Darren joined Work, Employment and Organisation in May 2020. Awarded his PhD in 2014 from Strathclyde Business School, he was previously a lecturer in Management, Work and Organisation at Stirling Management School. In this role, Darren was the chair of research ethics, an international partnership director and programme director for an MSc. Currently deputy-director of research in WEO, Darren is interested in exploring work and employment with a focus on civil society, the frontline service sector, worker narratives, and how management and organisation can help us understand societal challenges such as labour exploitation. Darren's research is rooted in linkages beween work, labour and management. 

• Management and organisation with a focus on forced labour and labour exploitation
• Work and employment, skills, the frontline service sector
• Central Asia, agricultural commodities, and Uzbekistan's cotton sector
• Action research, participatory and creative research methods

Alongside Dr Knut Laaser, Darren developed a new analytical framework and alternative to theory focusing on lead firm–supplier relations or global value chains when investigating violations of working conditions. They are currently working on a new approach to organisational legitimacy embedded in moral economy approaches. Darren is affiliated with the Centre for the Political Economy of Labour and recently set up the Strathclyde research cluster on central asia and former soviet states. 

Darren was previously a community development worker with an action research remit. Recently, he was on the board of two charities. As co-vice chair, Darren learnt a lot about the workings of charitable organisations and would be happy to discuss potential partnership opportunities with any interested parties. 

Darren teaches on a range of PG and UG modules at Strathlcyde. A key inspiration in Darren's teaching is facilitating learning about the possibilities of theory in management and organisation and its potential to contribite towards societal challenges.