Research Assistant/Associate

Newcastle University

We are a world class research-intensive university. We deliver teaching and learning of the highest quality. We play a leading role in economic, social and cultural development of the North East of England. Attracting and retaining high-calibre people is fundamental to our continued success.

Salary
Research Assistant: £33,002 - £34,610 per annum.
Research Associate: £35,608 - £37,694 per annum.

The Role
We are looking to appoint a Research Assistant/Associate in Quantitative Marine Ecology to be part of the project ‘UK MPAs in a changing climate', funded by the Ocean Innovation Fund at Oceana.

The position will be focussed on assessing the current and future effectiveness of UK Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in protecting vulnerable benthic species from bottom trawling under climate change scenarios. You will be expected to be familiar with spatial analyses, species distribution modelling (SDM), and programming in the R or Python languages to apply these to:

• Collate and analyse spatial data on MPA boundaries, their protection status, and bottom trawling activity from sources like Global Fishing Watch.
• Identify benthic taxa vulnerable to bottom trawling using a trait-based approach and, using existing species distribution models, quantify their overlap with MPAs and fishing pressure.
• Synthesise ecological, fisheries, and climate data to evaluate the resilience of the UK MPA network and identify spatial priorities for future protection.
• Communicate scientific outputs to both academic and non-specialist audiences, including Oceana’s campaign teams, to feed directly in to advocacy efforts and inform marine conservation policy.

This is a full-time, fixed-term for 12 months.

For informal enquiries please contact Dr Fabrice Stephenson (Fabrice.Stephenson@ncl.ac.uk).

As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of research role profiles. These profiles set out firstly the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level.

Qualifications

• A PhD in relevant area (required for appointment at Associate level).
• MSc degree in relevant subject or close to submission of PhD (for appointment at Assistant level).