Summary of the Role:
The successful candidate will be responsible for the Marine Institute’s assessment outputs which support its capacity to deliver the Marine Strategy Framework Directive Descriptor 10 (Marine Litter). The work encompasses monitoring and assessment of both macro- and micro-litter on beaches, the water column, and on the sea-floor, under the Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH). You will report directly to the MI FEAS Section Manager Biodiversity, but also work closely with the Marine Institute MEFSS Chemistry Section Team Leader Contaminants.
Responsibilities:
- Carrying out data collation, data preparation, quality assurance and scientific assessments for Marine Strategy Framework Directive Descriptor 10 (Marine Litter).
- Support the development of, Marine reporting units, litter indicators and threshold values for characterizing Good Environmental Status (GES).
- Contributing to the design and execution of monitoring programs for marine micro- and macro-litter, on the coastline, including beach litter, seafloor and in the water column.
- Preparation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the collection of marine micro- and macro-litter samples.
- Managing relevant national datasets on marine litter, following FAIR principles and Marine Institute’s Data Strategy, including for MSFD and OSPAR data reporting.
- Completing data calls in support of Ireland’s obligations under the MSFD and OSPAR, including the annual ICES datacall on sea-floor litter.
- Preparing and managing tenders for external work in support of micro-litter analyses and reporting.
- Conduct fieldwork for macro and micro-litter at sea and on-shore during Marine Institute surveys.
- Statistical analysis of marine litter data in support of assessments conducted nationally and in OSPAR.
- Attending relevant MSFD working groups and relevant research for involving marine litter in support of Ireland’s obligations under the directive as led by DHLGH.
- Any other duties relevant to the role as appropriate from time to time.
Educational and Professional Requirements:
- A relevant degree in science, engineering, or another related numerical field.
- High levels of I.T. skills to include Microsoft Office.
- Experience in the management and analysis of data, ideally scientific or environmental datasets.
- Proven scientific/technical report writing skills.
- High level of proficiency in statistical analysis, ideally with the R statistical programming language, MATPAB or equivalent.
- Spatial data analysis skills in GIS, R, or other relevant platforms.
- Database skills, preferably in MS SQL Server or a similar enterprise-scale DBMS.
- Possess a diplomatic manner, with the ability to resolve issues before conflict occurs.
- The ability to work unsupervised and to work well with others.
- Willingness to work at sea on board research vessels and sufficiently fit to pass an ENG II/ Seafarers medical.
Application deadline: June 27, 2025
