Research Fellow in Food Systems

School of Water, Energy and Environment

Environment and Agrifood

Research Fellow in Food Systems

Fixed Term Contract for 36 months

Flexible working will be actively considered

Full time starting salary is normally in the range of £33,809 to £37,684 per annum, with potential progression up to £47,105 per annum

Location: Cranfield, Bedfordshire

Cranfield University’s world-class expertise, large-scale facilities and unrivalled industry partnerships is creating leaders in technology and management globally. Learn more about Cranfield and our unique impact here .

The School of Water, Energy and Environment welcomes applications from Research Fellow in Food Systems.

About School of Water, Energy and Environment

Cranfield’s excellence in Water, Energy and Environment is recognised internationally. Industrial-scale facilities underpin our research and development in energy technologies, including biofuels, biomass for energy, carbon capture and offshore oil and gas. Our environment activities include internationally recognised centres of excellence in Environmental Risk and Futures, and Water Science. Agrifood has been a core area since taking over the National College of Agricultural Engineering in the 1970s and we own the soil map for England and Wales.

Visit the Cranfield website to learn more about the School’s current research activities, taught programmes and impact:

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Learn more about Environment and Agrifood

About the Role

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic Research Fellow in Food Systems to join the Plant Science Laboratory at the School of Water, Energy, Environment and AgriFood at Cranfield University, to work on EPSRC funded project ‘Zero-emission cold-chain (ZECC) building the road to sustainable cold-chain systems for food resilience’.

This project brings together (i) world-leading interdisciplinary researchers from the UK working across the food cold-chain sector and sustainable energy; (ii) government and global agencies; (iii) stakeholder industries; (iii) new technology innovators; and (iv) cold-chain customers from farmer to retailer to provide fundamental new knowledge. It will provide a whole systems approach to redefine the cold-chain architecture and map the opportunities available to reach net zero emissions by 2050, so as to deliver demand and climate adaptation; resilience; and decarbonisation of the cold-chain for the food industry. Working on this initiative will contribute to reduce food loss and waste globally, increasing sustainability and resilience of the food supply chain. This project is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and the objectives set by the Montreal Protocol.

The Plant Science Laboratory is one of the largest centres dedicated to research, consultancy and education in postharvest biology and technology of fresh produce in Europe. We service all sectors of the fresh produce supply chain including many of the major multinational food companies, multiple food retailers and undertake research for both national and international Governments, research councils, and levy bodies. Our aim is to find answers to biological challenges in partnership with our clients.

About You

You will be responsible for the data collection, analysis and interpretation of results in collaboration with all project partners: University of Birmingham, Heriot-Watt University and London South Bank University. Innovative thinking is key in this project.

You will have a PhD in agriculture or related subject and extensive experience in data analysis and food systems management. You will have excellent project and time management skills, ensuring that milestones and deliverables are achieved to time and to high quality. You will be able to work in multidisciplinary teams and produce high quality manuscripts.

Our Values

Our shared, stated values help to define who we are and underpin everything we do: Ambition; Impact; Respect; and Community. Find out more here . We aim to create and maintain a culture in which everyone can work and study together and realise their full potential.

Diversity and Inclusion

Our equal opportunities and diversity monitoring has shown that women and minority ethnic groups are currently underrepresented within the university and so we actively encourage applications from eligible candidates from these groups.

To further demonstrate our commitment to progressing gender diversity in STEM, we are members of WES & Working Families, and sponsors of International Women in Engineering Day.

Flexible Working

We actively consider flexible working options such as part-time, compressed or flexible hours and/or an element of homeworking, and commit to exploring the possibilities for each role. Find out more here .

How to apply

For an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact Dr Natalia Falagán, Lecturer in Food Science and Technology, on [email protected]

Apply online now . Please do not hesitate to contact us for further details on E: [email protected] Please quote reference number 3725.

Closing date for receipt of applications: 30 September 2021