Applications are invited for the above full time post working in School of Ocean Science. The successful candidate will be qualified to doctoral level (or be near completion) or have equivalent experience in either fisheries science, marine ecology or marine social science and be willing to work cross-discipline. The successful candidate will be responsible for providing data collection alongside a dedicated research assistant and contribute to data analysis and write up for two projects funded through the Fishing Industry Science Partnership (FISP) pillar of the UK seafood fund.

The successful candidate will be expected to commence 1st April 2023 or as soon as possible thereafter and the post is available until 31/12/2024.

This role will be located on campus at Menai Bridge. Through our Dynamic Working framework, there will also be the option to spend some time working remotely (although remaining in the UK) to support work life balance, which will be discussed further with candidates at interview.

Applications will also be considered to carry out this role on a part-time or job share basis.

Applications will only be accepted via our on-line recruitment website, jobs.bangor.ac.uk. However, in cases of access issues due to disability, paper application forms are available by telephoning 01248 383865.

Closing date of application 13 March 2023

Committed To Equal Opportunities

Overview

The projects work closely with industry to gather data and evidence to inform fisheries management, focused primarily on crab and lobster fisheries.

The Project

The successful candidate will work across two projects funded through the UK Seafood Fund.

Improved Shellfish Data collection Project:

Brown crab, lobster, and whelk fisheries have seen considerable expansion over recent years to become some of the UK’s most economically important fisheries. All 3 species are currently considered data deficient, with lack of seasonal and spatial coverage of catch and length frequency data being a key limitation to assessment. The aim of this project is to increase the spatial and temporal coverage of catch composition data for UK shellfish fisheries

Filling the gap in crustacean evidence for English and Welsh FMPs:

Support the development and delivery of four front-runner FMPs across England and Wales for data-limited brown crab and European lobster fisheries by addressing common evidence gaps critical to the development of robust stock assessments and evidence-based management regimes.

Purpose of the Job

The successful candidate will be qualified to doctoral level or have equivalent experience in either fisheries science, marine ecology or marine social science and be willing to work cross-discipline. The scope of the role will reflect the research skills and experience of the successful candidate.

The projects collect data through a combination of stakeholder interviews, remote video data collection as well at sea surveys on commercial fishing vessels. Data includes fisheries data such as catch, size, sex and biomass of commercial catches as well as environmental data associated with the catches. The stakeholder interviews will capture local ecological knowledge as well as changes in fishing practices over time. The role will be required to take the lead on the analysis of either the quantitative fisheries and environmental data or the data collected from stakeholder interviews, although cross-disciplinary working and learning will be strongly encouraged and supported. The post will work closely with staff from the Bangor University School of Ocean Sciences, Welsh Government Marine and Fisheries Division, Natural Resources Wales, Seafish, the UK Crab Management Group and the Welsh Fishermen’s Association. The successful candidate will be expected to commence as soon as possible.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Duties will be dependent on the experience and expertise of the successful candidate and will include:

Design, instigate and execute a programme of fisheries and environmental data collection suitable for assessing potential drivers of the size structure of crab and lobster populations. For example, is size related to depth, habitat, distance from shore.

And/or

Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders including fishers, merchants, processors, fishery officers, as well as retired stakeholders. These interviews should aim to gather data to inform how fishing practices and statutory data gathering has changed over time and how these changes may have affected the landings size data collected over the last 40 years.
Lead on the drafting of outputs and deliverables (report, updates and presentations) within area of expertise and be responsible for ensuring that these are delivered on time for the various projects.
Contribute to other data analyses and reports as required.
Regularly report progress to the collaborators, including Seafish, stakeholders, the Welsh Government Marine and Fisheries Division, and work alongside academic, scientific and policy staff in Bangor University.
Support the research assistant on the project as necessary.
Flexible to work unsociable hours when needed and be able to work at sea on small and large vessels.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

The post holder will be expected to participate in performance review and developmental activities.
The post holder will be expected to comply with the University equal opportunities policies, Dignity at Work and Study Policy and the University’s Welsh Language Policy and the Welsh Language Standards.
The post holder has a general and legal duty of care in relation to health, safety and wellbeing and must take all reasonable steps to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for him/herself and for other members of staff, students and visitors affected by his/her actions or inactions. The post holder is also required to comply with all applicable health and safety policies, procedures, and risk assessments.
The post holder must comply with relevant legal and financial policies and procedures and be aware of their responsibilities in terms of the legal requirements of their posts.

Person Specification

Qualifications/ Training

Essential

A PhD (or be near completion) in a relevant subject or equivalent experience in marine and fisheries science.

Experience/ Knowledge

Essential

Clear evidence of the ability to instigate and execute a programme of data collection and analysis projects in their area of expertise.
Evidence of data analysis and interpretation in area of expertise.
Experience in fisheries science or related research (i.e., marine social science).

Desirable

Experience in statistical software, such as R.
Experience in analysis of interview data.
Experience in stakeholder collaborative science.

Skills/ Abilities

Essential

Demonstrate excellent organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise workload and work to deadlines.
Demonstrate excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with other scientists, policy makers and key industry stakeholders.
Demonstrate an ability to work independently and to work effectively as part of a team.
Must be able to pass an ENG1 medical and Sea Survival Course to work safely at sea and on-board vessels.
Valid driving license.

Desirable

Demonstrate advanced mathematical, computational, and statistical skills OR advanced data analysis in social science.
Demonstrate a knowledge of key UK fisheries, marine biodiversity, habitats, hydrography and/or oceanography.
Ability to speak Welsh.

General

The University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds. We strive to develop a workforce from all sections of the community regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. We promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language through our progressive Welsh Language Policy. We comply with the Welsh Language Standards and are committed to equality of opportunity. You are welcome to apply for any job in English or Welsh and all applications submitted will be treated equally.

We are a member of Advance HE's Athena SWAN Gender Equality charter and hold a Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to and progress towards gender equality within the University's policies, practices, and culture. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

All members of staff have a duty to ensure their actions are in line with the overall environmental aims of the University and minimise their environmental impact.

All offers are made subject to proof of eligibility to work in the UK and receipt of satisfactory references.

All candidates must meet the requirements of UK ‘right to work’ requirements *** If you require Home Office permission to work in the UK, or need to switch your visa status in order to take this job we recommend you use the following link to information about the routes into employment and to check eligibility requirements: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

Please note that we are unable to employ anyone who does not have the right to live and work in the UK legally. When applying for this post you will be required to explain the basis upon which you believe you will be able to live and work in the UK legally on the commencement date of the role should your application be successful.

Candidates should also note that they may be required to apply for an ATAS certificate (Academic Approval Technology Scheme) from the Counter-Proliferation and Arms Control Centre of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office before being able to apply for a visa - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/academic-technology-approval-scheme

Please note that, in the event of applications being received from candidates on the University's Redeployment Register with a reasonable skills match to the post specification, these applicants will be given prior consideration.