Research Associate, Ecological Entomologist | Wallingford, Oxfordshire

We are seeking an applied ecologist with a strong background in invertebrate ecology to join a multidisciplinary team of 50+ scientists undertaking long-term research to measure, understand and predict the consequences of environmental change on biodiversity and associated ecosystem services.

You will have the opportunity to gain practical experience of working within a Research Institute, whilst acquiring – through a structured 3 year programme -specialist and wider skills.

Main Duties

You will undertake cutting edge applied research projects. These will include the major NERC-BBSRC Achieving Sustainable Agricultural Systems programme (ASSIST) and the NERC Chemicals in the Environment grant exploring mechanisms through which mixtures of pesticides and other chemicals affect terrestrial invertebrates.

You will conduct hypothesis-driven experiments in the lab and on commercial farms to: i) quantify the impacts of agricultural management (including pesticide use) on invertebrate communities, ii) develop strategies to mitigate these impacts; and iii) test new integrated management practices to enhance natural pest control and crop pollination, and their resilience to environmental change.

You will quantify the impacts of pesticide use on invertebrates and the emergent effects that this may have on both community structure and the delivery of ecosystem services;

Skills Required

You will hold a PhD in ecology or environmental science. You will preferably hold postdoctoral research experience or a similar level of knowledge.

You will possess good ecological monitoring skills, and demonstrable experience of lab and field experimentation.  You will ideally have some invertebrate taxonomic skills, and a willingness to develop these to cover new groups.

You will have a strong statistical background combined with the ability undertake analyses of large scale and long-term datasets.

Good communication skills and the ability to collaborate successfully with diverse stakeholders, in particular those from the farming community.

Skills you will gain

The training goal is to offer you an opportunity to broaden your skill set and additionally further CEH’s capacity and reputation in ecological entomology. The training will be in the following areas, with specific emphases dependent on your previous experience:

• Advanced taxonomic training in a number of invertebrate groups associated with ecosystem service delivery
• Advanced training in the design and running of complex mechanistic ecological experiments in the lab and field
• Advanced knowledge of the R statistical programming language, and its use for data analysis and manipulation
• Proficiency in presenting results in scientific conferences, scientific papers and developing approaches for knowledge exchange to a variety of stakeholders
• Knowledge in how to develop new proposals for funding
• Experience in scientific leadership and project management

How to Apply

Please click the ‘Apply’ button where you will be directed to our Careers portal where you will be asked to email your completed application form and the equal opportunities monitoring form to recruitment@ceh.ac.uk

The closing date for applications is 6th October 2019

Interviews will be held on the 17th October 2019