Scientist - Fish Ecology

We are recruiting for a full time Scientist (Fish Ecology) on a fixed term basis for 23 months. Your passion has never had a greater purpose. Here at SEPA, we’re connected by a passion that drives us to be purposeful in every action we take – to protect our environment. Through our expertise, we lead projects that make a difference for Scotland, and our workplaces are grounded in respect for that expertise.

When you join us as Scientist - Fish Ecology, you’ll discover enriching benefits, meaningful support, and opportunities to learn every day. That’s what it means to be Passionately Purposeful – for our environment, and for your career.

Experts at what we do, we work in a professional way towards our shared goals, knowing the work we do makes a genuine, lasting difference on the environment. Within SEPA, Ecologists provide the scientific leadership and evidence needed to inform and underpin effective and targeted action to protect and improve the ecological quality of Scotland’s environment; its resilience to climate change; and the quality of its important recreational waters.

Climate and other environmental changes are resulting in a biodiversity crisis in Scotland and beyond. At the same time, the health and wellbeing benefits of outdoor recreation are widely recognised, and participation has been growing. Decisions on how to respond effectively need to be founded on scientific understanding of biological impacts of environmental changes; the effect these impacts have on society, including on the quality of waters used for recreation; and potential solutions to those impacts.

The successful candidate will be responsible for delivering a wide range of tasks aimed at protecting and improving Scotland’s Environment and its ability to support healthy wild fish populations such as:

• Gathering data to assess the status of wild fish populations.
• Supporting the development, introduction and monitoring the progress of actions to improve local conditions and barriers to fish passage.
• Responding to environmental incidents to assess impacts on local fish populations.

This is a highly important role within our Data, Evidence & Innovation portfolio, which means you’ll need:

• Minimum HND or equivalent in relevant ecological science discipline or relevant equivalent experience to Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework (SCQF) level 8-10.
• Good understanding of freshwater ecosystems and associated native fish populations.
• Experience of undertaking habitat assessments, ideally with a focus on identifying and reducing the impact of barriers to fish migration.
• Knowledge of Scottish legislation applicable to the water environment.
• Proven ability to work unsupervised, to manage own workload, and successfully deliver set objectives.
• Full, clean, UK Drivers Licence.

We’re cultivating a workplace that supports not only your passion and your professional lives, but your personal life. You’ll find benefits that make a difference at work and at home, such as:

• Hybrid and Flexible working opportunities.
• Up to 35 days annual leave and 7 additional public holidays each year (pro rata).
• Paid time off to support your Wellbeing and enable you to Volunteer in your community.
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
• Progressive Family Friendly policies.
• Training & development to enable colleagues to improve their skills, competencies and knowledge to perform at their best.
• Plus, many more lifestyle benefits such as 24/7 access to an online employee discount platform, credit union facilities and access to a Cycle to Work Scheme.

SEPA is committed to promoting equality, diversity, and good relations in everything it does – as a community leader, as a provider and commissioner of services, and as an employer. We recruit solely based on merit. Our shortlisting process is conducted on an anonymous basis. Please ensure that you include all relevant information when you apply.

We support flexible working arrangements to help you maintain a healthy balance between career and home life. This includes working part time, reduced hours, job sharing, working remotely. As a flexible first employer we are open to having conversations about flexible working arrangements that work for you and SEPA from day 1 of your employment with us.

We are proud to be a 'Disability Confident' employer and will work to identify and implement reasonable adjustments and equipment to support you in the role that you do. Applicants with a visual impairment can request job descriptions and application forms in Braille, large print or on tape.

For the security and wellbeing of our colleagues, successful candidates will undergo Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) pre-employment checks including a level one Disclosure Scotland check. If you have questions or need any assistance with the recruitment process please contact SEPA’s Recruitment Team at recruitment@sepa.org.uk.

Apply now to join a Passionately Purposeful workplace.