Senior Ecological Statistician

Fixed term 12-month contract, 4 days per week. Salary £44,434 (part time pro rata). Biomathematics & Statistics Scotland (BioSS) seeks to appoint a Senior Ecological Statistician on a fixed term contract for 12 months from 01/09/2026 – 31/08/2027. This will be maternity leave cover for an existing role. Candidates will have an interest in movement modelling and working on applied and methodological research relating to the impacts of offshore renewable energy on seabirds and marine mammals.

BioSS is legally part of The James Hutton Institute, a member of the SEFARI (Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes) collective, and offers a stimulating working environment, with 60 staff and students at four locations, collaborating on applications in offshore renewables, environmental science & ecology, plant & crop science, animal health & welfare, and human health & nutrition.

The UK Government recently launched its Clean Power Mission with a commitment to accelerating to net zero by delivering clean power by 2030, including 43-50 GW of offshore wind, and to restoring nature. In the power generation sector, progress in switching to renewable energy has accelerated in recent years, with renewables generating more electricity in the UK than fossil fuels since 2020. Legislation protecting the marine environment requires that offshore renewable energy devices are delivered in a sustainable manner. Offshore renewable developments have the potential to impact protected seabird and marine mammal populations, principally from collisions with turbine blades, displacement from important habitat, barrier effects to movement and noise disturbance.

The Offshore Renewables Team (OSR) in BioSS carries out quantitative research on the impacts of offshore renewable energy on seabirds and marine mammals in collaboration with the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) and many other organisations. This position offers the opportunity to work in a friendly, inclusive team (currently 11 staff + 3 PhD students) within three consortia on interesting and innovative long-term research projects, which have substantial statistical and software development components.

This is an opportunity to be involved in developing statistical approaches using novel ecological data to solve real‑world problems relating to the impacts of offshore renewables on seabirds and contribute to an extensive research portfolio.

• Project 1: OWEC / PrePARED - Funded by the Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme (OWEC), Predators and Prey Around Renewable Energy Devices (PrePARED) is providing critical insight into cumulative effects from large scale developments for key species. Surveys are collecting concurrent data to characterise and quantify relationships between predators and prey in the context of a changing environment. Movement models have been developed using Hidden Markov Models, to investigate broad-scale interactions of GPS-tracked seabirds and their prey.
• Project 2: BRAIDS - Funded by the Scottish Government Offshore Wind Directorate, the Seabird Foraging and Avian Flu (BRAIDS) project is examining the effects of reductions in seabird populations due to the recent Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak. We are continuing to develop Hidden Markov Models using seabird tracking data, along with spatial metrics of foraging to determine how foraging distributions and ranges may change within a hierarchy of different scales.
• Project 3: Forth and Tay Seabird GPS Tracking Project - Funded by developers and working with UKCEH, this project is investigating the potential impacts of offshore wind farm development on seabirds in this region. Work led by BioSS is producing behavioural classifications of seabirds (using Hidden Markov modelling) for input into a variety of project‑wide analyses aimed at assessing changes before, during and after wind farm construction as part of post‑consent monitoring.

Main responsibilities of the post:

• Responsible for BioSS deliverables in project consortia, including producing and delivering presentations, writing project reports, producing manuscripts for external peer review, and representing BioSS at internal and external meetings and conferences.
• Supervising other staff in project consortia, setting the direction of research and ensuring that deliverables are met.
• Work with other senior BioSS staff in tendering, including bids for external funding from the Scottish Government Marine Directorate and other government bodies, UKRI, and industry projects relating to the impacts of offshore renewable energy developments on seabirds and marine mammals.
• Collaborate with scientists at all levels across interdisciplinary consortia, delivering research specialising in movement and spatial marine ecological statistics.
• Proactively build new and existing collaborations, both within project consortia, across the academic sector, and across the sector with government, Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies, and industry stakeholders.

Grade, starting salary, duration, and location: This post will be offered at Hutton Level 6 (senior statistician, salary £44,434.00 part time pro-rata). This is a fixed term appointment for 12 months at 28 hours per week, equivalent to 4 days per week. Candidates must be available to start on 01/09/2026 and be available for the duration of the contract. Location for this post is flexible; the post-holder can be based at BioSS offices in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, or Dundee. We offer a flexible working approach where a degree of working from home is encouraged. However, entirely remote working is not possible for this role.

How to apply for this post: Only candidates who have the right to work in the UK are eligible to apply for this role. The application process involves creating an account and uploading personal details along with: a CV, including as a minimum your education and employment history plus relevant scientific achievements; a short explanation of why you consider yourself suitable for this post, including a description of your current and planned research activities.

Closing date for applications: 13th July 2026. Interviews will be held either online or in-person in the week beginning 27th July 2026. Please note that we do not use any automated technology to sift candidate applications and encourage applicants to submit a full and considered application.