Flyways Science Officer in Cambridge

Application deadline:
Saturday 10 January 2026 – 23:59 BST/GMT

Location:
Cambridge, UK (hybrid working, minimum one day per week in Cambridge)

Full-time:
35 hours per week

Contract:
1 year fixed term contract with the possibility to extend

Salary:
£31,000 – £34,000 per annum depending on skills/experience, plus competitive 12% pension benefit

*Annual Leave: *
25 days pro rata

We\’re BirdLife International, the only global Partnership conserving birds and all life on our planet. We exist to give one voice to nature, and to unite and strengthen conservation across borders.

We are looking for a
Flyways Science Officer
to support BirdLife\’s scientific, technical and science-policy work, relevant to BirdLife\’s Global Flyways Programme. In this role you will be providing scientific and technical support to the programme, its initiatives and flyways relevant policy, conducting scientific research to understand the causes of decline and conservation issues for migratory birds, developing guidance tools and reports, and enhancing BirdLife\’s data on migratory species and their ecological networks.

How you will do this:
Provide scientific and technical input to the global Flyways Programme and its projects, including initiatives:

• Addressing illegal killing and unsustainable bird taking and other threats and conserving migratory birds, and securing ecological networks.
• Prioritising conservation efforts and securing key sites and ecological networks for migratory birds.
• Leading/contributing to research and analyses, working with collaborators, and publishing findings.
• Supporting science-policy work with international policy agreements to influence relevant policy agendas and government actions.
• Improving BirdLife\’s data and develop tools, reports and guidance to support decision-making across a range of users.
• Contributing to scientific and technical support and capacity building re: the flyways work of BirdLife Partners.
• Contributing to contract delivery and reporting for specific flyways relevant contracts.

What we are looking for:

• A Master\’s, or preferably a PhD in biological or environmental subjects, or equivalent professional experience.
• Good knowledge of global biodiversity conservation issues, specific knowledge of birds would be desirable.
• Understanding of spatial data use in conservation and planning.
• Proficiency in data analysis methods.
• Experience in report-writing, developing research questions and authoring academic papers.
• Proven track record of building and maintaining stakeholder relationships.
• Experience of GIS (preferably ArcMap) and statistical packages like R.
• Understanding of environmental policy is desirable.
• Strong organisational skills, the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy in performing repetitive tasks.
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written; high level of fluency in English – other languages such as French, Spanish, Arabic beneficial, but not essential.

This role will require occasional travel.

See The Full Job Description Here.
Some of our benefits:

• We are able to offer a hybrid model of working on-site and from home/remote for most roles, which helps to ensure a flexible work-life balance.
• A chance to work in the award-winning David Attenborough Building, which brings together much of the Cambridge-based conservation community on a \’conservation campus.\’
• A generous pension scheme, up to 12% company contribution.
• Holiday starting at 25 days excluding