Associate Professor in Environmental Sustainability (EARTH_01)

The Department of Earth Sciences at Durham University has the exciting opportunity to appoint an Associate Professor in Environmental Sustainability (Research and Education) to help strengthen our existing research, teaching and impact that addresses the major environmental challenges such as Climate Change, Energy Transition and Sustainable use of Resources. We seek an outstanding individual to take a leadership role in research and teaching, and in particular lead curricula development and delivery of parts of our new MSc in Environmental Sustainability, which is at final approval stage and is scheduled to begin teaching in October 2026.

Durham Earth Sciences is one of the best UK Earth Science departments with an outstanding reputation for excellence in teaching, research and the satisfaction and employability of its students. It is regularly ranked in the top 10 of UK departments and is within the global top 50 (QS rankings). The department has around 30 academic staff, 15 research staff, 50 postgraduate students and 280 undergraduate students. Its research covers a spectrum of Earth Science disciplines around four broad themes: Solid Earth; Climate and Environmental Change; Geoenergy, Resources and Waste; Geohazards. The themes reflect our aim to not only undertake fundamental and intrinsically excellent research, but also research that is relevant to and impacts society. We collaborate widely, and within Durham we work closely with both the Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience and the Durham Energy Institute. The Department has world-class research facilities.

The Department is committed to providing the highest level of education to its students, giving them the knowledge, skills and confidence to contribute positively to the world beyond Durham. We provide research-led teaching in Geology, Geophysics, Environmental Geoscience and Climate Science with a large proportion of practical classes and a deep commitment to field-based teaching. We regularly receive > 90% satisfaction scores on the annual National Student Survey and our students are highly sought after by a range of employers. The Department of Earth Sciences holds a departmental Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of its efforts to promote gender equality and address challenges particular to the earth sciences.

This post offers an exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to the development of internationally excellent research and teaching in Environmental Sustainability while allowing you unrivalled opportunities to progress and embed your career in an exciting and progressive institution.

• Pursue research that is world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour, commensurate with the Department's continuing emphasis on international excellence;
• Make a significant contribution to the development of successful research project/fellowship proposals in pursuit of suitable national and international funding opportunities to support research and end-user engagement.
• Deliver excellent teaching offering lectures, seminars and tutorials and supervising research projects primarily at taught postgraduate level for the MSc Environmental Sustainability course.
• Contribute significantly to the development and delivery of high-quality teaching, including the design of excellent learning environments and curricula in two or equivalent of the following modules: Environmental Sustainability, Sustainable Resource Management, Environmental Impact Assessment, Climate Change Management and Mitigation.
• Supervise MSc projects.
• Contribute to enhancing the quality of the research environment in the Department, the wider University and beyond.
• Contribute to establishing and leading research groups within and beyond the University, and mentor early career researchers.
• Attract and provide excellent supervision to research students and enhance the Department's commitment to its vibrant and international postgraduate culture.
• Contribute significantly to the administrative functioning and collegial environment of the Department and wider University, undertaking leadership activities which support the functioning of the Department and wider University.
• Champion and enhance the values of the Department.
• Carry out such other duties as specified by the Head of Department.

You will have an established, internationally recognised, and active research programme in environmental geosciences, earth system science, sustainability, or related fields, combining field, lab, and/or computational approaches on topics such as, but not limited to, global carbon cycle dynamics, carbon sequestration, environmental sustainability, climate change and mitigation, energy transition or sustainable resource management. You will be expected and supported to conduct cutting-edge research at the highest level, build your own externally funded research group, collaborate widely within and without the department and to explore the full potential of the impact of your research.

• A good first degree and a PhD in Geoscience, Environmental Science, Engineering or a related science subject.
• Evidence of the independent development of internationally excellent research that produces high-quality outcomes, including some work that is recognised as world-class or that has world-class potential.
• Significant evidence of engagement in the development of successful research projects and quality research grant proposals and/or successful industry income generation.

• Research Leadership - significant contribution to establishing and leading research groups within and beyond the candidate's institution.
• Evidence of the successful development, delivery and examination of a postgraduate taught programme.
• PhD Supervision – the successful recruitment and excellent supervision of PhD students.
• Research Impact - evidence of a significant contribution to the development of research that has a demonstrable impact beyond the Candidate's institution.

Department contact for academic-related enquiries: Professor Ken McCaffrey (Head of Department) earthsci.hod@durham.ac.uk

We prefer to receive applications online. Please ensure that your application includes all required documents as outlined above.