

For role-related queries, please contact:

Professor Jane McAdam AO
Scientia Professor of Law and Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow
Director, Evacuations Research Hub

Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice
j.mcadam@unsw.edu.au

For recruitment-related queries, please contact:

Allyssar Hamoud
Talent Acquisition Associate
a.hamoud@unsw.edu.au

Please only apply through the application portal and not via the contacts above.   

UNSW is committed to evolving a culture that embraces equity and supports a diverse and inclusive community where everyone can participate fairly, in a safe and respectful environment. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and encourage applications from people of diverse gender, sexual orientation, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background, people with disability and those with caring and family responsibilities. UNSW provides workplace adjustments for people with disability, and access to flexible work options for eligible staff.

UNSW reserves the right not to proceed with any appointment.