Ecological Statisticians

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 Offshore Renewables Group (OSR) in BioSS carries out quantitative research on the impacts of offshore renewable energy on seabirds and marine mammals. These positions offer the opportunity to work in a friendly, inclusive team within three consortia on interesting and innovative long-term projects, which have substantial statistical and software development components.

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.
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.
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.

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.

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 are encouraged to contact Dr Esther Jones (esther.jones@bioss.ac.uk) to discuss these positions. Further information on the above posts, including how to apply, is available via the 'Apply' button. The closing date for applications is 27/03/25. Interviews will be held online or in-person in late April/early May. We do not use AI to sift candidate applications and encourage applicants to submit a full and considered application.

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