Cefas is seeking an ecosystem scientist with numerical skills to contribute towards understanding and quantifying interdependencies between the core challenges of biodiversity loss, climate change and food security. This role will involve transdisciplinary research to quantify the causes and consequences of biodiversity and ecosystem change, with collaboration across academia and government science communities. The applied science will be both hypothesis-driven and solution-orientated, and require advanced programming skills, the ability to handle ‘big-data’, and develop and apply novel analytical techniques.
Job description
Your main duties and responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:
You will identify and quantify relationships that help to explain spatial patterns and temporal trends in marine biodiversity and biogeochemistry, and the scale and impact of human activities. You will help to develop and apply novel and emerging analytical techniques to improve our understanding of, for example, species distributions (e.g. those of fisheries interest, ecological importance or conservation concern), food web structure and dynamics, impacts of environmental change and human activities on species distributions/biodiversity and ecosystem resilience, and effects of potential management options.
You will exploit existing datasets and literature to analyze complex data, synthesize information, and disseminate findings through high-impact outputs, such as peer-reviewed publications and policy briefs. You will interact with Cefas scientists from a wide range of scientific disciplines. We will support you to develop externally funded collaborative science over time.
In addition, Cefas reserves the right to ask staff to take on additional duties and responsibilities which are commensurate with their grade. Team Leaders and management will have a discussion with staff to explain the changes that are to be made. A new job description will be issued if required.
Person specification
The following are essential criteria required for this role and you must be able to demonstrate your skills and experience in the following areas:
- An understanding of the complexities of (eco)systems and the linkages within and between them.
- An ability to bring together and handle large volumes of data.
- An ability to identify and solve problems proactively and collaboratively.
- Self-motivation, organization and innovative thinking.
- Applicants should also have a proven track record in ecosystem science or a closely related field.
- Effective communication skills with the ability to work flexibly across a range of projects as part of a team/s and present findings to non-technical and technical audiences.
- IT literacy, including data analysis and an ability to plan and manage workload are also requirements of the role.
- Academic qualifications and experience required for direct entry into this Cefas HEO/Pay Band 5 role is a degree or experience in work areas relevant to this role, including ecology, mathematics, statistics, physics, computer science.
Qualifications
Academic qualifications and experience required for direct entry into this Cefas HEO/Pay Band 5 role is a degree or experience in work areas relevant to this role, including ecology, mathematics, statistics, physics, computer science.
Technical skills
Cefas will assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Excellent programming skills using languages such as R and Python and/or advanced statistical software.
- Data analysis and modelling expertise, for example using machine learning, ecosystem models, hierarchical models, occupancy models, linear and non-linear mixed-effects models or GIS data models etc.
Compensation: £31,825 – £34,285
