Research Fellow/Senior Research Fellow in Food Security Early Action in Pastoral Systems

Research Fellow UE08: £44,414.00 - £52,841.00 OR

Senior Research Fellow UE09: £56,048.00 - £63,059.00 depending on the experience of the successful candidate

CMVM / Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies / Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems.

Fixed Term Contract - 3 Years - Start date as soon as feasible; Full Time - 35 Hours Per Week.

The Opportunity:

This is an exciting opportunity for a Research Fellow/Senior Research Fellow to join the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems at the University of Edinburgh ( https://www.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-systems ). The appointee will develop, resource, lead and deliver a new programme of research and associated education/capacity strengthening in the area of Food Security Early Action in Pastoral Systems as part of the Jameel Observatory (https://jameelobservatory.org/) .

The successful candidate will be expected to lead research related to the vision of the Jameel Observatory : “ Through forecasting, early action and preparedness, vulnerable pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in East Africa are food and nutrition secure in the face of climate change, now and in the future ”. Applicants are expected to have a growing (UE8) or established (UE9) international research track record that will build on our success in REF2021, including successful grant awards. Applicants should also have experience in education and/or capacity strengthening relevant to this theme.

The project:

The successful candidate will work with Jameel Observatory consortium partners (University of Edinburgh, International Livestock Research Institute, Save the Children, The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, Community Jameel), and other partners, to develop a strong research programme focused on building resilience in vulnerable dryland communities against a background of increasing climate uncertainty. This will involve identifying promising research topics with the Jameel Observatory (which has established processes for identifying community-led priorities), or related complementary research, building a pipeline of research income, attracting and supporting early career researchers, all of which will lead to high impact research outputs. Contributions to the Jameel Observatory’s and Global Academy’s educational/capacity strengthening programme will also be expected, including supporting the development of capacity development courses for researchers and decision makers in East Africa.

The Global Academy sits within the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, alongside its Roslin Institute, at the University’s Easter Bush campus. Research and teaching will also exploit the close synergies and expertise with other schools and institutes in the University of Edinburgh, including the schools of Medicine, Biological Sciences, Geosciences, Social and Political Sciences, Business, Informatics, and the Bayes, Usher and Edinburgh Futures Institutes, as well as with external partners

This full-time post (35 hours) is available on a fixed term basis for 3 years in the first instance, with appointment starting as soon as feasible. (We anticipate that the post will be largely self-sustaining by the end of this term.)

Informal enquiries can be made to Professor Alan Duncan ( alan.duncan@ed.ac.uk ) or Professor Geoff Simm ( geoff.simm@ed.ac.uk ), whilst formal applications must be completed via the website of The University of Edinburgh.

Applicants are requested to submit a 2-page research proposal relevant to the priorities of the Jameel Observatory as part of the application process (see below).

Your skills and attributes for success:

• A PhD in a relevant topic (social or natural sciences), and a growing (UE08) or established (UE09), internationally significant record of achievement in a field relevant to food security early action in pastoral systems as evidenced by practical experience, research publications and educational/capacity strengthening activities.
• Experience of doing research (UE08 and UE09) and leading research and research teams (UE09) working on global challenges relevant to low-income countries, especially in cross/inter/trans-disciplinary research initiatives and in collaborative research.
• A well-developed understanding of the priorities, operation and strategy of relevant funding bodies as evidenced by a significant track record of funded research.
• Strong multi-disciplinary / multi-cultural partnership development and communications skills.

Click to view a copy of the full job description for Research Fellow (UE08) and Senior Research Fellow (UE09) .

As a valued member of our team you can expect:

An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work. We give you support, nurture your talent and reward success. You will benefit from a competitive reward package and a wide range of staff benefits, which includes a generous holiday entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme , staff discounts, family friendly initiatives , flexible working and much more. Access our staff benefits page for further information and use our reward calculator to find out the total value of pay and benefits provided.

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.

If invited for interview you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages (opens new browser tab) .

The University is able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. If successful, an international applicant requiring sponsorship to work in the UK will need to satisfy the UK Home Office’s English Language requirements and apply for and secure a Skilled Worker Visa.

Application Procedure:

All applicants should apply online at www.vacancies.ed.ac.uk. The online system allows you to submit a CV and other attachments, it will also ask you to provide the name and contact details of two referees.

When applying, it is essential that you attach:

1. A curriculum vitae, including: career/employment history and details of any career breaks, specifying the duration of any breaks in months; a summary of formal training and qualifications; relevant experience and evidence of esteem such as prizes and memberships of professional bodies and a list of publications/outputs. Please restrict the total length of the CV and outputs list to a maximum of 5 pages of A4.

2. A short covering letter.

3. A two-page outline of a proposed research programme relevant to the priorities of the Jameel Observatory (see here for a summary of the Jameel Observatory ‘Challenge Questions’), including: a research plan which highlights particularly novelty and uniqueness; details of any planned activities to maximise collaboration, partnership and knowledge exchange; fit to applicant track record (skills, experience and outputs).

This is important for your application to be fully considered.

You will be notified by email whether you have been shortlisted for interview or not.