Post Number: /
Job Description
School/Department: / Centre for Biological Sciences
Post Title: / POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW: Ecosystem Services
Please enter Level under appropriate Career Pathway / ERE / TAE / MSA / CAO / R.Nurse / Clinical
4
ERE Category / Academic Posts / Non-Academic Posts
Academic
(mixed) / Research
only / Teaching
only / Enterprise / Education Development
Posts Responsible to (and Level): / Principal Investigator Level 7
Posts Responsible for (and Level):
Job Purpose:
The successful candidate will be working as part of a large, multidisciplinary and global team on the ASSETS (“Attaining Sustainable Services from Ecosystems through Tradeoff Scenarios”) project. ASSETS has the overarching objective of explicitly quantifying the linkages between the natural ecosystem services that affect, and are affected by, food security and nutritional health for the rural poor at the forest-agricultural interface.
There are three main components to this position:
(1) To create, collate and analysespatial datasets on ecosystems, climate, human health and poverty focused on southern Africa (particularly Malawi) and Amazonia (particularly Columbia);
(2) To work closely with (a) programmers/ecosystem services modellers at the Basque Centre for Climate Change (Bilbao) and Conservation International (Washington DC), (b) social scientists (Southampton) and (c) environmental modellers (Dundee) to quantify the linkages between the natural ecosystem services, food security and nutritional health;
(3) To assess how to best manage the risks with managing ecosystem services to improve food and nutritional security using risk management tools.
See separate FURTHER PARTICULARS for more details
Key Accountabilities/Primary Responsibilities (6-10 bullet points maximum)
- To carry out computer-based research: creating, collating and analysing large-scale datasets using GIS and specialists statistical software packages
- To help guide and mentor PhD and Undergraduate students on related projects and contribute to the wider ecosystem service research community at Southampton
- To meet with other members of the consortiumin the UK, Spain, Malawi, Colombia and USAto ensure co-ordination of research efforts
- To communicate research findings through writing first-authored peer-reviewed journal articles for high-impact ecological journals and through presenting at international and national academic and industry-led conferences and meetings.
50%
10%
20%
20%
Internal & External Relationships: (nature & purpose of relationships)
Internal:
- Principal Investigator for direction and supervision. The Principal Investigator will provide overall direction for the whole project on ecosystems services at the forest-agricultural interface
- Co-investigators on the project
- Other investigators on the project
- Other postdoctoral fellows on the project
- As a member of the Institute for Life Sciences ( close liaison with other researchers within the Institute.
- Collaboration with other members of the research consortium including CIAT (Colombia), Chancellor College and WorldFish (Malawi), Basque Centre for Climate Change Research (Spain) Conservation International (USA) and the University of Dundee
- ESPA Directorate and other ESPA research consortia.
Person Specification
Criteria / Essential / Desirable / How to be assessed
Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience:
Degree and PhD in Biology, Geography, Environmental Sciences, or related subject
Proven experience in using GIS (i.e ArcGIS) and statistical software (i.e. R) to analyse large geospatial datasets
Experience in computer programming, particularly within a GIS environment (ArcGIS or GRASS).
Publications in peer-reviewed international journals in a relevant field
Prior research interests/experience in relation to environment, nutrition, health in low or middle income countries / x
x / x
x
x / Qualification
CV, interview and publication record
Planning and Organising:
Expertise of planning, organising and working in a multidisciplinary research setting.
Able to organise own programme of work and resources to meet deadlines / x
x / CV, interview
Problem Solving and Initiative:
Expertise in data analysis, including large data-sets using appropriate software / x / CV, interview
Management and Teamwork:
Experience of supervising PhD research students
Able to motivate, train and enthuse students / x
x / CV, past record, interview
Communicating and Influencing:
Excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills.
Able to address small and large groups and cross-disciplinary groups at projects meetings
Able to present research results and contribute to papers in high quality journals
Able to synthesise information from meetings and write good notes
Knowledge of Spanish (spoken and written) / x
x
x
x / x / Interview
CV, Interview
Publication record
Past record, interview
CV
Other Skills and Behaviours:
Computer literacy. Able to handle a range of software and quickly learn to use new packages etc. / x / CV, experience
Special Requirements:
Willingness and availability to travel for up to three months at a time to Malawi and/or Columbia at least once a year and to travel frequently for shorter periods to Bilbao Spain, Dundee and Washington DC, as well as to present results at international conferences/workshops etc.
1
Job Hazard Analysis Form - Appendix to Job and Person Specification
Please tick one of the following statements:
This post is an office-based job with routine office hazards e.g. use of VDU (if ticked, no further information needs to be supplied)This post has some hazards other than routine office e.g. more than use of VDU /
Please tick all those that apply, and put N/A if not applicable
Environmental Exposures / O* / F / COutside work /
Extremes of temperature (eg fridge/ furnace) / N/A
Potential for exposure to body fluids ## / N/A
Noise (greater than 80 dba - 8 hrs twa) ## / N/A
Exposure to hazardous substances (eg solvents, liquids, dust, fumes, biohazards). Specify: laboratory chemicals ## / N/A
Frequent hand washing / N/A
Ionising radiation / N/A
Equipment/Tools/Machines used
Food Handling ## / N/A
Driving university vehicles(e.g. car/van/LGV/PCV) ## / N/A
Use of latex gloves (note: prohibited unless specific clinical necessity) ## / N/A
Vibrating tools ( e.g. strimmers, hammer drill, lawnmowers) ## / N/A
Physical Abilities
Load manual handling. / N/A
Repetitive Crouching/Kneeling/Stooping / N/A
Repetitive Pulling/Pushing / N/A
Repetitive Lifting / N/A
Standing for prolonged periods / N/A
Repetitive Climbing i.e. steps, stools, ladders / N/A
Fine motor grips (e.g. pipetting) / N/A
Gross motor grips / N/A
Repetitive reaching below shoulder height / N/A
Repetitive reaching at shoulder height / N/A
Repetitive reaching above shoulder height / N/A
Psychosocial Issues
Face to face contact with public /
Lone working / N/A
Shift work/night work/on call duties ## /
O – Occasionally (up to 1/3 of time); F – Frequently (up to 2/3 of time); C – Constantly (more than 2/3 of time) ## denotes to HR the need for a full PEHQ to be sent to all applicants for this position.
