JOB DESCRIPTION
Directorate: School of Engineering & Physical Sciences
Salary: Grade 6 (£29,605-£34,980)
Contract Type: Two Positions Available
0.6FTE (20 hours per week), Fixed Term (5 Months with possible extension)
1FTE (35 hours per week), Fixed Term (5 Months with possible extension)
Rewards and Benefits: 33 days annual leave, plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday) for all full time staff. Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.
Detailed Description
We are seeking a highly motivated Technical Researcher with experience and capability in environmental and molecular microbiology, specifically in the handling and working with microorganisms and extracted DNA. The successful candidate will be based in Edinburgh and become part of the wider interdisciplinary team involved with the £3.5 million project “Sources, Impacts and Solutions for Plastics in South East Asia Coastal Environments”. The project involves a multidisciplinary team of experts from the UK (Heriot-Watt University) and Vietnam (Phenikaa University).
You will have a background in marine biology and working with biological samples in the lab, and ideally with DNA. The ability to consider interdisciplinary scientific approaches is a key strength. You must be able to work independently and have strong organisational skills. You will be enthusiastic, outgoing, and able to work as part of a larger team including other postdocs, technicians, and PhD researchers.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
The successful appointee will be expected to undertake the following:
- Use microbiological and molecular biology tools to extract DNA from environmental water samples, and have it sequenced to determine the microbial community structure and abundance. The candidate should be open to other options for analysing the water samples, such as the use of qPCR to analyse for functional genes.
- General tasks will involve scientific research, and analysis and interpretation of data.
- Communication with other investigators involved in this collaborative project.
- Responsibilities will also include assistance in the day-to-day maintenance of the experimental facilities, liaising with other postdocs and, when necessary, with external collaborators involved in the project.
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.
Education, Qualifications and Experience
Essential Criteria
- Applicants should hold a PhD or be conducting one at present and be amenable to taking a break from their PhD or to work part-time from their PhD, in which their PhD project is in a relevant area marine biology, environmental microbiology, molecular biology or related subject. Candidates must be at least 2 years into their PhD.
- Strong theoretical and practical background in the marine biological sciences of any field.
- Evidence of research ability: problem solving, flexibility.
- Ability to do a prescribed research-based programme of work within a specific timeline.
- Ability to start working on short notice, given time pressure of the funded project and current travel restrictions.
- Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
- Excellent IT skills
- Good team player with good interpersonal skills
Desirable
- Experience of working in an interdisciplinary, multi-cultural work environment.
- Experience in public presentations of scientific results.
About our Team
The appointee will work on a NERC-funded project between two Schools: The School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society (EGIS) and the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS). EGIS is one of the UK’s leading institutions for multidisciplinary research and teaching in areas critical to economic development and societal equity. We aim to attain excellence in the teaching of the core disciplines that contribute to a sustainable, resource and energy efficient society and are committed to undertaking high value, high impact research and knowledge transfer in topics of relevance to global challenges. The School enjoys facilities consistent with its location in modern, purpose-built accommodation on the Edinburgh campus. The School is well equipped in respect of laboratories for materials, structures, engineering, building services and hydraulics research and teaching. Our research and teaching facilities in Dubai and Malaysia are contained within purpose-built campuses in Dubai Academic City and Putrajaya, respectively.
The School of EPS is an interdisciplinary research environment in which advances in the biological, chemical, physical, and engineering sciences are applied to enable and enhance life science research. EPS has an international research reputation and close connection with the professional and industrial world of science, engineering and technology. Together with the Lyell Centre and other Schools in the university, we offer an integrated and multidisciplinary melting pot and a unique platform for innovation in science and technology to meet global challenges, such as plastics pollution that is the focus of this project.
Teaching
The School’s undergraduate teaching on our Edinburgh campus covers civil and structural engineering, architectural engineering, construction project management, quantity surveying, geography, urban studies, interior design and the biology suite. On our Dubai campus we teach civil & structural engineering, architectural engineering, architecture, construction management, quantity surveying and interior design. On our Malaysia campus we teach civil engineering, construction project management, quantity surveying and geoenergy engineering. We offer a high quality educational experience underpinned by practical and laboratory teaching, and informed by contact with professional practice. Most of our degree programmes hold the appropriate accreditation from the relevant professional body. This educational philosophy ensures excellent employment prospects for all of our graduates.
Programmes of postgraduate study are aligned to the expertise contained in each of our research institutes. Our postgraduate students therefore benefit from state-of-the-art knowledge in their chosen study area. You can find further information about the School’s postgraduate programmes at https://www.hw.ac.uk/schools/energy-geoscience-infrastructure-society/postgraduate-programmes.htm
Research
The Schools of EGIS and EPS leading research centres in the UK, having sustained a high reputation for the international standing of its research over two decades.
Research within the School is organised into six Institutes: https://www.hw.ac.uk/schools/energy-geoscience-infrastructure-society/research.htm
- Institute of Life and Earth Sciences (ILES)
- The Urban Institute (TUI)
- Institute of Geoenergy Engineering (IGE)
- Institute for Infrastructure and Environment (IIE)
- Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Design (CESBD)
- Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE)
All academic staff based on the Edinburgh and Dubai campuses contribute to the research activities of one of our Institutes.
These Institutes support a wide range of research activities of relevance to a sustainable, resource and energy efficient society. Institute staff undertake research funded by research councils, charitable foundations, local and national government. Research outcomes are published in leading international and national journals and key findings are widely disseminated through other media and forms of output.
Expressions of interest and other queries should be sent by email to Dr. Tony Gutierrez (tony.gutierrez@hw.ac.uk). Applications should consist of a single PDF (including a motivation letter, CV, publication list, and names of 2 references) and be submitted via the Heriot-Watt University website. The screening of candidates will start immediately after the application deadline, and continue until the position is filled. Start date: early June 20224.
How to Apply
Applications can be submitted until midnight on Thursday 26th September 2024.
Please must submit via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment system (1) Cover letter describing your interest and suitability for the post; (2) Full CV
Expressions of interest and other queries should be sent by email to Dr. Tony Gutierrez (tony.gutierrez@hw.ac.uk).
The screening of candidates will start immediately after the application deadline, and continue until the position is filled.
At Heriot Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.
Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.
Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.
Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/ .
We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g. part-time working and job share options.
Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.
