Land Cover Change Modeller

**Land Cover Change Modeller - Greater Gola Landscape (Fixed Term)
Reference**:FEB20239646
**Location**:Flexible in UK
**Salary**:£33,600 - £34,860 Per Annum
**Hours**:Full Time
**Duration**:Fixed Term Contract for 12 months

**Benefits**:Pension, Life Assurance, 26 days annual leave

We seek a Conservation Scientist with expertise in spatial modelling of remotely sensed land cover data, particularly deforestation, for a 12 month fixed term contract. They would be based within the enthusiastic and dynamic International Conservation Scienceteam, working closely with and with the support of colleagues there. Their role would support the wider Greater Gola Landscape conservation partnership, which works with local NGOs, communities and national governments to support the sustainable managementof a 350000 ha global biodiversity hotspot in Sierra Leone and Liberia for the benefit of biodiversity, carbon and people.

**What's the role about?**

The postholder’s key responsibilities would be to:

- Build spatially explicit models of potential future impact of relevant and identified external drivers on land cover change in the landscape, particularly deforestation, identifying spatial and topical areas of particular concern to inform the managementof the landscape. The Greater Gola Landscape contains several tropical rainforest protected areas, one of which is a UN-REDD project, separated and surrounded by community forest, commodity crops and subsistence farming and home to a number of very low incomeforest edge communities seeking a sustainable living. The partnership supports interventions such as cocoa and use of non-timber forest products through participatory work with communities. External pressures on forest cover from drivers such as logging andmining are high and a better understanding of extent and rapidity of forest loss and where it will occur in the near future as a result of socio-economic drivers is vital in informing intervention effectiveness.
- Support non-science staff, including in local NGOs, to build more effective deforestation tracking systems to alert them to deforestation events in real time, including tools like Global Forest Watch and RADD alerts, and review the range of remotely sensedsatellite data products available on tropical forest loss and degradation to advise non-specialist staff on their use and applicability to their needs.

**Essential skills, knowledge and experience**:

- Relevant PhD or equivalent experience.
- Knowledge of factors affecting tropical conservation, particularly threats to tropical forests.
- Self-motivated and able to work efficiently, sometimes under pressure, within a defined work plan to meet deadlines.
- Collecting, curating and analysing large and complex data sets that can pass international peer-reviewed standards of scrutiny and audit.
- Ability to influence others through production of written material: for example, peer
- reviewed papers in scientific journals, reports to funders, but also written material for any media channel.
- Able to work in collaboration with external organisations and individuals.

**Desirable skills, knowledge and experience**:

- Experience of working with partners in low-income tropical countries.

The RSPB reserves the right to extend or make this role permanent without further advertising dependent on business needs at the end of the contract term.

**Closing Date: 23:59, Saturday 18th March 2023
We are looking to conduct interviews for this position from 27th March.**

**Interested?**

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

The RSPB is a licenced sponsor. This role is eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship.

No agencies please.