Research Assistant/Associate

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

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 into advocacy efforts and inform marine conservation policy.

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

Key Accountabilities

• Although working under the general guidance of an academic or Principal Investigator, the postholder will contribute ideas, including enhancements to the technical or methodological aspects of their studies, thus providing substantial ‘added value’.
• Develop and carry out the specified project using appropriate techniques and equipment as outlined in the personal requirements.
• Determine appropriate methodologies for research, with advice and support where required.
• Contribute to grant applications submitted by others and in time develop own research objectives and proposals for funding.
• Begin to write, with appropriate support, proposals for individual research funding or, where funders do not permit this, contribute to the writing of collective bids.
• Assess research findings for the need/scope for further investigations.
• Contribute to the writing up of their research for publication and dissemination, either through seminar and conference presentations or through publications.
• Present research findings, either at conferences or through publications in reputable outlets appropriate to the discipline.
• May be involved in the supervision, with guidance, of final year undergraduate research projects and in providing support to postgraduate research students or Research Assistants.
• Will need to work with the support staff and, on occasions, with undergraduate and postgraduate students, and interact intellectually with other academic members of the Institute.
• May contribute to events celebrating the public engagement of science/social sciences/humanities.
• Develop an awareness of University structures, policies and procedures and relevant issues in the higher education, research, social and political environment.
• To process, manage, and analyse large spatial ecological datasets, including species distributions, fishing effort, and climate projection data.
• To quantify the overlap between vulnerable species, MPAs, and trawling hotspots to assess current and future MPA effectiveness.
• To identify and map areas of ecological importance (e.g., internal and external climate refugia, contraction areas) to inform spatial conservation planning.
• To work collaboratively with the project PI (Dr. Stephenson) and Oceana’s Science & Strategy team (Dr. Skerritt) to ensure research outcomes are actionable and aligned with campaign goals.
• To disseminate research results through appropriate media. This will include authoring or co‑authoring papers for publication in high‑quality academic journals and contributing to an Oceana‑branded report.
• To prepare progress reports and presentations on research outputs for the funding body (Oceana) and project advisory committee as required.
• Any other duties within the scope and general nature of the grade which may be required.

The Person (Essential) Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Ability to work well as part of a team and rapidly acquire new skills.
• Detailed subject knowledge in the area of research.
• Likelihood of advanced skills directly related to the research projects.
• High level of analytical and problem‑solving capability.
• Ability to communicate complex information with clarity and to encourage the commitment of others.
• Experience of research with clear transferable skills and some experience or awareness of the research environment.
• Presentations at conferences and/or high‑quality publications.
• Experience in species distribution modelling.
• Experience using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software (e.g., QGIS, Esri ArcMap, etc).
• Experience programming in R & Matlab.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• High level of problem‑solving capacity.
• Experience communicating complex scientific information in stakeholder meetings.

Attributes and Behaviour

• Comfortable working both individually and have good team working skills.
• Capacity for original thought.
• Enthusiasm and a strong work ethic.
• Ability to interact with researchers and project partners with different backgrounds.
• Ability to communicate scientific results to a broad or non‑specialist audience.
• Ability and willingness to work in interdisciplinary environments.
• Well‑developed interpersonal communication skills that enable you to engage external and internal stakeholders and work effectively in a multidisciplinary team.

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).

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution. We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population. At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme. In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.