PROJECT COORDINATOR (Ref:1373671)
£20,764-£24,049 per annum, 4 years, closing date for applications 18 Nov 2013
Job Summary
This exciting opportunity will require a person with strong planning, organisational and communication
skills to aid and support the Principal Investigator of a multi-institution international tropical research
consortium. The postholder will aid the Principal Investigator in managing the consortium; facilitate
communications across the consortium; coordinate logistics and field operations; manage large, complex
datasets; and plan science outreach and knowledge exchange activities.
As the project is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) the post will be offered
for a period of 4 years. This appointment will be made subject to the usual terms and conditions of
employment of the University.
Criteria
• HND or equivalent in biology, ecology, geology, environmental sciences, or a related discipline
• Good grades in English at Higher level or equivalent
• Reasonable grades in Maths at Higher level or equivalent
• Experience in biological, ecological, geological, or environmental research
• Experience in scientific writing
• Experience in public speaking (e.g. presented talks at conferences or workshops)
• Proficient in the use of computer software packages, such as the MS Office suite, statistical and data
handling software (e.g. R, Matlab, etc.)
Informal enquiries: Yit Arn Teh (yateh@abdn.ac.uk)
Apply online at: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/jobs/index.php
POSTDOC PLANT-SOIL INTERACTIONS (Ref: 1373658)
£25,504-30,424 per annum, 3 years, closing date for applications 18 Nov 2013
Job Summary
This exciting opportunity will require a person with a strong interest in understanding how human
modification of Tropical Forest communities impacts plant-soil interactions. The postholder will join a
multi-institutional international research consortium and will be responsible for co-ordination of
sampling plant functional traits and establishing field-based biodiversity, soil and litter manipulation
experiments in Sabah, Malaysia. In addition, he/she will be responsible for undertaking analyses of
a suite of plant traits and integrating these data to test how trait diversity relates to biogeochemical
processes. A key requirement will be to liaise with other researchers in the consortium including local
project partners on joint research activities, and to contribute to publication of the project’s findings in
international peer-reviewed journals.
As the project is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) the post will be offered
for a period of 3 years. This appointment will be made subject to the usual terms and conditions of
employment of the University.
Criteria
• PhD (or near completion) in a Biological Science
• An understanding of plant community ecology, ideally related to tropical systems
• Knowledge of the factors controlling biogeochemical cycles, especially those related to the influence
of plants
• Current land-use practices in Tropical systems and how they may affect plant communities and
biogeochemical cycles;
• Knowledge of statistical techniques and experimental design
• Field-based research or sampling experience
• Track record of scientific and lay-science publications appropriate to level of experience
Informal enquiries: David Burslem (d.burslem@abdn.ac.uk) and Dave Johnson
(d.johnson@abdn.ac.uk)
Apply online at: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/jobs/index.php
POSTDOC IN SOIL BIOGEOCHEMISTRY (Ref: 1373587)
£25,504-30,424 per annum, 3 years (1.5 years in Aberdeen and 1.5 years in Edinburgh), closing date for
applications 18 Nov 2013
Job Summary
This exciting research opportunity will require a person with a strong interest in understanding how
human modification impacts biodiversity, biogeochemical cycling and biogenic trace gas fluxes in
Tropical Forests. The postholder will join a multi-institution international research consortium, where he
or she will be responsible for investigating the effects of land-use change and biodiversity loss on
ecosystem functioning in Southeast Asia. In addition to designing and implementing field studies, the
postholder will also be responsible for planning process-based laboratory experiments to
further elucidate the role of microorganisms in the catalysis of key soil processes, such as the
degradation of organic matter or soil nutrient dynamics. A key requirement will be to liaise with other
researchers in the consortium, including local project partners, on joint research activities, and
to contribute to publication of the project’s findings in leading international peer-reviewed journals.
As this project is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Aberdeen will offer the
post for a period of 18 months. It is anticipated that the second half of the appointment will be based in
Edinburgh and as such the postholder will be employed by Edinburgh University for a further period of
18 months.
Criteria
• PhD (or near completion) in ecosystem ecology, terrestrial biogeochemistry or allied field;
• Current land-use practices in tropical systems and how this may affect soil processes and
biogeochemical cycles;
• Knowledge of statistical techniques and experimental design
• Track record of publication in leading peer-reviewed scientific journals (e.g. Science, Nature, Global
Change Biology, New Phytologist, etc.) and in lay-science publications appropriate to level of
experience;
• Ability to design and execute field-based manipulative experiments;
• Ability to operate and maintain analytical instrumentation (e.g. spectroflourometer for extracellular
enzymology, gas chromatographs, infra-red gas analyzers, chemiluminescence detectors, laser
absorption spectroscopes, elemental analyzers, isotope ratio mass spectrometers);
• Ability to use statistical software to analyse large datasets
Informal enquiries: Yit Arn Teh (yateh@abdn.ac.uk) and Patrick Meir (P.Meir@ed.ac.uk
Apply online at: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/jobs/index.php
TECHNICIAN (Ref:1373607)
£20,764 per annum, 3 years, closing date for applications 19 Nov 2013
Job Summary
This exciting opportunity will require a person with a strong interest in supporting research on
understanding how human modification of Tropical Forest communities impacts plant-soil interactions.
The postholder will join a multi-institutional international research consortium and will be responsible
for undertaking a suite of laboratory analyses of soil properties and plant traits and managing these data
so they can be used to test how trait diversity relates to biogeochemical processes. Knowledge of plantsoil interactions in the context of biogeochemical cycling and experience in analysis of soils and plants
for a variety of traits are essential requirements for this post. An ability to interact with a diverse team of
research scientists and to manage the running of the laboratory, including excellent organisation skills,
are key requirements.
As the project is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) the post will be offered
for a period of 3 years.
Criteria
• HNC/HND in biology or chemistry
• Experience in analysis of soils and plants for nutrient contents and carbon fluxes
• Experience in molecular biology
• Experience in maintaining plants in controlled conditions
• Good knowledge of statistical techniques and experimental design
• Data management tools such as spreadsheets and graphical analysis
Informal enquiries: David Burslem (d.burslem@abdn.ac.uk) and Dave Johnson
(d.johnson@abdn.ac.uk)
Apply online at: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/jobs/index.php