Postdoctoral Research Associate in Homogeneous Catalysis for Organic Synthesis

Working at Durham University

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The Role and Department
You will be working as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) in the young and enthusiastic Franchino group, within the Department of Chemistry at Durham University. The post is available for 3 years, including a 1-year probation period, ideally starting in May 2025 (flexibility is possible). The salary is grade 7, spine point 32 (£40,247 per year before taxes).

Durham University, in the North of England, is a world top 100 university (QS World University Rankings 2025) with a global reputation for teaching and research. Our Chemistry degree is among the best ones in the UK (5th in the Complete University Guide 2024, 10th in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023, and 11th in the Guardian University Guide 2024).

Durham University is one of the UK's most historic universities, sitting in a beautiful, hilly city whose Romanesque Cathedral is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Durham's unique college system creates a strong sense of belonging, offers several social activities and provides students with additional pastoral care. As a PDRA in Durham, you will become part of a dynamic, friendly and international community, and benefit from cutting-edge facilities.

The Department of Chemistry is well equipped, with state-of-the-art instrumentation and facilities, and is located in the Science Campus, a 10-minute walk away from Durham old town. 96% of our research outputs were rated world-leading or internationally excellent in the latest UK-wide review (REF 2021). The Department and the Franchino group have close research links with industrial partners and other universities in the UK and abroad.

The Franchino laboratory is currently undergoing a floor-to-ceiling refurbishment to the highest standards, so you will be able to work in a shiny, efficient and modern environment from day one. Alongside standard equipment for synthetic organic and inorganic chemistry, the Franchino lab benefits from dedicated, brand new glovebox, HPLC instrument and microwave synthesizer. Additionally, group members have access to departmental NMR, MS, XRD, EA and spectroscopic support units, mechanical, electrical and glassblowing workshops, and the University supercomputer Hamilton.p

The University provides a working and teaching environment that is inclusive and welcoming, where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect. We actively encourage applicants with diverse career paths and backgrounds, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and religious beliefs. The Chemistry Department holds an Athena Swan Silver Award. The Franchino group is keen on increasing diversity, and actively seeks to attract and nurture the best and most motivated co-workers, regardless of their protected characteristics and country of origin. Applications from women and underrepresented groups are especially encouraged.

The Role

As a PDRA in the Franchino group, you will be pursuing ground-breaking research merging metal and organocatalysis, to develop new strategies for the stereoselective synthesis of organic molecules.Your project is funded by a prestigious UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF, 1.7m ₠ in total) recently awarded to the PI, entitled "ChloroCat: Unlocking metal-chloride bonds for data-driven stereoselective catalysis". In this project, you will design, prepare and test (chiral) organocatalysts capable of engaging with common metal halide (pre)catalysts via non-covalent interactions, using an anion-binding approach. These binary catalytic systems will then be screened combinatorially in several reactions, including with a high-throughput experimentation (HTE) setup, to achieve increased rate, unusual regio- and stereoselectivity and/or unprecedented levels of enantiocontrol. The mode of action of the binary catalytic systems will be investigated experimentally and explored computationally. Improved second-generation catalysts will be designed following mechanistic insights, with the help of structure-activity relationships and computational predictions.

You will spend 1 month in the laboratory of our collaborator Dr Jolene Reid at the University of British Columbia (Canada), to gain advanced skills in DFT calculations and machine learning techniques applied to catalyst design. All expenses for your stay at UBC will be covered by the FLF.

The project involves the following skills. It is expected that you are, at present, an expert on at least one of them, and looking forward to mastering all the others all during your stay in the group:

• Synthetic organic and organometallic chemistry (synthesis, purification and characterisation of substrates, products, ligands and catalysts using several techniques);
• Enantioselective catalysis (with both transition metals and organocatalysts, and using HTE);
• Supramolecular chemistry (study of non-covalent interactions in solution and in the solid state);
• Mechanistic elucidation using experimental and computational tools (e.g., kinetic studies, DFT calculations for homogeneous catalytic reactions and machine learning workflows).

The PI is happy to share more details on the project at the interview stage. For relevant references on the proposed topic of research, please read:

1. Silver-free Au(I) catalysis enabled by bifunctional urea- and squaramide-phosphine ligands via H-bonding. A. Franchino, À. Martí, S. Nejrotti, A. M. Echavarren, Chem. Eur. J. 2021, 27, 11989-11996.

2. H-bonded counterion-directed enantioselective Au(I) catalysis. A. Franchino, À. Martí, A. M. Echavarren, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 3497-3509.

3. H-bonded counterion-directed catalysis: enantioselective Au(I)-catalyzed additions to enones as a case study. À. Martí, M. Montesinos-Magraner, A. M. Echavarren, A. Franchino, Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2022, 38, e202200518.

4. Enantioselective transition-metal catalysis via an anion-binding approach. J. M. Ovian, P. Vojáčková, E. N. Jacobsen, Nature 2023, 616, 84-89.

Your key responsibilities are outlined in detail in the section below. You will cooperate will all group members, train younger students and behave as a positive role mode for the Franchino group, setting a supportive group culture rooted in research integrity. The PI herself will lead by example, and will always be available to support you in your role, including providing technical expertise in the laboratory, advice on research and career matters, and help with international relocations. You will participate in weekly group meetings and problem sessions, and have the chance to attend group and departmental social activities. You will also benefit from our regular departmental seminar programme, and present your work at national and international conferences, engaging with other scientists from academia and industry. Tailored mentoring and enthusiastic support to reach your career goals and improve your skill set will be provided by the PI, the whole Franchino group, the Department of Chemistry and the University (e.g., Durham Centre for Academic Development, Careers & Enterprise Hub).

