Ecological Statistician

Biomathematics & Statistics Scotland (BioSS) seeks to appoint two positions at a statistician grade, who have an interest in working on interesting applied and methodological research relating to the impacts of offshore renewable energy on seabirds and marine mammals. BioSS is legally part of The James Hutton Institute, a member of the SEFARI (Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes) collective, and offers a stimulating working environment, with 60 staff and students at four locations, collaborating on applications in environmental science & ecology, plant & crop science, animal health & welfare, and human health & nutrition.

The UK Government has recently launched its Clean Power Mission with a commitment to accelerating to net zero by delivering clean power by 2030, including 43-50 GW of offshore wind, and to restoring nature. In the power generation sector, progress in switching to renewable energy has accelerated in recent years, with renewables generating more electricity in the UK than fossil fuels since 2020. Legislation protecting the marine environment requires that offshore renewable energy devices are delivered in a sustainable manner. Offshore renewable developments have the potential to impact protected seabird and marine mammal populations, principally from collisions with turbine blades, displacement from important habitat, barrier effects to movement and noise disturbance.

The Offshore Renewables Group (OSR) in BioSS carries out quantitative research on the impacts of offshore renewable energy on seabirds and marine mammals in collaboration with the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) and many other organisations. These positions offer the opportunity to work in a friendly, inclusive team (currently up to 15 staff + 5 PhD students) within three consortia on interesting and innovative long-term projects, which have substantial statistical and software development components. This is an opportunity to be involved in developing interesting statistical approaches using novel ecological data to solve real-world problems relating to the impacts of offshore renewables on seabirds, and contribute to an extensive research portfolio.

1. Funded by the Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme (OWEC), Predators and Prey Around Renewable Energy Devices (PrePARED) is providing critical insight into cumulative effects from large scale developments for key species. Surveys are collecting concurrent data to characterise and quantify relationships between predators and prey in the context of a changing environment. Spatial and movement models have been developed using Hidden Markov Models, Generalised Additive Mixed Models, and Bayesian approaches to investigate broad-scale movements of seabirds and prey, and species distributions with uncertainty.
2. Funded by the Scottish Government Offshore Wind Directorate, the Foraging Ecology of Guillemots and Razorbills in the Non-Breeding Season (Aukestra) project seeks to understand interannual variation in seabird foraging behaviour and energetics. Data collection is being carried out using geolocator tags and the collection of moult feathers for isotope analysis. We will be constructing spatial models and integrating isotope information to investigate variation in seabird distribution and foraging areas in the non-breeding season.
3. Funded by the Scottish Government Offshore Wind Directorate, the Seabird Foraging and Avian Flu (BRAIDS) project is examining the effects of reductions in seabird populations due to the recent Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak. We are continuing to develop Hidden Markov Models along with spatial metrics of foraging to determine how foraging distributions and ranges may change within a hierarchy of different scales. The research will be used to strengthen the evidence base for environmental impact assessments.

These positions will also have links to the Statistical Methodology Theme group in BioSS, and the roles will provide the opportunity to work with scientists developing novel statistics approaches. We would also encourage successful candidates to build their own research profiles, linked to the research themes within the OSR Group and wider BioSS.

STATISTICIAN

Job description

Purpose of the post

• Work on interdisciplinary research projects providing statistical and quantitative expertise, with a focus on applications in spatial, movement, or other areas of ecological statistics.
• Contribute to revenue generation through completion of existing projects, providing statistical support to BioSS tendering for research opportunities in ecological statistics.
• Develop research in statistical methodology and implementation, and applied ecological statistics problems, motivated by quantitative problems encountered in collaborative projects.

Main responsibilities of the post

• Collaborate with scientists across interdisciplinary consortia, delivering research specialising in ecological statistics (e.g. spatial modelling, spatio-temporal modelling, movement modelling, data integration, or propagation of uncertainty).
• Develop statistical research relevant to ecological applications in the BioSS statistical methodology research theme.
• Support BioSS deliverables in project consortia including delivering presentations, writing reports, producing manuscripts for external peer review, and representing BioSS at internal and external meetings and conferences.
• Work in support of senior BioSS staff in tendering for external funding from the Scottish Government Marine Directorate and other government bodies, UKRI, and industry projects relating to the impacts of offshore renewable energy developments on seabirds and marine mammals, and on delivering the project(s) where successful.

