Postdoctoral Research Associate

School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Ecology and Evolution

Full-time: 35 hours per week

Fixed term:
Until 31 October 2030

We are looking for a postdoctoral research assistant as part of the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship: ‘FORESIGHT: predicting population responses to climate change’.

This postdoctoral position will focus primarily on establishing ‘how changes in climate cause population change in birds and mammals’. A proportion of the position’s time will be spent contributing to Open Science initiatives and databases through the SPI-Birds network and database (https://spibirds.org/en). There will also be opportunities to explore drivers of predictability in ecology and to contribute to cross-sector workshops with conservation and policy organisations.

The role will involve conducting research to identify weather drivers, population modelling, demography, and ecological forecasting, as well as producing and testing statistical tools. The post holder will also be expected to contribute to the development of new ideas and approaches, to contribute to the overall direction of the research project, and to contribute to publishing or otherwise disseminating the outputs of research, likely including R package development as well as academic publications.

The postdoctoral research assistant will work as part of various teams, including Dr Emily Simmonds’ group at the University of Edinburgh and the SPI-Birds development team based in the Netherlands but with contributors across Europe. This role combines methodological development and research on a pressing societal challenge, with Open Science, and the potential for applied impact and would suit someone whose interests span this spectrum.

The successful candidate will benefit from individual training and travel funding and will join a growing research group in a highly supportive environment.

This post is full-time (35 hours per week).