Key responsibilities:

• To conduct research projects under the direction of the Principal Investigator (PI), working productively both on your own and in collaboration with others, as appropriate.
• To plan and manage your research activity effectively and with minimal input from the PI, share research resources in collaboration with others and contribute to the ideation and planning of research projects.
• To deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines by discussing with the PI and offering creative or innovative solutions.
• To work with the PI and other colleagues in the research group, as appropriate, to identify areas for research, develop new research methods and ideas, and extend the research portfolio.
• To assist with the development of research projects and proposals.
• To understand and convey material of a specialist or highly technical nature through written presentations and oral discussions.
• To prepare and deliver presentations on research activities to both academic and non-academic audiences.
• To prepare high-quality outputs, including monthly reports for the PI, papers for submission to peer-reviewed journals and abstracts for presentation at conferences under the direction of the PI.
• To participate regularly to research group meetings and engage consistently in problem sessions, striving to improve your knowledge as well as transmitting it to other group members.
• To liaise with departmental and university support units as appropriate for the progression of the research projects, follow all rules and guidelines in place in the group, Department and University, and make all required internal and external contacts to develop knowledge and understanding to form relationships for future research collaboration.
• To be involved in student supervision in the context of the research group
• To deliver training in research techniques/approaches to peers, visitors and students as appropriate.
• To engage in continuing professional development by attending relevant training and development courses.
• To contribute to fostering a collegial, supportive and respectful working environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect, in the group, in the Department and in the University.

This post is fixed term for 3 years, as the funding has been awarded to the PI to cover for a 36-month PDRA position, as part of her UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship.

The post-holder is employed to work on research that will be led by the Principal Investigator (PI). Whilst this means that you will not be carrying out independent research in your own right, the expectation is that you will contribute to the advancement of the project, through the development of your own research ideas/adaptation and development of research protocols.

You will, ideally, be in post by May 2025, however an earlier or later start date can be very easily accommodated.

Working at Durham

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University. You will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits:

• 30 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year - a total of 42 days per year.
• We offer a generous pension scheme. As a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into the University Superannuation Scheme (USS).
• No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.
• There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.
• Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
• On site nursery is available plus access to holiday camps for children aged 5-16.
• Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
• The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community
• Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions.
• A salary sacrifice scheme is also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.
• If you are moving to Durham, you may be eligible for help with removal costs and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools. If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.

Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here.

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion

Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key component of the University's Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our Purpose and Values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It's important to us that all colleagues undertake activities that are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from those who are currently under-represented in our work force, including people with disabilities and from racially minoritised ethnic groups.

If you have taken a career break or periods of leave that may have impacted on the volume and recency of your research outputs and other activities, such as maternity, adoption or parental leave, you may wish to disclose this in your application. The selection committee will take this into account when evaluating your application.

The University has been awarded the Disability Confident Employer status. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.
Person Specification

Essential Criteria:

Qualifications

A good first degree in Chemistry or a closely related subject.

A PhD (or be close to submission) in Chemistry or a closely related subject.

Experience

Experience in conducting high-quality academic research in organic chemistry.

Demonstrable ability to write material of a quality commensurate with publication in highly ranked journals, as evidenced by at least 2 co-authored publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Demonstrable ability to present research papers at national and/or international conferences and communicate complex information to specialists and within the wider academic community, as evidenced by at least 2 poster or oral communications at scientific conferences.

Experience in homogeneous catalysis and/or organometallic chemistry and/or complex organic synthesis and/or supramolecular chemistry, as evidenced by at least 2 publications on these topics.

Skills

Demonstrable ability to work cooperatively as part of a team.

Ability to work independently on own initiative and to strict deadlines.

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Desirable Criteria

Experience

Good publication record of high-quality research in peer-reviewed journals, commensurate with stage of career.

Good track record of presenting research at conferences and symposia, including securing prizes and awards, commensurate with stage of career.

Experience of overseeing students with respect to the development of their research skills, e.g. acting as a demonstrator or lab supervisor.

Skills

Demonstrable ability to develop research ideas and proposals of good quality, including securing fellowships and awards, commensurate with stage of career.

How to Apply

To progress to the assessment stage, you must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification below. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge you to provide evidence for all criteria.

While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.

Submitting your application

We prefer to receive applications online. We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.

What to Submit

You are asked to submit:

• A CV (maximum 5 A4 pages). In the CV, please indicate all dates with month and year, and explain all gaps.
• A cover letter (maximum 2 A4 pages), which details your experience, skills, and achievements in meeting (or the potential to meet) the criteria set out below. In the cover letter, please also indicate what motivates to apply you to this position.
• Contact details of 3 referees, one of which must be your PhD supervisor.
• Additional unrequested application documents should NOT be included (research summaries, theses, papers), as they may result in your application being disregarded.

Contact Information

Department contact for academic-related enquiries

Dr Allegra Franchino, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry

allegra.franchino@durham.ac.uk

Contact information for technical difficulties when submitting your application

If you encounter technical difficulties when using the online application form, we prefer you send enquiries by email. Please send your name along with abrief description of the problem you're experiencing toe.recruitment@durham.ac.uk

Alternatively, you may call 0191 334 6801 from the UK, or +44 191 334 6801 from outside the UK. This number operates during the hours of 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday, UK time. We will normally respond within one working day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays).

University contact for general queries about the recruitment process

Next Steps

Short-listed candidates will be invited to the University, either virtually or in-person. The assessment for the post will include a 20-minute research presentation to the interview panel, followed by technical questions and an interview. We anticipate that the assessments and interviews will take place over one day in February 2025.

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Job Applicants/Potential Job Applicants - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.

When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.