Postdoctoral Research Associate or Fellow

Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy

The above NERC funded, full-time post is available for up to 3.5 years, starting 1 May 2024, in the Faculty.

The post

The Faculty wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Associate or Fellow to participate in PICANTE project, which examines the processes, impacts and changes of Antarctic extreme weather.

More frequent and intense weather and climate extremes are a visible manifestation of climate change, and they have a strong impact on the natural environment and society. Antarctic extreme weather events have global implications, through potential detrimental impacts on ice shelf stability, leading to ice mass loss and global sea level rise. The PICANTE project aims to transform understanding of the characteristics and drivers of Antarctic extreme weather events, disentangle their drivers (including the role of human influence), and better predict future events and their impacts. The successful applicant with work under the immediate supervision of Prof James Screen and Prof Jennifer Catto but join a large team of world-leading scientists from the Universities of Sheffield, Lincoln and Lancaster, British Antarctic Survey, and Met Office.

The start date is negotiable, but would ideally be no later than 1 May 2024, and starting later than this would require a reduction in the post duration (funding ends on 31 October 2027). The successful applicant will:

• Examine the predictability of Antarctic extreme weather events and of their drivers, using large ensembles of seasonal forecasts.
• Conduct sensitivity experiments with the UK Met Office Hadley Centre seasonal forecast model to identify sources of forecast skill.
• Evaluate the risk of unprecedented Antarctic weather extremes, applying the UNSEEN method — UNprecedented Simulated Extremes using ENsembles.
• Explore projected future changes of Antarctic weather extremes and of their drivers in multi-model large ensembles.
• Conduct new model simulations to quantify the changed likelihood and/or severity of Antarctic weather extremes under 2 or 4 °C global warming.

About you

The successful applicant will be able to develop research objectives, conduct original research, write publications, and make presentations at conferences and other events.

Applicants will possess (or be close to completing) a relevant PhD or equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study. The successful applicant will be a nationally recognised authority in meteorology or climate science and 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. Applicants will be able to analyse large data sets and conduct climate model experiments.

Please ensure you read the 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

• A beautiful campus set in the heart of stunning Devon.

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.

For further information please contact Prof James Screen by e-mail [email protected].

The closing date for completed applications is 07/03/2024.  Interviews are expected to take place w/c 18th March 2024.