Dr Charlie Smith

Biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in Organisation Studies and HRM. Prior to joining the University of Essex in 2023, I was an Associate Professor in Management Studies at the University of Leicester and previously a Lecturer in Organisation Behaviour at the University of York (2013-2015). I hold significant leadership experience and currently serve as EBS Research Income Director and Undergraduate Programme Director for Organisation Studies and HRM. Across my career, I have also held senior roles including PhD Director, Employability Director, and Student Marketing Director, contributing to research strategy, doctoral development, and programme growth. I am an experienced qualitative researcher with particular expertise in interview-based research and the analysis of secondary data. I completed my PhD at the University of Essex in 2012, examining drug use in workplace contexts. Since then, my research has developed a sustained focus on legal and illegal drug use in work and sport settings. More recently, I have integrated this longstanding interest with my work on employee mental health and wellbeing, examining the emergence of psychedelics as mental health treatments and analysing the broader psychedelic industry landscape. I am currently the Principal Investigator on a qualitative study exploring military veterans’ decision-making in relation to psychedelic retreats. I have secured substantial external research funding throughout my career. After completing an ESRC funded PhD in 2012, in 2016, I was awarded a grant from Cancer Research UK as Principal Investigator to study vaping regulations in organisational contexts. From 2018 to 2023, I served as UK Co-ordinator on a European Commission Erasmus+ funded project on gender equality in sport organisations (GESPORT). I have an established record of successful PhD supervision and welcome applications from prospective doctoral students in any of my areas of research interest.

Qualifications

• PhD University of Essex, (2012)

• MRes in Management Studies University of Essex, (2008)

• BSc Business Management University of East Anglia, (2007)

Appointments

University of Essex

• Research Income Director, Essex Business School, University of Essex (1/1/2025 - present)

• UG Programme Director, Essex Business School, University of Essex (1/8/2024 - present)

Other academic

• Associate Professor in Management Studies, University of Leicester School of Business, University of Leicester (1/8/2020 - 31/8/2023)

• Lecturer in Management, University of Leicester School of Business, University of Leicester (16/3/2015 - 31/7/2020)

• Lecturer in Organisation Behaviour, School of Management, University of York (1/9/2013 - 13/3/2015)