Research Associate in Quantitative Marine Ecology 2025

We are looking to appoint a Research Associate in Quantitative Marine Ecology to be part of the large interdisciplinary project ‘Stronger Shores - harnessing the power of nature. 

The Role

The position will be focussed on exploring the cost-benefit of spatial ecosystem services associated with three foundational species (kelp, seagrass and native oysters, and the complex three-dimensional habitats they form) to provide nature-based coastal protection particularly focussed on preventing flood risk and preventing coastal erosion under future climate change. You will be expected to be familiar with spatial analyses (e.g., species distribution modelling), programming in the R or Python languages and to apply these to:

• Develop spatial estimates of abundance of foundational species (kelp, seagrass and oysters) under current and future climatic conditions (e.g., Gordó-Vilaseca et al., 2024).
• Use data and findings from research across Stronger Shores to assess the value of current distributions of study taxa in providing ecosystem services such as flood risk and coastal erosion reduction (amongst others) and how these might change under future climate change scenarios (e.g., Rullens et al., 2022).
• Use decision support tools to explore where active restoration is both feasible environmentally and may provide the greatest benefits from ecosystems services now and into the future through scenario testing co-developed with stakeholders.
• Communicate outputs of analyses and socialise modelling approaches with stakeholders.

This is a fixed term position for 26 months.

For informal enquiries please contact Dr Fabrice Stephenson (Fabrice.Stephenson@ncl.ac.uk) or Dr Heather Sugden (Heather.Sugden@newcastle.ac.uk).

Applications should be made through the Newcastle University jobs portal: https://jobs.ncl.ac.uk, where you are invited to provide evidence of how you meet the essential criteria required for the role outlined in ‘The Person’ by uploading a letter of application along with your Curriculum Vitae (CV).

Key Accountabilities

• To develop spatial estimates of abundance of foundational species and associated ecosystem services
• Work collaboratively with researchers and project partners to integrate data and findings from across Stronger Shores to assess the value of current distributions of study taxa in providing ecosystem services
• To disseminate research results through appropriate media. This will include authoring or co-authoring papers for publication in high-quality academic journals
• To contribute communicating outputs of analyses and socialising modelling approaches with stakeholders
• Contribute to learning and development through the provision of documentation, training and advice
• Undertake relevant training and development activities in order to develop an awareness of own professional development needs
• To prepare progress reports and presentations on research outputs for funding bodies and advisory committee as required
• Any other duties within the scope and general nature of the grade which may be required

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Experience in species distribution modelling
• Experience in the use of decision support tools, e.g, spatial prioritisation analyses such as Zonation and/or Bayesian Networks
• Experience programming in R (although experience programming in Python would also be considered)
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• High level of problem-solving capacity

Desirable

• Experience communicating complex scientific information in stakeholder meetings

Attributes and Behaviour

• Comfortable working both individually and have good team working skills
• Capacity for original thought
• Enthusiasm and a strong work ethic
• Ability to interact with researchers and project partners with different backgrounds
• Ability to communicate scientific results to a broad or non-specialist audience
• Ability and willingness to work in interdisciplinary environments
• Well-developed interpersonal communication skills that enable you to engage external and internal stakeholders and work effectively in a multidisciplinary team

Qualifications

• An undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a relevant science subject, such as biology, statistics, earth science, data science, geographical information systems
• A Ph.D. in the field of marine ecology, data science, or a related discipline

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.