Research Fellow or Assistant in Environmental Systems & Policy

Role Description

We are seeking a highly motivated systems thinker, with a passion for environmental systems and policy analysis, to contribute to research supporting the UK Government’s policies and decision-making around the environment.

About the Role

We are seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral Research Fellow to join the Decision Science Group, within Cranfield Environment Centre, to work on number of exciting projects, which are supporting the UK Government’s policies and decision-making around the environment. These include framework agreements with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and other Government departments.

About You

As Research Fellow in Environmental Systems and Policy, you will have broad understanding of environmental systems, evidence-based policy development and analysis. You will have a keen interest in environmental systems and an understanding of the policy landscape (e.g. net zero, environmental land management, natural capital, sustainability, scenario development).

The role will involve working on a wide range of projects and you will be experienced in, and comfortable with, applying both quantitative and qualitative techniques to provide evidence to support policy development and analysis. This may include experience of environmental systems modelling and analysis, environmental valuation, stakeholder analysis and risk and futures techniques.

You will have to liaise and work closely with academics at Cranfield as well as project partners at Defra and other Government departments, and other project collaborators. As a result, the role will require excellent interpersonal and teamworking skills. You will also have excellent written and verbal communication skills, as well as an ability to produce high quality deliverables to tight, and often changing, deadlines.

About Us

As a specialist postgraduate university, Cranfield’s world-class expertise, large-scale facilities and unrivalled industry partnerships are creating leaders in technology and management globally. Learn more about Cranfield and our unique impact here.

Cranfield Environment Centre https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/centres/cranfield-environment-centre

The consequences and implications of the substantive challenges posed by environmental change will require agile and transformative adaptation and mitigation measures. The focus of Cranfield Environment Centre is to transform the science of environmental solutions through a systems approach, spanning sensor and measurement technology, systems modelling, environmental informatics, data and decision science. The Centre covers research on air quality and climate change, soil quality, crop growth and monitoring, natural capital, resilience ecosystems goods and services.

Our research spans across projects funded by diverse UK and other national and international funding bodies for practical and innovative science applications. We are particularly effective at translational research, in which we develop bespoke solutions supported by our core research to benefit our governmental, non-governmental and industrial partners and clients.

Decision Science Group - https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/centres/cranfield-environment-centre/research-groups/decision-science-group

Cranfield's Decision Science Group undertakes applied research to support evidence-based decision-making in uncertain and complex situations, taking a transdisciplinary approach to research, integrating expertise and methods from across different disciplines. Our strength is bringing different concepts and techniques together to support improved evidence-based decision making. The research conducted by the Decision Science Group is critical for supporting decision-makers tasked with addressing emerging and increasingly complex forms of environmental challenges, particularly those associated with global change and complex socio-technical systems.

Our group takes a transdisciplinary approach to research and deploys a number of methods within the social sciences, spanning economics, policy, governance, risk and futures.

Our research provides the foundation for developing policies and strategies for environmental, agricultural and industrial systems. A range of scientific approaches are being deployed in this context, including economic and financial modelling, environmental valuation, risk and futures analysis, and stakeholder analysis.

Our strength is bringing these concepts and techniques together to support decision making in both operational and strategic contexts.

The role is within the Cranfield Environment Centre’s Decision Science Group, led by Dr Simon Jude.

Our Values and Commitments

Our shared, stated values help to define who we are and underpin everything we do: Ambition; Impact; Respect; and Community. Find out more here.

We aim to create and maintain a culture in which everyone can work and study together and realise their full potential. We are a Disability Confident Employer and proud members of the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme.We are committed to actively exploring flexible working options for each role and have been ranked in the Top 30 family friendly employers in the UK by the charity Working Families. Find out more about our key commitments to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Flexible Working here.

Working Arrangements

Collaborating and connecting are integral to so much of what we do. Our Working Arrangements Framework provides many staff with the opportunity to flexibly combine on-site and remote working, where job roles allow, balancing the needs of our community of staff, students, clients and partners.

How to apply

For an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact Dr Simon Jude, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Decision Making, on (T): 01234 754295 or (E): [email protected]

Please do not hesitate to contact us for further details on E: [email protected]. Please quote reference number 4285.

Closing date for receipt of applications: 14 June 2023