Grade, starting salary, duration, and location

• This post will be offered at Hutton Grade D (statistician, salary range £34,267 - £41,585).  This is a permanent appointment.
• Location for this post is flexible; the post-holder will be expected to spend time at the BioSS offices at the University of Edinburgh when required, but we offer a very flexible working approach where a degree of working from home is encouraged; we also have offices in Aberdeen and Dundee which can be made available to the post-holders.

Knowledge, skills and experience

Essential

• A PhD in statistics or another discipline having a substantial quantitative element, or an MSc with commensurate post-qualification development and relevant work experience. 
• Ability to work independently.
• Ability to work within a team.
• Enthusiastic about development and application of statistical methods.
• General statistical skills, including an understanding in one or more relevant areas of: mixed models, generalised linear models, generalised additive models, movement modelling, spatial modelling, Bayesian statistics, sampling design.
• Ability to handle, process, manipulate, and analyse large data sets.
• Good programming ability in a statistical programming language such as R or Python.
• Enthusiasm for collaborative and interdisciplinary working at the interface of statistics and ecology.
• An ability to communicate with other scientists, understand their analytical challenges and contribute to collaborative statistical research.
• Willingness and ability to give professional spoken presentations and write reports disseminating technical methods and results to non-quantitative audiences.
• Enthusiasm for understanding how research is used in policy and decision making.  
• Evidence of willingness to seek external funding.

Desirable

• Track record of research and/or collaboration evidenced by scientific papers, preferably in a field relevant to ecological statistics.
• Experience of interdisciplinary working with multiple disciplines and roles (e.g. decision makers, industry representatives).
• Experience working with real data such as: tracking, biologging, accelerometery, aerial/at-sea survey, environmental, mark-recapture, presence/absence, spatial capture-recapture, bioacoustic.
• Experience of spatial, spatio-temporal, movement modelling, or another area of ecological statistics.
• Experience in developing open-source analytical tools and packages for use by the wider scientific community, or of more general software development.
• Evidence of experience and ability in seeking funding.

How to apply for these posts

We aim to appoint two candidates at a statistician band. The interviews for both posts will be conducted at the same time, and preference for either role will be discussed at interview stage.

Potential applicants should direct specific questions about these positions to Dr Esther Jones (esther.jones@bioss.ac.uk). Further information on the above posts, including how to apply, is available on the BioSS website at http://www.bioss.ac.uk/vacancies

The application process involves creating an account and uploading personal details along with:

• a CV, including as a minimum your education and employment history plus relevant scientific achievements;
• a short explanation of why you consider yourself suitable for this post, including a description of your current and planned research activities.

The closing date for applications is 27 March 2025. Interviews will be held either online or in-person in late April/early May.

Please note that we do not use AI to sift candidate applications and encourage applicants to submit a full and considered application.

Benefits Offered

• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - A confidential service available to support employees and their families with work or personal problems. Providing access to professional counsellors, psychologists, and work-life consultants available to help and support individuals in tackling all types of problems.
• Annual Leave – Generous entitlement up to 40.5 days a year, with carry over possible and guaranteed time-off for Christmas.
• Pension - Employer Contribution of 15% in a Personal Pension Plan and employee contribution flexibility.
• Self-managed hours and Flexible Working – option to manage and spread your working time in line with organisational needs to create a healthy work life balance.

We will not consider the use of 3rd party recruitment agencies for the sourcing of candidates for this position. BioSS has been awarded Investors in People Gold Status and is formally part of The James Hutton Institute, a Scottish charity No. SC041796 and an equal opportunities employer.

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees; we encourage applications from underrepresented groups in STEM, particularly women, BAME and LGBTQ+. We encourage flexible working and are happy to discuss options at interview stage.

The James Hutton Institute is a: Stonewall Diversity Champion; Athena SWAN Silver Status Holder; Disability Confident Committed Employer and a Living Wage Employer.

Additional Notes

Please note the minimum salary threshold for a Skilled Worker Visa is currently £38,700.00.  If the advertised salary for these posts fall below this threshold, we regret to advise that we may not be able to provide a Certificate of Sponsorship to a non-UK citizen for this role.  Applicants who do not meet the conditions to be sponsored as per the UK governments page (https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/when-you-can-be-paid-less) will need to demonstrate an alternative right to work.