Research Associate in Tropical Freshwater Ecology – 1025-22

View All Vacancies Lancaster Environment Centre
Salary:  

£36,386 to £42,155

Closing Date:  

Friday 04 November 2022

Interview Date:  

To be confirmed

Reference:  

1025-22

interviews will be online

Contract:             36 months

An exciting opportunity exists for an experienced post-doctoral researcher to contribute to a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship project entitled ‘Understanding and conserving tropical freshwater ecosystems’.

We are seeking a highly motivated and enthusiastic freshwater scientist to contribute to a project investigating land use and climate change impacts on Amazonian streams. This is a multidisciplinary project led by Dr Cecilia Gontijo Leal and the candidate will work in the assessment of temporal change in biodiversity (i.e. fish, macroinvertebrates and Odonate), water quality and physical habitat of Amazonian streams. Applicants are encouraged to think through their own ideas about these topics and how their area of expertise could be applied to this project.

The project also encompass these other work packages in which the candidate will have the chance to collaborate with: the use of state-of-the-art methods (i.e. environmental DNA, bioaccumulation of pesticides) to understand the impacts of anthropogenic stressors to streams, the implementation of a long-term field experiment to quantify the impacts of stream fragmentation by roads, and the creation of new mechanisms to translate scientific findings into conservation and land use policy and practice in the Amazon.

You will work closely with Dr Cecilia Gontijo Leal at Lancaster University and collaborate with world-leading partners based in Brazil, Sweden, USA and other institutions in the UK. The outstanding network of partners covering all areas of the project (i.e. freshwater ecology, biodiversity conservation, remote sensing, conservation genetics, ecological modelling) means that you will have plenty of opportunities for training and career development.

You will be responsible for organising and leading fieldwork activities in the Brazilian Amazon. Therefore, you will be employed by Lancaster University but are also expected to spend extended periods of time in the field and in partner’s labs. You should be able to communicate in Portuguese and motivated to undertake fieldwork and manage large teams during those activities. 

Preferred candidates will have a PhD in ecology with a focus on freshwater ecosystems or related areas, and relevant experience in working in Brazil or other Amazonian countries, statistical analysis, and writing publications. A proactive and enthusiastic approach, ability to work independently, and good interpersonal skills are essential. You must have proven experience of leading fieldwork and high-impact research papers and be able to work collaboratively with project partners and across an extended Brazil-UK tropical research group (Rede Amazônia Sustentável – http://www.rasnetwork.org/ ).

Lancaster University is a research-intensive university, ranked in the top 1% of universities globally, and in the top 10 in the UK. The Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC) is a large and multidisciplinary department, tackling environmental challenges across the natural and social sciences. Within LEC, there is particular strength in high diversity tropical systems. LEC offers a highly collegial and stimulating environment for career development based on departmental values and embedded in Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) considerations and actions. 

We welcome applications from people in all diversity groups.

Informal enquiries to Dr Cecilia G Leal ([email protected] ). The anticipated start date is March 2023 or as soon as possible after that.

A full job description and person specification is available online. For further information and to apply online please click the apply button.

What to include in each document of your application:

Cover Letter Please discuss why you are interested specifically in this position, and how it fits with your career goals. Please also describe any skills you have developed that are relevant to this post, and how you may seek to develop this area of research. 

CV Please include a 2 page CV.

Supporting Statements: Please provide a supporting statement for each Personal Specification point that is listed as being scored via “Supporting Statements”. This should include examples that provide evidence of your experience and expertise. Aim for one paragraph per criteria (~50-200 words).

Referees: Contact information for at least two referees.

For more information, see the Further Information link below.

Further details:

We promote equality of opportunity and diversity within the workplace and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

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