Research Assistant – Wetland (Peatland) Ecologist, 1 FTE, Discipline of Geography and the Ryan Institute, 011622
Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for a two-year full-time position as a Research Assistant/Ecologist within the discipline of Geography at the University of Galway, Ireland.
This position is funded by the EU LIFE and EU HORIZON programmes and is available from April 2026 to contract end date of March 2028. This position has the potential for extension.
Context
The majority of Irish peatlands exist in a degraded state with only 10% considered of conservation value. This results in large net carbon emissions from a landscape that should be a natural carbon sink and increases the difficulty of meeting national and international emissions agreements. Further, differences in land ownership limit effective peatland management and leads to ineffective methods and policies to combat degradation and promote recovery. These projects are establishing baseline data and documenting recovery of peatlands.
The Projects
This position will be in cooperation with two ongoing research projects: “Multipeat” and Re-Peat”. ‘Multi-Peat’ is an EU LIFE project that will demonstrate innovative technologies that achieve net emissions savings from novel restoration techniques for managing and monitoring carbon reduction from peatlands. It involves collaborators from Belgium, Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands. The project will monitor and follow peatland restoration activities associated with 217 ha of blanket bog restoration in County Galway. The candidate will be required monitor environmental change associated with restoration works. This includes performing baseline ecological surveys (e.g., vegetation quadrats), demonstrating environmental changes (via hydrology and soil characteristics using sensor networks), measuring greenhouse gas exchanges along various degradation states and restoration trajectories, and helping to coordinate volunteer citizen groups to assist in restoration efforts.
The EU-funded PALUS DEMOS project will create three large-scale demonstration sites for paludiculture in Ireland, England, and the Netherlands to explore new agricultural business models, develop markets for paludiculture products, increase employment, and enhance biodiversity and water quality aligning with the European Green Deal. It will show how paludiculture can preserve peat soils, provide economic opportunities, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project will use a bottom-up approach, create sustainable practices at these sites, stimulate the market and provide policy recommendations to address potential challenges. The project has 26 partners across five countries. In Ireland, the successful candidate will work closely with the respective project researchers.
Salary: Research Assistant salary scale €33,791 – €43,872 per annum, (subject to the project’s funding limitations), and pro rata for shorter and/or part-time contracts.
The default position for all new public sector appointments is the 1st point of the salary scale. This may be reviewed, and consideration afforded to appointment at a higher point on the payscale (subject to the project’s funding limitations), where evidence of prior years’ equivalent experience is accepted in determining placement on the scale above point 1, subject to the maximum of the scale.
(Research Salary Scales – University of Galway)
Closing date for receipt of applications is 17:00 (Irish Time) on 3rd March 2026. It will not be possible to consider applications received after the closing date.
*Please review full job description for further details and essential requirements
| Click on the link(s) below to view documents |
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| 011622 Full Job Description.pdf |
