Earth Fellow: salmon, sea and society in Edinburgh

Grade UE07: £41,064 - £48,822 per annum, pro rata

Edinburgh Earth Initiative / Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability

Part-time: 9 hours per week

Fixed-term: 9 months from September 2026

The Division of Global Agriculture and Food Systems and School of Geosciences are looking for a PhD student to explore the connections between salmon farming in and around Marine Protected Areas and topics such as biodiversity, ecosystem health and coastal community life. This 9-month project focuses on salmon farming in West Scotland and Chilean Patagonia.

Earth Fellowships are only open to current postgraduate and PhD students at the University of Edinburgh based in the UK. Please do not apply if you will not be an on-campus University of Edinburgh student in the ‘26/’27 academic year.

Your skills and attributes for success:

• Current University of Edinburgh PhD student in the ‘26/’27 academic year.
• Interest in the socio-ecological aspects of aquaculture and in One Health research.
• Experience with documentary analysis, especially policy analysis.
• Experience with data synthesis including both quantitative and qualitative data.
• Excellent communication skills including the ability to communicate complex information clearly, both in writing and in oral presentations.
• Ability to work proactively with colleagues and external collaborators with a variety of expertise; understanding and valuing different points of view.
• Language skills in Spanish (desirable but not essential).
• Availability to travel to Chilean Patagonia (desirable but not essential).

As an Earth Fellow, you will be joining a diverse, fun and dynamic team of researchers, students and staff all working together to address the global climate emergency. As part of the Earth Fellows programme, you will have access to co-working space, exciting networking and personal development opportunities and opportunities to contribute towards partnerships and solutions for climate change on a global scale.

Earth Fellows work on individual and team-based projects which contribute to the University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Earth Initiative’s work on climate change research-led impact, innovation, engagement, and teaching.

This post will be appointed at Grade UE07, step 1 which is £41,064 per annum, pro rata (£22.50 per hour).

How to apply

Please include the following documents in your application:

• CV
• Cover letter

Please refer to the project brief and the skills listed above when outlining your skills and experience in your application.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

• A competitive salary.
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, a wide range of staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options.

Championing equality, diversity, and inclusion. The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter, and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.

Prior to any employment commencing with the University, you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages.

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 12th August 2026. Unless stated otherwise, the closing time for applications is 11:59 pm (UK time). If you are applying from outside the UK, the closing time shown on our adverts will automatically adjust to your browser’s local time zone. Interviews will be held during August.