Research Assistant – Catchment Management and Community Engagement

24 Jan 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Dublin City University

Research Field

Other

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Ireland

Application Deadline

9 Feb 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Dublin)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Dublin City University

Dublin City University (DCU) is a leading innovative European University. It is proud to be one of the world’s leading Young Universities and is among the world’s top 2% globally. DCU is known as Ireland’s University of Impact, with a mission to ‘transform lives and societies’ and focuses on addressing global challenges in collaboration with key national and international partners and stakeholders.

DCU has over 20,000 students in five faculties spread across three academic campuses in the Glasnevin-Drumcondra area of North Dublin. Thanks to its innovative approach to teaching and learning, the University offers a ‘transformative student experience’ that helps to develop highly sought-after graduates. DCU is currently No. 1 in Ireland for Graduate Employment Rate, and for graduate income (CSO).

DCU is a research-intensive University and is home to a number of SFI-funded Research Centres. The University participates in a range of European and international research partnerships. DCU is also the leading Irish university in the area of technology transfer as reflected by licensing of intellectual property.

As a ‘People First’ institution, DCU is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - a University that helps staff and students to thrive. The University is a leader in terms of its work to increase access to education and is placed in the world’s Top 10 for reducing inequalities in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.

As part of this role the researcher will be required to participate in the DCU Research Career Framework.  This framework is designed to provide significant professional development opportunities to Researchers and offer the best opportunities in terms of a wider career path.

 

Background & Role

The DCU Water Institute (WI) is a cross-faculty initiative of research and education on water. It aims to work with all stakeholders – a quadruple helix of academia, industry, agency and society in its research and development work. Through research and capacity building, the WI develops solutions to national and global problems in water. We specialise in technology developments across science, engineering and computer science domains with strong communications focus and policy and business drivers. These areas are reflected in our academic members in DCU, across all faculties of the University.

Applications are invited for a Research Assistant on the Horizon Europe into DBP project (Innovative Tools to Control Organic Matter and Disinfection Byproducts in Drinking Water). The project focuses on organic matter and disinfection byproducts in water and aims to develop, test, scale-up, validate and benchmark innovative tools and strategies to protect catchments and minimise human exposure to disinfection byproducts under current and future climates, without compromising disinfection efficacy.

The appointee will work closely with project partners and stakeholders to carry out a range of activities investigating potential mitigation measures for reducing dissolved organic matter (DOM) in raw water sources, including conducting a systematic review of potential mitigation measures including examples from real-world practice. Input from water utility practitioners, Group Water Scheme members and the local communities will be sought through a combination of focus groups, interviews, and surveys. Where measures have previously been implemented, their success or otherwise will also be assessed. There will be a focus throughout this project on assessing feasibility, cost, and community buy-in when evaluating the success of reviewed mitigation measures.

 

Essential Training 

The postholder will be required to undertake the following essential compliance training:

Orientation, Health & Safety, Data Protection (GDPR) and all Cyber Security Awareness Training. Other training may need to be undertaken when required.

 

Salary Scale: IUA Research Assistant Salary Scale - €30,025 - €31,254

*Appointment will be commensurate with qualifications and experience and in line with current IUA pay policy

Closing date: Friday 9th February 2024

For more information on The Water Institute, please visit: https://dcuwater.ie/

 

Informal Enquiries in relation to this role should be directed to:

Dr Valerie McCarthy, School of History and Geography, Dublin City University.

Email: [email protected]

Please do not send applications to this email address, instead apply as described below.

Requirements

Research Field

Environmental science » Water science

Education Level

Bachelor Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of the position include, but are not restricted to, the following:

• Conducting a literature review of potential mitigation measures for reducing DOM in source drinking water.
• Conducting research surveys and collating data associated with these surveys.
• Working closely with local communities through focus groups and interviews.
• Engaging in community workshops and other Outreach Programmes.
• Carrying out sample water collection and laboratory analyses at case study sites.
• Assisting in organising project meetings and training workshops and attending all events.
• Contributing to project dissemination, including the project webpage and social media accounts.

 

Qualifications, Skills and Experience Required

Essential Criteria

• Applicants should have a primary degree or M.Sc. in an appropriate discipline (limnology, freshwater ecology, environmental studies or related field).
• Experience with aquatic field and laboratory analyses of water quality parameters.
• Good data handling skills.
• Strong oral and written communication skills in English.
• Good organisational skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Proven ability to work independently.
• EU driving licence.

Desirable Criteria

• Background knowledge of catchment pressures on aquatic ecosystems.
• Experience with outreach and public engagement in an academic research environment.
• Experience with conducting research surveys.
• Experience in using GIS software.

 

Candidates will be assessed on the following competencies:

Discipline knowledge and Research skills – Demonstrates knowledge of a research discipline and the ability to conduct a specific programme of research within that discipline.

Understanding the Research Environment – Demonstrates an awareness of the research environment (for example funding bodies) and the ability to contribute to grant applications.

Communicating Research – Demonstrates the ability to communicate their research with their peers and the wider research community (for example presenting at conferences and publishing research in relevant journals) and the potential to teach and tutor students.

Managing & Leadership skills - Demonstrates the potential to manage a research project including the supervision of undergraduate students.

Languages

ENGLISH

Internal Application form(s) needed
Academic and Research Application Form_0 (5) (6)_0.pdf
English
(218.32 KB - PDF)
Download
Additional Information

Website for additional job details

https://www.dcu.ie/hr/vacancies-employment-opportunities-human-resources

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Dublin City University

Country

Ireland

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.dcu.ie/hr/vacancies-employment-opportunities-human-resources

Contact

City

Dublin

Website

https://dcuwater.ie/

Street

Glasnevin

Postal Code

Dublin 9

STATUS: EXPIRED