Science Lead- Land Use

Join us as a Science Lead- Land Use and make an invaluable contribution to our Food Safety & Biosecurity!

At Fera, we’re making the world a better, healthier and safer place. We’re a joint venture partnership between Bridgepoint and Defra and we’re working proactively to protect the world we live in and the food we eat. Our teams are investigating plant and bee health, crop protection and sustainable agriculture. Join us and discover better as you deliver world-class science for the future.

As a science lead you will have the opportunity to work within a vibrant interdisciplinary group (ecology, remote sensing/GIS, stats and modelling etc) of engaged researchers tackling some of the most urgent and exciting interlinked global environmental challenges. Sitting within our Land Use and team you will contribute to the delivery of natural capital projects for key public and private sector stakeholders and have exposure to our innovative response to the rapidly changing policy developments in environmental land management, tree health, food safety and biosecurity.

Salary: From £45k

Location: Hybrid- York BioTech Campus YO41 1LZ

Working pattern: 37.5 Monday – Friday (flexi between 7am & 7pm)

Start date: ASAP depending on recruitment and onboarding timelines.

Closing Date: 9th September 2024

What you’ll be doing:

• Engaging with external developments as they relate to the natural capital policy area to inform Fera activities
• Engaging with senior stakeholders to develop strong business relationships
• Work with senior Fera staff to continue to develop our strategic approach
• Leading research projects for public and private sector clients with responsibility for the management and delivery
• Taking a lead on relevant bidding opportunities.
• Contributing to the development of methods and proposals in response to customer needs
• Applying a range of research techniques to gather relevant information, including data analysis, document analysis, surveys, focus groups and interviews
• The analysis and evaluation of research and interpretation of data, including working with inter-disciplinary teams to agree interpretations and derivations of key metrics
• Developing and mentoring team members.
• Create clear and engaging presentations and reports tailored to different stakeholders and customers
• Contribute to publishing research findings

What we’re looking for:

• Expertise in one or more of the social science disciplines (preferably to MSc or PhD level)
• Significant experience of delivering social science/natural capital research projects – preferably in public and private settings.This could relate to developing policies or how private sector businesses need to respond to emerging environmental markets.
• Ability to demonstrate experience of delivering projects to time and budget.
• Experience of bidding and managing projects.
• Extensive experience in contributing to the design, development and implementation of appropriate quantitative/qualitative methodologies and mixed methods research
• A clear and concise approach to conducting analysis
• The ability to summarize research findings and effectively communicate these in a clear and compelling manner to stakeholders
• Excellent communication skills are key as well as the ability to synthesize results and write effective project reports and manuscripts

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary
• ​23 days’ holiday (rising to 27) with the opportunity to buy extra leave.
• Flexible working hours, on-site gym, restaurant, and free parking
• The opportunity to take a paid day out of the office, volunteering for our charity partners or a cause of your choice
• Company matched pension, life assurance, a cycle2work scheme, 15 weeks’ fully paid maternity, adoption and shared parental leave, paternity pay of two weeks…and plenty more.
• Voluntary benefits designed to suit your lifestyle – from discounts on retail and socialising, to health & wellbeing, travel and technology
• Access to our Employee Network Groups, which represent every strand of diversity and allow colleagues to connect and learn from each other on an open, inclusive platform

What we hope you’ll do next:

Choose ‘Apply now’ to fill out our short application, so that we can find out more about you. If you have any questions you’d like to ask before applying, you can contact recruitment@fera.co.uk

We’re an equal opportunity employer, which means we recruit and develop people based on their merit and passion. We’re committed to providing an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment process and working environment for everyone. If you need the job description or application form in an alternative format or if you’d like to discuss other changes or support you might need going forward, please email at recruitment@fera.co.uk and we’ll get back to you.