Postdoctoral Research Associate or Fellow

Postdoctoral Research Associate or Fellow – Department of Geography

This full-time post is available on a fixed term basis from 1 April 2024 to 31 September 2026, with the last year subject to funding being confirmed. We are open to applications from candidates interested in working part-time hours or job-sharing arrangements.

The post

The Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Associate or Fellow to participate in research as part of three projects, in the context of socio-economic and environmental modelling. We are seeking an outstanding, highly motivated and committed individual to provide quantitative research capacity in three projects: DECIPHER, EEIST and USS-fund. 

The EEIST 2 project is led by the University of Exeter, whereas DECIPHER is a multi-institutional project led by E3Modelling in Greece. The projects seek to improve the energy-economy model E3ME-FTT used to inform climate change mitigation scenarios and climate policy-making. Some of the development with be done in co-production with Indian partners. Improvements will and creating better interactions between sectors to study potential cascading tipping points.

The three projects seek to develop and improve the FTT family of energy systems models, based on evolutionary economics. These models are run as part of the bigger global macro-econometric E3ME-FTT, in collaboration with the consultancy Cambridge Econometrics. Improvement will focus on innovation in the context of scenarios of emissions reductions and climate change.

In the USS-funded project, the role holder will simulate the effects of a set of global transition narratives. These narratives include options for climate policy, technology, geopolitics, finance and economics. The project will quantify macro-economic factors e.g. GDP, interest rates; as well as quantification of sector-level impacts e.g. relative profitability.​

More information on the research can be found at https://eeist.co.uk/ .

About you
The successful applicant will be able to operate and improve complex and data-intensive models of the earth or energy system, ideally with knowledge of technological change, innovation, energy use and climate change. The candidate will possess strong mathematical, data analysis and programming abilities, ideally in Python and/or FORTRAN. The candidate will have experience of non-linear dynamical systems.

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The successful applicant will also be able to define research objectives, projects, and proposals; identify sources of research funding and contribute to the process of securing funds and make presentations at conferences and other events. 

Applicants will possess a relevant PhD (or nearing completion for PDRA) or equivalent qualification/experience in a related strongly quantitative field of study such as physics, economics, ecology, applied mathematics, engineering or other related fields of study. The successful applicant will possess sufficient specialist knowledge in the discipline to develop research programmes and methodologies. The successful applicant will also be able to work collaboratively, supervise the work of others and act as team leader as required.

Please ensure you read our Job description and person specification for full details of this role.  

What we can offer you

• Freedom (and the support) to pursue your intellectual interests and to work creatively across disciplines to produce internationally exciting research;
• Support teams that understand the University wide research and teaching goals and partner with our academics accordingly
• An Innovation, Impact and Business directorate that works closely with our academics providing specialist support for external engagement and development
• Our Exeter Academic initiative supporting high performing academics to achieve their potential and develop their career

The University of Exeter

We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities and in the top 200 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 and QS World University Ranking 2024).  We combine world-class teaching with world-class research, achieving a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework Award 2023, underpinned by Gold ratings for Student Experience and Student Outcomes.

Our world-leading research impact has grown more than any other Russell Group university in recent years, and we are home to some of the world’s most influential researchers, seeking to answer some of the most fundamental issues facing humankind today.  More than 99 percent of our research is of international quality and 47 percent is world-leading (2021 Research Excellence Framework).

We encourage proactive engagement with industry, business and community partners to enhance the impact of research and education and improve the employability of our students. Read about our world leading research – Green Futures and how we are transforming education for a changing world. We are located in a beautiful part of the country and Exeter (a fast growing tech hub) is one of only a few UK cities to have been designated as a UNESCO Creative City

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

We are committed to ensuring reasonable adjustments are available for interviews and workplaces.

Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our working community. 

With over 30,000 students and 7,000 staff from 150 different countries we offer a diverse and engaging environment where our diversity is celebrated and valued as a major strength. We are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all members of our community are supported to thrive; where diverse voices are heard through our engagement with evidence-based charter frameworks for gender (Athena SWAN and Project Juno for Physics), race equality (Race Equality Charter Mark), LGBTQ+ inclusion (Stonewall Diversity Champion) and as a Disability Confident employer.

For further information please Dr Femke Nijsse ([email protected] ), Prof Tim Lenton ([email protected] ) and Jack Oliver ([email protected] )