Postdoctoral Research Associate/Fellow

Faculty of Environment, Science & Economy - Business School       

Land, Environment, Economics and Policy Institute

Multiple posts are available for researchers willing to embrace interdisciplinary working to produce impactful research into climate change mitigation and impacts as part of the Land, Environment, Economics and Policy (LEEP) Institute within the Department of Economics, University of Exeter Business School.

The posts are open to researchers with a quantitative background and are available to start as soon as possible, full time for an initial 18-month period, with excellent prospects for extension.

The post

We are seeking researchers with quantitative backgrounds in one or more areas including, but not limited to process-based modelling of the environment and environment-economy interactions, data science, agricultural economics or science, ecological, climate or other natural science. We are keen to hire researchers that want to join forces with an interdisciplinary team to develop the evidence, analyses and tools needed to address the major environmental and related economic challenges facing humanity in the 21st Century including: climate change; biodiversity loss, environmental pollution and food security.

You will join a team actively working in this domain with research themes that include: the trade-offs between land use, food and the environment; landscape portfolio optimisation; synthesis of large datasets for modelling and the development of digital twins of the environment; risk analysis; uncertainty quantification for complex models; development of decision support systems; environment related welfare and distribution challenges including access to high quality environments; and many others. You will collaborate with the LEEP team in delivering research outputs in these themes and have the opportunity to develop your own research in these or related areas.

LEEP is dedicated to generating high-quality, internationally-acclaimed research outputs, publications and impactful contributions. We are keen to develop the careers of researchers by supporting your research publications and CV development and have a very strong record of assisting staff from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds into long term research and academic positions.  

We welcome applications from a broad range of disciplines, recognising the importance of interdisciplinary working to provide a comprehensive understanding of environment-economic interactions. We are looking for colleagues to add to, extend or complement the work of LEEP across a range of areas. As such the LEEP team invite applications from candidates with strong skills in one or more of the following areas:

• Process-based (structural) modelling of the environment, economy or environment-economy interactions.
• Data analysis, fitting of statistical or machine learning models (particularly spatio-temporal methods), data processing and visualisation.
• Agricultural systems, agricultural economics and associated policy environment.
• Working in an interdisciplinary team and engaging with non-academic stakeholders to guide the design of decision support tools.

Two posts are available immediately due to additional funding becoming available. The main purpose of the posts is to conduct applied research to translate academic science into environmental, economic and social benefits.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role.

About LEEP

The LEEP Institute is a thriving research centre committed to devising evidence-led solutions to the major environmental, economic and wellbeing challenges facing humanity. LEEP has over 50 members and maintains partnerships with leading researchers and institutes worldwide. It contributes to leading research in integrated environment-economy modelling, environmental resource management, climate science and economics, environmental valuation, biodiversity analysis and economics, natural capital accounting, sustainability, policy analysis and decision making, and related data science, mathematics and AI research (see example work below). Alongside its international academic profile, LEEP also has an extremely strong track record of working with government and business delivering substantial impact in terms of enhancing the incorporation of the environment within decision making.

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.

We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and welcome applications from service people.

Further Information

For further information please contact Professor Ian Bateman, e-mail [email protected] .