Research Chemist (Metals) in Lancaster

Salary - £38,939 to £41,321

Permanent Full-time or part-time >0.8FTE

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we find the right candidate, so we encourage you to apply early.

We have an exciting opportunity for an Inorganic Research Chemist to join our Analytical Chemistry team in Lancaster, within the acclaimed Environmental Pressures and Responses Group. This multidisciplinary team is at the forefront of understanding how pollution, land-use change, and climate pressures affect ecosystems. Working across air, land, and water, we generate high-quality evidence that directly informs action on environmental change.

We are seeking a driven and experienced analytical Chemist with strong expertise in inorganic analysis, particularly metal analyses, who is motivated by both scientific excellence and real-world impact. In this role, you will work in close collaboration with colleagues across UKCEH and the wider scientific community, helping to identify emerging research challenges and shaping compelling ideas that attract funding. For individuals who enjoy translating scientific insight into funded research and innovative analytical capability, this is an especially rewarding opportunity.

You will thrive in this role if you are ideas-driven, collaborative, and proactive, with a genuine curiosity for solving complex scientific problems. Comfortable working across multiple projects, you will bring a high level of accuracy, attention to detail, and personal ownership, alongside the creativity to develop and implement novel analytical approaches. Innovation is actively encouraged, and your contributions will directly influence the direction and capability of the team. We are particularly keen to hear from chemists who are excited by the funding and partnership-building aspects of research. You will enjoy seeking out opportunities for collaboration, developing research ideas, writing grant applications, and responding to tenders.

Your main responsibilities will include:

• Leading the development of analytical methods arising from new scientific and funding opportunities, including method validation and the preparation of robust Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Contributing to, and leading where appropriate, high-impact scientific outputs, providing analytical data and methodological content for peer-reviewed publications, customer reports, presentations, and book or book chapters.
• Ensuring the quality and integrity of analytical data, including oversight of data generation where required.
• Training, mentoring, and supervising laboratory staff, supporting skills development and maintaining high technical standards across the team.
• Managing laboratory operations, including responsibility for the safe use of facilities, compliance with COSHH, and day-to-day lab management.
• Working within the laboratory quality system and ISO 17025, including managing inorganic non-conforming work investigations and undertaking internal audits across the group.
• Liaising directly with instrument manufacturers, contributing to the evaluation and selection of new analytical instrumentation.
• Performing routine analyses when required, ensuring continuity and resilience of laboratory capability.
• As the role develops, there may be opportunities to take on line management responsibilities.

In this role, you will join a well-established team working in world-class laboratories, equipped with cutting-edge analytical instrumentation, advanced methodologies, and comprehensive sample preparation facilities. You will contribute to the delivery of high-quality, innovative analytical data, including work accredited to UKAS ISO 17025:2017, supporting a wide range of impactful projects. The Lancaster laboratories have achieved the highest certification (Gold) under the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF), the world’s largest green laboratory certification scheme.

This is an opportunity for someone who wants to help shape the future of analytical chemistry within environmental science, strengthening capability, fostering collaboration, and contributing to the long-term sustainability and influence of the team.

For the role of Research Chemist, we’re looking for somebody who has:

• A PhD in Environmental Chemistry and/or A MSc with at least 5 years’ experience in an accredited laboratory
• A strong understanding of fundamental environmental chemistry principles, particularly as they relate to the behaviour and analysis of metals
• Proven experience in environmental chemical analyses with working knowledge of ICP-MS, ICP-OES, and XRF techniques (incl. method development and optimisation)
• Specialist knowledge of method development for metals analysis in niche matrices
• Established track record of publishing in peer-reviewed journals and delivering impactful presentations at scientific conferences
• Demonstrable success in securing research funding through competitive bids (highly desirable, not essential)

You’ll be joining a leading independent, not-for-profit research institute that’s committed to recruiting talented people like you, progressing your career and giving you the support you need to thrive at UKCEH. Our science makes a real difference, enabling people and the environment to prosper, and enriching society. We are the custodians of a wealth of environmental data, collected by UKCEH and its predecessors over the course of more than 60 years.

Working for UKCEH is rewarding. We appreciate the continuous dedication and contributions of our staff, which is why we provide a comprehensive benefits package that includes financial incentives and wellbeing-oriented perks, such as:

• 27 days annual leave (rising to 29 days after 5 years’ service) plus 3 days for Christmas closure
• 10% employer pension contribution
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements (role dependant)
• Peer reward and recognition scheme
• Dental insurance, gym/fitness discounts, retail discount portal
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• 24-hour, 365-day support with physical, mental, social, health or financial issues and much more...