Forest Research
Location
Farnham, Surrey | United Kingdom
Job description
Who we are
Forest Research (FR) is a trusted and recognised provider of applied forest science, routinely leading ambitious and innovative applied science projects. We have a fantastic reputation for delivering world-class research that is regularly published in leading scientific journals. We are now at an exciting point of research expansion in the field of forest biodiversity research. We have secured funding for a new cross-agency and GB-wide project to describe the biodiversity associated with different forest types (commercial and non-commercial). This will be building on detailed National Forest Inventory (NFI) sample plot data collected at regular intervals in a representative selection of forests across GB. The development of novel forest biodiversity monitoring methods using recent technological advances (i.e., soundscapes, DNA metabarcoding) offer new ways of describing forest-biodiversity associations. These promise to revolutionise biomonitoring and support action to address the Biodiversity Crisis by allowing for more direct (as opposed to surrogate) measures of biodiversity. It is here that you could find a stimulating challenge and make a significant positive contribution.
The work you will be doing
With the support of the NFI team and a statistician, you will have a chance to make a significant contribution to improving our understanding of the biodiversity associated with different GB forest types by co-designing an experimental survey and standardised assessments aimed at collecting novel representative forest species datasets. You will have the opportunity to work closely with acoustic monitoring specialists and molecular ecologists to explore and apply novel applications of species detection. As a member of a multi-disciplinary team, your work to help us identify forest species and assess the shape of communities that are resident in forest soils, vegetation layers and the forest canopy in different forest types will contribute directly to better informed forest management and planning for forest biodiversity gains and ecosystem resilience. Thanks to a combination of your own analysis of quantitative and qualitative ecological datasets, specialist surveyors and the full support of commercial labs who are equipped to process DNA samples at scale, we will be able to better define forest biodiversity by forest types on a scale that has never before been attempted.
Your skills and expertise
You will be self-motivated, have excellent communication, writing and organisation skills and be capable of both working alone and as part of a team. With experience of conducting ecology research, we will expect you to have a postgraduate degree in a relevant field such as ecology, environmental science, or forest science. Crucially, you will also have well-developed skills in handling, analysing, modelling, and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data and a good understanding of experimental design.
What we can offer
Join us in this stimulating role, and you will have the chance to make a tangible impact on the future of the UK’s forests and resident species – plus benefit from plenty of learning opportunities so that you can continue developing your expertise in this fascinating field. And while job satisfaction is an important part of what we can offer, you will also find a friendly and inclusive workplace in which you can find a great work-life balance thanks to hybrid working options. You will benefit from 35.5 days of annual leave inclusive of public holidays, and access to a desirable civil service pension scheme.
Closing date: March 13 2024.
Interview date: Week commencing 18 or 25 March 2024.
Job tags
Salary
£35.87k - £38.84k per annum
