Professor of Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Research and Director of the European Hub at the University of Edinburgh

The chance:

Child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) is a global problem that requires a global response. However, the lack of reliable and comprehensive data on CSEA is a major barrier to developing more effective and evidence-based prevention and response strategies and policies.

There are still many gaps in the evidence base around the prevalence and nature of CSEA globally, with many ethical and methodological challenges in this area. This is a significant barrier to developing more effective and evidence-based prevention and response strategies and policies. Without data and analysis, programs are harder to design, deliver and evaluate; evidence is difficult to generate and credibly defend; narratives and definitions that frame the problem are difficult to construct; policies are difficult to advocate for and funding is difficult to access. Without high-quality data to guide policies and programs, children remain at risk of child sexual exploitation and abuse and perpetrators enjoy impunity.

This role will provide senior research leadership through a Professorial Chair position and also serve as Director of the European Hub for Childlight – to grow and improve our data partnerships, prevalence estimates and impact in this region. The role holder will also be required to focus on other regions and/or global data projects as required.

This position is full-time (35 hours per week) and for an indefinite period. The date of the contract review is April 30, 2028.

Your skills and qualities for success:

• An excellent academic profile, with a PhD (in the fields of public health, including social or clinical epidemiology and other related areas) and a proven track record of internationally excellent research related to CSEA
• Expertise in epidemiological research on child sexual exploitation and abuse, with demonstrable impact, including in the European region.
• Experience in research leadership and funding attraction as PI of research grants and in knowledge exchange through effective public engagement.
• Outstanding portfolio of high quality research publications in the field of child protection research demonstrating excellence in research
• Demonstrable track record of working with actors in the child protection system (police, health care, etc.)
• A passion for making the world a better place and preventing CSEA, improving services and protecting children

To demonstrate this, please include the following information with your application:

• A list of your top 10 publications (no more than 1 page) with links
• A case study on how you achieved impact with your research (maximum one A4 page)