Environmental Data Scientist Research Associate

Job Description

Environmental Data Scientist Research Associate (JR732)Permanent and Full time (37 hours per week)Salary £28,125Based at our Edinburgh site. Currently trialling hybrid working with up to 2 days at homeClosing date for applications: Friday, 19th August 2022Interviews will be arranged shortly after this.The OpportunityAre you passionate about the natural environment Do you have an aptitude for working with complex data This is an exciting opportunity to join an independent, not-for-profit research organisation dedicated to working on environmental science for a worldwhere people and nature prosper. As part of this role, you will have the opportunity to be trained in data management, transformation, analysis and dissemination for a wide range of environmental datasets.This role will support the generation and quality assurance of datasets which are widely used to underpin policy decisions and contribute to solving some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. You will become part of the operation ofthe Environmental Information Data Centre (EIDC), which is part of the NERC Environmental Data Service and hosted by UKCEH, which manages nationally-important datasets concerned with the terrestrial and freshwater sciences.About UsThe UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is an independent, not-for-profit research centre carrying out excellent environmental science with impact. We are home to around 500 scientists, who work to understand the environment, how it sustains life, and thehuman impact on it. We provide the data and information that governments, businesses and researchers need to create a productive, resilient and healthy environment. Scientific curiosity, integrity and transparency are at the heart of how we work.Main duties / responsibilities:

• Be part of a core Data Stewardship Team, promoting best practice in data management, data stewardship and open science, and supporting the development of Data Management Plans covering a variety of different types of data, promoting FAIR and open data
• Support the data management of UK and international projects, including the cataloguing of datasets and development of metadata
• Liaise with depositors to catalogue and ingest datasets into the EIDC, resulting in citeable openly-published datasets with a Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
• Develop tools and processes for the automated processing and quality assurance of air quality and climate change datasets, employing best practice in documentation and version control
• Develop interactive dissemination tools and reproducible reports for customers and stakeholders, providing added-value to our datasets and models, supporting decision-making and communicating key messages from data
• Keep abreast of new tools, technologies and techniques in IT/Data Science, such as machine learning and data labs, and identifiy where these can be successfully employed on existing projects and proposals to improve quality and efficiency, and enable newscience
• Assist in the development and delivery of data management/transformation training courses

During the Research Associate training programme you will gain or improve skills in the following:

• Data transformation, analysis and dissemination using R, FME, relational databases, the R Shiny web application framework and other suitable tools using real data from a variety of projects across the Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects Science Area
• Understanding and implementing all stages of the data lifecycle, from planning to long-term curation.
• Developing fit-for-purpose data management plans (DMPs) and apply those skills to review DMPs from other researchers
• Ingestion and curation of environmental datasets for a National Data Centre
• Training colleagues in best-practice data management/transformation techniques
• Data science and analytics methods development, according to the interests of the successful candidate

Essential skills on appointmentKnowledge & Qualifications

• A good degree (2:1 BSc or MSc) or equivalent, with a scientific background, e.g. environmental science, physical sciences, data science, or environmental informatics
• An interest in air quality and climate change science and impacts

Experience/Proven abilities related to the position

• A proven ability to program in a high-level language, such as R, Python or Fortran
• Demonstrable experience with using data manipulation tools, GIS and/or databases

Skills

• High level of scientific numeracy and computer literacy
• Excellent attention to detail and a methodical approach to problem solving
• Able to work independently and manages own time effectively
• Able to work effectively as part of a team; makes active contributions and provides support to other team members
• Excellent oral communication skills
• Excellent written communication skills
• Able to manage a changing workload of long and short term tasks

Core Behaviours & Values

• You will demonstrate a commitment to promote and adhere to UKCEH values of Excellence, Integrity and Team work.

Desirable skills

• Demonstrated previous experience working with scientific data
• A willingness to travel overseas to Europe and ODA countries

How to Apply To see what UKCEH offer as an employer, and to apply, please click the link below which will take you to our vacancy portal. Along with a CV, please upload a covering letter detailing how you meet the vacancy criteria.

Keyskills :
Data ManagementPythonScientific BackgroundEnvironmental Science