FOR SCHOOL/SERVICE USE ONLY / ResourceLink Post NumberWhich post does this job report to / BJ05001055
Is this post a Line Manager? / Yes / / No / X
If yes, which posts directly report into it? / ResourceLink Post Number
Post 1 / BJ03004827
Post 2
Post 3
Post 4
Post 5
Post 6
Post 7
Post 8
Please add additional rows as required
Centre for Biological Sciences
Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Quantifying ecosystem services at the
forest/agricultural interface
FURTHER PARTICULARS
Research Programme: “Attaining Sustainable Services from Ecosystem through Tradeoff Scenarios” (ASSETS)
This research is part of the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme ( which is funded by DFID, NERC and ESRC. The ASSETS research consortium consists of a highly interdisciplinary team led by the University of Southampton in collaboration with researchers from CIAT (Colombia), Chancellor College and WorldFish (Malawi), Basque Centre for Climate Change Research (Spain), Conservation International (USA) and the University of Dundee. The overall aim of the research programme is to explicitly quantify the linkages between the natural ecosystem services that affect – and are affected by – food security and nutritional health for the rural poor at the forest-agricultural interface. The research will be undertaken mainly in two countries: Colombia and Malawi but there may be possibility of expansion to other countries.
The postholder will be based at Southampton and will work closely with other postdoctoral researchers in the consortium, including those based at Southampton and at partner organisations. You will be required to travel within the UK and internationally.
1Project summary
Our consortium will undertake ground-breaking interdisciplinary research on ecosystem services (ES) for poverty alleviation at the forest-agricultural interface. We will generate knowledge and evidence from a range of sources and in various formats to inform policy and behaviour which will make a difference to the lives of 2 million poor people living in our case-study regions (Colombia and Malawi), and potentially up to 550 million people living in similar environments around the world. The overarching goal of this four-year project is to explicitly quantify the linkages between the natural ecosystem services that affect – and are affected by – food security and nutritional health for the rural poor at the forest-agricultural interface. We will use the ARIES modelling framework ( to address a fundamental research question related to ES mapping: What is the causal chain of provision that leads from ecosystems to impact on human well-being? This underpins all the research questions in our project as well as being of wider significance to ESPA science.
The research programme focuses on six questions within three themes:
Theme 1: Drivers, pressures, and linkages between food security, nutritional health and ES.
- What are the current levels of direct and indirect contributions of ES to local food security and nutritional health outcomes for the rural poor?
- What are the drivers and pressures that have the greatest effect on the ES that are most important for food security and health outcomes?
Theme 2: Crises and tipping points: Past, present and future interactions between food insecurity and ES at the forest-agricultural interface
- To what extent are coping strategies to food insecurity dependent on ES over multiple spatial and temporal scales?
- How are the levels of direct and indirect contributions of ES to local food security and nutritional health outcomes for the rural poor likely to change under future land use and climate change scenarios?
Theme 3: The science-policy interface: How can we manage ES to reduce food insecurity and increase nutritional health?
- How can the risks associated with future environmental change be managed to minimise effects on human beings and ecosystems?
- How can we consolidate different levels of policy decision making (at the local, regional, national and global scales) to better manage ES conflicts, tradeoffs and synergies to sustain food security and health?
The consortium expects to produce a diverse set of project deliverables including those addressing:
Research excellence – for example a series of high impact disciplinary and multidisciplinary research papers, including publishing in open access journals, and additional policy briefs will be generated for non-academic audiences.
New data/Methods and Techniques - for example a conceptual framework will be developed for our project which has relevance for other ESPA-type projects. We will work with the ESPA community on developing an overarching framework.
Development impact - for example to provide world class research evidence which can influence and inform policy by working with existing networks, partnerships and the ESPA directorate to facilitate impact of our research on poverty.
Capacity building – for exampletraining workshops in each country with policy analysts, academics, and university students and participatory modelling workshops conducted in each region involving local experts from each community in order to develop models of ES including identifying pressures, drivers, tipping points, etc.
2More information for applicants
One major benefit for the successful applicant for the Southampton postdoctoral position will be that they will join a rapidly expanding group of researchers working on ecosystem services at the University of Southampton. This includes five projects funded under the ESPA Programme worth in excess of £7 million - more than any other institution in the UK. These projects include a project led by a co-investigator on the ASSETS consortium grant – Dr Kate Schreckenberg – “Safeguarding local equity as global values of ecosystem services rise”, and another where ASSETS co-investigator Dr Felix Eigenbrod is also a co-investigator - “Safe operating spaces for regional rural development: a new conceptual tool for evaluating complex socio-ecological system dynamics”. In addition, Dr Eigenbrod is leading a two-year £560K project funded by UEKERC which is developing a methodology to map the relative impacts of producing biofuels and conventional oil on ecosystem services globally.
Flexible working (e.g. working from home some days a week) may be possible. Please contact Dr Felix Eigenbrod (), Dr Malcolm Hudson () or Professor Guy Poppy ( ) if you wish to discuss this or other matters informally.
G M Poppy, M Hudson F Eigenbrod
March 2012
1