Location:Singleton Campus, Swansea
About The University
Swansea University is a research-led university that has been making a difference since 1920. The University community thrives on exploration and discovery and offers the right balance of excellent teaching and research, matched by an enviable quality of life.
Our stunning waterfront campuses and multicultural community make us a desirable workplace for colleagues from around the world. Our reward and benefits, and ways of working enable those who join us to have enriching careers, matched by an excellent work-life balance.
About The Role
Response diversity describes the variation in how individuals, species, or functional groups respond to environmental change and the concept is increasingly recognised as a key driver of ecosystem resilience. Understanding and promoting response diversity is therefore essential for conserving biodiversity and supporting resilient ecosystems in a changing world.
Socio-ecological problems caused by invasive plants are estimated to cost many tens of billions euros (from £5-14 billion in the UK alone) and are exacerbated by co-invasion of multiple non-native species in the same areas.
Swansea University invites applications for a Doctoral Candidate position within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral NetworkReDiLEEP: Using science-driven response diversity knowledge to leverage efficient ecosystem preservation and restoration
The Doctoral Candidate will investigate response diversity across socio-ecological dimensions, in functionally distinct, co-invading non-native plant species found in degraded post-industrial landscapes across South Wales (UK). To achieve this Aim, the candidate will integrate greenhouse trials, field experiments, landscape surveys and simulation models to evaluate how interactions among multiple co-invaders, their environment and management history, shape invasion dynamics, informing sustainable restoration strategies that promote resilient ecosystems. A secondment toAdvanced Invasivesis planned, providing the opportunity to engage with an established company that provides practical, evidence-based, landscape-scale invasive species management and policy-facing work.
The project will provide new insights into how Response Diversity shapes co-invasion dynamics under multiple stressors, including the roles of competition, facilitation, priority effects, propagule pressure, and soil legacies, how these processes affect management outcomes and can be incorporated into policy planning.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
The University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity in all its practices and activities. We aim to establish an inclusive environment and welcome diverse applications from the following protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality, ethnic and national origin), religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.
As an inclusive and welcoming workplace, we value people for their skills regardless of their background. Applications are welcome in Welsh and will not be treated less favourably than those submitted in English.
Closing Date:30 Sept 2026
Interview Dates:13 - 16 Oct 2026
Informal Enquiries
- Mike Fowlerm.s.fowler@swansea.ac.uk
- Dan Eastwoodd.c.eastwood@swansea.ac.uk
£34,610 to £38,784 per annum
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MSCA PhD: Response Diversity in the Pre- and Post-management Ecological Restoration of Co-invading Alien Plant Species in Post-industrial Landscapes in Swansea employer: Swansea University
Swansea University is an exceptional employer, offering a vibrant work culture that prioritises collaboration and innovation within the School of Social Sciences. Employees benefit from professional development opportunities, a supportive environment, and the chance to make a meaningful impact on care-experienced children's educational outcomes in Wales. Located in a beautiful coastal city, the university provides a unique setting for personal and professional growth.
