Research Fellow (Co-Centre for Climate+ Biodiversity+ Water)

About the job
The Co-Centre for Climate+ Biodiversity+ Water is seeking to recruit an experienced and motivated Research Fellow to play an active role as part of a new research project team across several Schools at Queen’s University Belfast. The Co-Centre is an exciting new tri-jurisdictional initiative spanning Northern Ireland, Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, which is managed jointly by QUB and Trinity College Dublin and funded by the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), DAERA and UKRI.  This post is available for 24 months.  Fixed term contract posts are available for the stated period in the first instance but in particular circumstances may be renewed or made permanent subject to availability of funding. 

The Co-Centre will seek to be the home of research, innovation, and policy development across the interlinked challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and water degradation on the islands of Ireland and Britain, with the goal of integrating research across both islands to address these crises. The Research Fellow will assist in the Monitoring Platform which aims to develop new monitoring approaches and evidence-based research results for climate, biodiversity and water to support effective decision-making. This post will specifically assist in the Monitoring Platform Project which aims to deliver a holistic understanding of peatland restoration past, present and future, through digital technologies.

Working as part of a team, this post will investigate the development of digital innovation and data fusion approaches to combine in situ measurement with remotely sensed data, to investigate peatland change over time and more broadly terrestrial ecosystem changes related to extreme events.

The post will be part of the School of Natural and Built Environment but will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team based in the dedicated Co-Centre Hub.

The key activities and responsibilities of the post include:

• Develop and undertake research under supervision and as a member of the Co-Centre Monitoring Platform team within the Multivariate Geospatial modelling for peatland ecosystems research project.
• Design, develop and refine a database of all ground-based existing available data and remotely sensed data for a multivariate approach to study peatlands.
• Design, develop and refine the use of multivariate data fusion methods using case study materials to study peatland ecosystems.
• Carry out analyses, critical evaluations, and interpretations using methodologies and other techniques appropriate to the area of research of multivariate geospatial modelling for peatland ecosystems.

About the person
Candidates should normally have or be about to obtain (usually within three months) a relevant PhD in Geography, Palaeoecology, Ecology, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Engineering, Remote Sensing, Geographical Information Science (GIS) or closely related areas.

Candidates should have:

• Substantial relevant research experience in the use of spatial data analysis techniques to integrate
  multivariate environmental land use (peatland ecosystems) data sets.
• Experience of using Geographical Information Systems (ArcGIS or open GIS such as QGIS), remote
  sensing, use of satellite data, drone or aerial surveys.
• Experience of use of remote sensed imagery to monitor land-use (peatland ecosystems, biodiversity)
  change.
• Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary environment as part of a research team.
• Ability to contribute to teaching delivery, skills for green transition and science communication.
• Ability to contribute to broader management and administrative processes.

To be successful at shortlisting stage, please ensure you clearly evidence in your application how you meet the essential and, where applicable, desirable criteria listed in the Candidate Information.

What we offer
Beyond a competitive salary, the University offers an attractive benefits package including a holiday entitlement of up to 8.4 weeks a year, pension schemes and development opportunities. We support staff wellbeing with flexible working options, work-life balance initiatives and support for physical and mental health. You can find more detail on all of this and more at http://go.qub.ac.uk/reward.

Queen's University is committed to promoting equality of opportunity to all. We subscribe to Equality Charter Marks such as the Diversity Charter Mark NI and Athena Swan and have established staff networks such as iRise (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network) and PRISM (LGBTQ+) which help us progress equality.

For further information on our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, please visit www.qub.ac.uk/diversity

Informal enquiries may be directed to Prof Mark Emmerson for Co-Centre information, [email protected] ; Dr Donal Mullan, [email protected] for topic detail.

Candidate Information

Further information for international applicants