Senior Post-Doctoral Researcher, Environmental Research Institute / MaREI

36 Months, Fixed-Term, Whole-Time Post

Position Summary

Applications are invited for a Senior Postdoctoral research position in the MaREI Centre in University College Cork (UCC), based at Environmental Research Institute’s Beaufort Building in Ringaskiddy. MaREI is the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine, coordinated by UCC’s Environmental Research Institute (ERI), which is an internationally recognised Institute for environmental research dedicated to the understanding and protection of our natural environment and to developing innovative technologies, tools and services to facilitate a transformation to a zero carbon and resource efficient society. The MaREI Centre is an SFI funded research centre headquartered in the ERI and includes 13 other Universities and Third Level Institutes across Ireland, has 50 industrial partners and has accumulated research funding of approximately €60m. It combines the expertise of a wide range of research groups and industry partners, with the shared mission of solving the main scientific, technical and socio-economic challenges across the climate, energy and marine spaces. MaREI is also funded by SEAI, EI, EPA, ERDF, EU, HEA, Marine Institute, DCCAE and IRC, as well as through contributions with our industry partners. Researchers in the MaREI Centre have over 30 years of experience in conducting fundamental and applied research supported by competitively won national and international funding, and commercial contracts with government agencies and industry.

We are seeking a senior post-doctoral researcher with experience in engaged research and stakeholder engagement in marine sciences.  The role will include: collaborating with European partners and stakeholders seeking to empower citizens and communities to engage in Mission Ocean; capacity building on enabling citizen action and development of associated training resources and tools; applying new methods for co-design and co-creation with citizens and stakeholders; and collation of appropriate evaluation and impact assessment tools to enable critical appraisal of approaches.

The successful candidate will lead research on a number of EU projects funded under Horizon Europe Mission Ocean, Seas & Waters. These will include;

1.      PREP4BLUE, a Coordination and Support Action which aims to support the Mission’s “development and piloting” phase by  developing citizen participation and action methodologies to deepen citizen engagement, leveraging democratic innovations and co-creation approaches. UCC are leading on capacity building activities including training, workshops and toolkits for stakeholders on empowerment and citizen activation. UCC also supports tasks on citizen assemblies, citizen science, empowering ocean literacy networks, enabling knowledge transfer, and impact evaluation in this space.

2.      TIDAL ArtS: TransformIng anD inspiring Aquatic Landscapes through Art and Sciences, a new project focussing on the development of community engagement and co-creation strategies facilitating a deep connection between groups of artists, citizens and scientists. UCC will lead the development of a suite of co-creation approaches that will be enacted in the production of creative works, and will develop process for monitoring and evaluating the co-creative, citizen engaged efforts of the project as a whole.

3.      Blue Mission AA, a coordination hub to support the Mission implementation in the Atlantic and Arctic Basin, focussing on preserving and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems and biodiversity for increased climate resilience.

This role provides the opportunity to join a progressive transdisciplinary team of researchers in MaREI to deliver an innovative programme of engaged research supporting societal engagement in marine science and conservation, and sustainability more broadly.  The candidate should have relevant experience in engaged or transdisciplinary research, preferably in the marine sector, and experience in research and initiatives which empower citizens and enable community-led action and development by leveraging participatory innovations.  Candidates should have a track record in working in project-based environments, and be familiar with the European funding landscape. They will be self-motivated with ability to conduct independent research to a very high level, and will be expected to contribute to the development of new research efforts, grants, and publications. The appointee will have significant project management experience with demonstrable experience of leading projects or work packages with diverse partners and external actors.  The candidate should also be able to demonstrate their experience and success in winning funding, meeting deliverables, publishing in relevant fields, and disseminating research activities and outputs.  The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to and lead new funding proposals, and to contribute to the supervision and mentorship of students and early career researchers.

Project Title: MaREI Mission Ocean Projects

Post Duration: 36 Months

Salary:  €50,540 - €54,966 (IUA PD2 Salary Scale)

For an information package including further details of the post see https://ore.ucc.ie/.

Informal enquiries can be made in confidence to Aoife Deane, Public Engagement Manager, MaREI Centre, ERI, UCC Tel: + 353 086 8906731; Email: [email protected]

Applications must be submitted online via the University College Cork vacancy portal (https://ore.ucc.ie/). Queries relating to the online application process should be referred to [email protected], quoting the job-title and project name.

Candidates should apply, in confidence, before 12 noon (Irish Local Time) on Friday, 22nd March 2024

No late applications will be accepted.

Please note that an appointment to posts advertised will be dependent on University approval, together with the terms of the employment control framework for the higher education sector.

UCC is committed to creating and fully embracing an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated.  As a University we strive to create a workplace that reflects the diversity of our student population where people from a wide variety of backgrounds learn from one another, share ideas, and work collaboratively. UCC is committed to being an employer that recognises the value of diversity amongst its staff.  We encourage applicants to consult our policies at https://www.ucc.ie/en/edi/policies/ and initiatives at https://www.ucc.ie/en/edi/implementation/ and we welcome applications from everyone, including those who are underrepresented in the protected characteristics set out in our Equal Opportunities & Diversity Policy. 

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER