• UQ Law School within the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
• Part-time (80%), fixed-term position commencing in early January 2027 through to December 2028.
• Base salary will be in the range $85,372.89 to $113,659.72 + 17% super (Academic Level A).
• Based at our vibrant St Lucia Campus 

About This Opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity to join a visionary, multidisciplinary team working on an Australian Research Council-funded project examining regulatory permitting for marine and coastal restoration. Embedded within a collaborative research environment spanning law, ecology, modelling and social science, you will undertake purposeful legal research that traces existing regulatory requirements, identifies opportunities for reform and helps evaluate how proposed reforms could support effective restoration. You will work closely with academic colleagues, computational modelling experts, government and industry collaborators to create research with practical and globally relevant impact.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Research: Undertake high-quality applied legal research aligned with the aims of the ARC Discovery Project, contribute to the co-design and delivery of the project, and produce research outputs for highly regarded law and environmental policy journals.
• Research collaboration and engagement: Work collaboratively across law, ecology, modelling and social science, communicate legal research effectively to multidisciplinary audiences, and engage constructively with government, industry and other research end users.
• Supervision and Researcher Development: Contribute to the effective supervision and development of Honours and Higher Degree by Research students, as appropriate, and support a responsible, inclusive and collaborative research culture.
• Citizenship and Service: Demonstrate UQ values through active participation in priority activities, internal service and administrative processes, support for colleagues, and the development of partnerships with government, industry, professional bodies and the wider community.

This is a Research Focused position. Further information can be found by viewing UQ’s Criteria for Academic Performance.

About You

• Completion, or near completion, of a PhD in environmental law or a closely related discipline.
• An emerging research profile in environmental law, marine and coastal law, regulatory law or a related field.
• Evidence of producing, or the demonstrated potential to produce, high-quality research outputs in reputable refereed journals.
• Evidence of presenting research at academic conferences, professional forums or other relevant settings.
• Demonstrated ability to undertake rigorous applied legal research and analyse complex legislation, policy and regulatory frameworks.
• Experience collaborating across disciplines, ideally with researchers in environmental science, ecology, computational modelling or the social sciences.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain legal concepts and findings to multidisciplinary and non-legal audiences.
• Experience with social science research methodologies, including surveys and interviews, is desirable.

About UQ

As part of the UQ community, you will have the opportunity to work alongside the brightest minds, who have joined us from all over the world, and within an environment where interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged. As part of our commitment to excellence in research and professional practice in academic contexts, we are proud to provide our staff with access to world-class facilities and equipment, grant writing support, greater research funding opportunities, and other forms of staff support and development.

The greater benefits of joining the UQ community are broad: from being part of a Group of Eight university, to recognition of prior service with other Australian universities, up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave, 17.5% annual leave loading, flexible working arrangements, access to exclusive internal-only vacancies, and genuine career progression opportunities via the academic promotions process.

Interested?

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Professor Justine Bell-James at [email protected]. For application inquiries, please reach out to the Talent Acquisition team at [email protected], stating the job reference number below in the subject line.

When you apply, please ensure you upload a resume, cover letter, and responses to the ‘About You’ section. Please note that applications received via email will not be accepted.

Other Information

Pre-employment checks may include verification of the right to work in Australia and qualifications. This may also include checks relating to gender-based violence matters or other integrity and conduct requirements.

You must maintain unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this appointment to apply. Employer-sponsored work rights are not available for this appointment.

We’re dedicated to equity, diversity, and inclusion. We recognise that career pathways and opportunities differ and encourage applications from candidates who may not meet every criterion but can demonstrate their potential relative to opportunity. We’re also happy to support any accessibility needs throughout the recruitment process. Just let us know how we can help by emailing [email protected] or calling +61 7 3365 2623.

Applications close Monday 9th November 2026 at 11.00pm AEST (R-69621). Please note that interviews have been tentatively scheduled for late November, early December.