Research Assistant/Associate In Geospatial Analytics

Salary:

Research Assistant £31,396 to £32,982 per annum

Research Associate £33,966 to £44,263 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 19 March 2024

The Role

We are looking for a Research Assistant/Associate to support the operation of the Hub’s integrated data platforms, provide training in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and conduct a parallel research programme in Geospatial Analytics. 

Based in the UKRI GCRF Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub, we are looking for someone who has software engineering skills with experience in Geospatial data management, analysis, and visualisation. 

Global water security “ensuring a reliable and acceptable quantity and quality of water, and managing water-related risks for all” is foundational to sustainable development. Water is essential for human life, but also necessary for food and energy security, health and well-being, and prosperous economies. Some 80% of the world's population live in areas with threats to water security. Between 1990-2015 more than 1.6m people died, and 5.5bn people were affected by water disasters, causing direct damages of US$2.5tn; whilst some 61% of the global population still do not have access to improved basic sanitation and 28% do not have safe drinking water, resulting in over half a million deaths per year due to waterborne disease.

To address these challenges, we have brought together researchers from across the university’s three faculties, as well as UK partner universities and collaborators in Colombia, Ethiopia, India and Malaysia in the £17.7m Water Security Hub. Our research extends from developing low cost sanitation systems to improve water and environmental quality, including water quality sensors, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable communities to analysing regulations and governance structures, and to the social and cultural significance of water. We aspire to pioneer biological, environmental and digital technologies for global application, bringing the water sector into the 4th industrial revolution.

To be part of this, please apply uploading your CV and letter of application which outlines how you can evidence the skills, knowledge and experience outlined in the person specification below.

This role is fixed term for a period of six months and we would be happy to welcome requests from candidates who are looking for flexible working patterns.

Please reach out to Jon Mills at jon.mills@newcastle.ac.uk to have a chat about this opportunity.
 

Key Accountabilities 

• Maintain and operate the Hub’s geospatial and data platforms to integrate heterogeneous data across the UKRI GCRF Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub
• Engage with Hub partners from academia, communities, industry and government, in the UK, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, and Malaysia, to bring pertinent Geospatial Analytics skills to the research programme and build capacity via complementary training courses in GIS to help address the intractable challenge of global water security and sustainability
• Provide direction and expertise across the Hub on the application of appropriate decision support analytics and visualisation tools
• Liaise with the Geospatial, Water Resources, Environmental Engineering and Computing groups, as well as related initiatives at Newcastle (e.g. DAFNI; Alan Turing Institute), to ensure best practice in Geospatial Analytics research and wider data management across the Hub
• Dissemination of research outcomes, including supporting the preparation of manuscripts for high quality journals, delivery of poster and oral presentations at international conferences
• Occasional travel; including to Hub collaboratory destinations (Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Malaysia)    

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience  

• Experience of setting-up and running GIS projects within open and/or proprietary software solutions    
• Experience of setting-up and operating web platforms / applications for geospatial visualisation and analysis    
• Good data management and analytical skills, with the ability to work methodically and accurately in designing, executing and writing up research independently

    Desirable

• Experience of collaborative or consortium working with academic and stakeholder partners 
• A developing track record of peer reviewed publications in internationally recognised journals and experience of presentation of work to the national/international research community    
• Knowledge of innovative ways of presenting research outputs    

Attributes and Behaviours     

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal; ability and willingness to communicate your research at national and international conferences, to fellow academics in other disciplines and to stakeholders    
• Excellent interpersonal skills to build trust with collaborating groups    
• The ability to work well both independently and as part of a team     
• Good planning, organisational and time management skills    

Qualifications    

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant subject such as, Computer Science, Engineering, Geomatics or Mathematics
• PhD (or close to completion for Assistant level) in spatial data science, decision support or visualisation for the position of Research Associate  

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 26805