Quantitative Ecologist

Salary - £45,065 to £47,823
Hybrid working (50/50)
Permanent and Full-Time
Closing date for applications, Tuesday, 28th May 2024
Interviews will be held week commencing Mon, 10th June 2024

UKCEH is looking for an experienced Quantitative Ecologist to join our 600-strong team, contributing to scientific discovery and generating the data, insights and solutions that researchers, businesses and governments need to solve complex environmental challenges. 

Working at UKCEH is rewarding. Our science makes a real difference, enabling people and the environment to prosper, and enriching society. We are the custodians of a wealth of environmental data, collected by UKCEH and its predecessors over the course of more than 60 years.

As a valued member of our team, you’ll get: 

27 days annual leave, rising to 29 days after five years

10% employer pension contribution 

Enhanced maternity and paternity leave (subject to qualifying requirements)

24 hour, 365-day access to support with physical, mental, social, health or financial issues 

Flexible working opportunities

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We have an exciting opportunity for a Quantitative Ecologist to join our vibrant, multidisciplinary Catchment to Coast group, based on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park. The work will contribute to projects evaluating the causes and consequences of habitat and / or species change and use this understanding to build models for exploring future states. You’ll play a vital role in helping understand the response of coastal habitats and species to environmental change, and quantifying relationships between biological diversity and ecosystem functioning.

You’ll be an established researcher, creative thinker, driven by curiosity and wanting to generate evidence that can be used to guide the sustainable management of ecosystems, to achieve benefits for people and nature.

You will work on a range of multi-partner research programmes including ‘UK Coastal Hazards, Multi-hazard Controls on Flooding And Erosion’ , investigating how seascape scale restoration can contribute to mitigate sea level rise, and increasing storminess, and UK Gravel Barriers building our understanding of habitat responses to coastal change. You’ll also have the opportunity to develop your own scientific research and work with other teams across the organisation.

You’ll be joining a leading independent, not-for-profit research institute that’s committed to recruiting talented people like you, progressing your career and giving you the support you need to thrive at UKCEH. 

Your main responsibilities will include:

Applying ecological theory and principles to applied problems and complex datasets

Formulate hypotheses and apply methods for analysing habitat and species responses to environmental change

Modelling the impacts of climatic or anthropogenic driven change on ecological communities

Lead and contribute to the publication of impactful scientific papers, reports and datasets

Writing funding proposals (or leading the writing for key elements of large proposals) and attracting funding to your area of science each year

Communicate with a collaborative and inclusive approach, including presenting findings to a wide range of stakeholders

For the role of Quantitative Ecologist we’re looking for somebody who has: 

A quantitative background with a PhD in Data Science, Statistics, Ecology or equivalent professional experience

Solid grounding in ecology, covering community or landscape ecology, or Biodiversity Ecosystem Function science

Building a body of work that is a recognisable, sustained contribution to the advancement of your area of science

Demonstrated ability in quantitative analysis using programs such as R, Python or similar

Demonstrated proposal writing and funding success (or leading the writing for key elements of large proposals)

Experience of leading, motivating and / or line managing a team

Experience of experimental design and field survey

A full UK driving licence – Please confirm in your CV

Desirable:

Experience of coastal habitats and species

Willing to travel within the UK and internationally if required, with overnight stays

If we’ve just described you, we’d love to meet. Apply now, please send us your CV, accompanied by a covering letter which highlights any relevant skills and experience, together with what excites you most about the role and working for UKCEH.

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