Postdoctoral Research Associate - TRANSECTS Project

at  Heriot Watt University

Role: Postdoctoral Research Associate - TRANSECTS
Grade and Salary: Grade 7, £36,924 - £46,485 per annum
FTE and working pattern: 1 FTE, 35hrs per week, Monday : Friday
Contract: Fixed Term for 36 Months
Holiday Entitlement: 33 days annual leave plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday)

PURPOSE OF ROLE

Heriot-Watt University is looking to appoint a Post-Doctoral Research Associate to support research on the UKRI-funded TRANSECTS (TRANSitions in Energy for Coastal communities over Time and Space) project. TRANSECTS will apply an interdisciplinary spatial-temporal lens to learn from past marine energy transitions to support and inform future decision-making. Combining natural and social sciences with arts and humanities, TRANSECTS will interrogate the shifts from non-renewable systems of production (whale oil in the 1800s through to offshore oil and gas in the later-1900s) to more sustainable marine renewable energies in the early-2000s (and the competition with transitioning oil and gas via CO2 and hydrogen storage). This post will contribute to the aims of TRANSECTS by identifying the social and economic benefits and disbenefits associated with natural capital (stocks) and ecosystem services (flows) from past, present and future marine energy transitions. This research will take a place-based approach and consider how the stocks and flows identified for our three case study areas (Orkney Islands, East Coast Scotland, Humber Estuary) are interlinked with wider societal benefits and explore how they have affected coastal community resilience.
TRANSECTS is adopting such a natural capital approach to ensure that society’s dependence on natural resources for energy is considered when assessing the broader impacts of marine energy transitions. Showing the ecological values, and spatio-temporal changes, of particular habitats and species within marine energy transitions makes them visible and facilitates their inclusion within marine decision-making processes.

The successful candidate will be hosted in the Institute of Life and Earth Sciences (ILES) at the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society (EGIS), within Heriot-Watt University at either the Edinburgh or Orkney campus. The ideal candidate will have knowledge in areas related to the societal impacts of marine activities. Essential requirements are excellent communication skills, as well as the ability to work both independently and as part of a team. Work activities will vary according to the requirements of the job; however, general responsibilities are typically, but not restricted to, the following:

• Strong research ethos, engaging in research activities related to the TRANSECTS project and contributing to the University’s research and outreach profile;
• Establishing collaborative research links outside the university via funding councils, industry, business and public bodies (including existing TRANSECTS partners/collaborators);
• Representing Heriot Watt University and the TRANSECTS project in a professional capacity, particularly through research dissemination and development e.g. conferences, meetings with project partners.

KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The successful appointee will be expected to undertake the activities specified below:

• Conduct a comprehensive review of the existing scholarly literature on the social benefits and disbenefits of METs
• Assist with the collection and quantitative/qualitative analysis of secondary social datasets (including historical and spatial data), including liaising with stakeholders and collaborators to identify suitable data and expert knowledge
• Undertake administrative tasks associated with data preparation and archiving
• Contribute to the development of an online Energy Transitions Atlas, displaying stocks/flows/(dis)benefits trends over time and interlinkagesWork with the project team to explore how changes in natural capital stocks and assets (including legacy effects and path dependencies) may have implications for coastal communities
• ' resilience
• Work with the project team to create exhibition materials for wider public and community dissemination
• Work in collaboration with other TRANSECTS Post-Doctoral Research Associates who will focus on the environmental aspects of marine energy transitions and energy law and just transitions
• Develop research outputs that will help demonstrate how past METs have impacted coastal community resilience, and provide solutions to ensure the effects of future METs are reduced/mitigated.

Please note that this job description is not exhaustive, and the role holder may be required to undertake other relevant duties commensurate with the grading of the post. Activities may be subject to amendment over time as the role develops and/or priorities and requirements evolve. A flexible working schedule may be required to meet all key duties and responsibilities.