Post Name: Post Doctoral Fellow
Location : Athenry, County Galway, Ireland
Pay : €41,081–€45,322 a year – Full-time
Deadline: 03 May 2024
Duration:
Temporary Post-Doctoral Appointment. This is an externally funded non Grant-in-Aid contract post, the indicative duration of which is 7 months, subject to contract. A panel may be formed from which future similar vacancies may be filled; such a panel will remain active for a maximum period of 12 months.
Basic Function:
The successful candidate will be employed to work on the DairyMix project. This is an is an ERA-NET funded project with partners from eight partner countries and aims to investigate sustainability of mixed dairy and arable production systems. The role will focus on 1) analysis of farm level data such as calculation of environmental indicators collected on case study farms across project partners, 2) preparation of a manuscript for peer-review and 3) contribution to project meetings, dissemination and reporting. Experience of modelling nitrogen flows at a farm scale would be advantageous.
The successful candidate will organise the daily operations of the project work and will assist the project co-ordinator and PI in collating reports and arranging project meetings. They will take the lead in data analysis and in writing progress reports, presentations and publication of scientific/technical papers.
Background:
The Teagasc post-doctoral programme provides training and development opportunities for early career scientists that enhances their experience of learning and equips them with the necessary skills for the next stage of their chosen career in research. Appointees to a Teagasc Post-Doctoral Fellowship will be required to undertake a Level 9 Professional Diploma in Researcher Development delivered by University College Dublin (UCD).
This professional diploma is a flexible, modular programme which embraces a blended learning approach to align with the Post-Doctoral Fellow’s role in Teagasc. It is designed to develop competencies and transferable skills in research, professionalism, communication and career development. The majority of the programme is delivered online with the remaining elements delivered in-person at Teagasc locations. This blended approach affords the Post-Doctoral Fellow the opportunity to meet and network with other Teagasc colleagues. During the course of the diploma Post-Doctoral Fellows will have access to a full range of supports including the UCD library, writing centre and careers centre.
This is a research focused training role, the primary purpose of which is to provide early career scientists with the opportunity to develop their research skills and competencies. The PD Fellow will, while working in conjunction with senior research staff, gain insight and experience into a variety of areas including the processes of project and budgetary management, publishing in peer-reviewed academic journals, writing grant applications, and attracting external funding; the development of active collaboration with relevant national and international research communities; the development of communication and presentation skills, leadership and management skills, and overall career development. Modules will be conducted under the supervision and direction of the Dr. Cathal Buckley or other designated manager in conjunction with the Head of Department.
Duties & Responsibilities specific to this project:
- Review existing literature on mixed dairy-arable farm systems in terms of circularity and national and international tools used for circularity assessment at farm level
- Calculate and analyse circularity parameters using appropriate models
- Plan and carry out outreach and stakeholder information activities
- Produce reports and peer-reviewed papers
Additional Duties & Responsibilities:
- To interpret research findings and prepare scientific and popular press publications.
- To disseminate research findings to a variety of audiences as appropriate.
- To assist Teagasc in meeting the commitments of the Quality Customer Service Charter and action plan.
- To comply with all relevant Teagasc policies and procedures.
- Fully co-operate with the provisions made for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of themselves, fellow staff and non-Teagasc staff and co-operate with management in enabling Teagasc to comply with legal obligations. This includes full compliance with the responsibilities outlined in the Safety Statement.
- To actively participate in the Teagasc Post Doctoral Fellowship programme and review processes, and to undertake all Post Doctoral fellowship training and associated duties as agreed in the Training & Development Plan.
- To take up additional duties as they may arise and be assigned by management.
This section outlines the qualifications, skills, knowledge and/or experience that the successful candidate would be required to demonstrate for successful discharge of the responsibilities of the post. Applications will be assessed on how well candidates satisfy these criteria.
Essential
- PhD in agriculture, environmental science, agricultural or environmental economics or another appropriate science-related discipline.
- Relevant research experience not to exceed 3 years’ post-PhD.
- Demonstrated research and technical expertise in analysis of farm level data.
- Evidence of research activity (publications, conference presentations, awards) and future scholarly output (working papers, research proposals etc).
- Excellent project management, analytical, report writing and data analysis skills.
- An ability to collaborate with team members and PhD students to help build research knowledge and skill and to guide professional development.
- Excellent communication skills (oral, written, presentation) with an ability to enable effective knowledge and technology transfer.
- An ability to interact with a range of stakeholders.
- Ability to generate new ideas, unique concepts, models and solutions.
- Full driving license.
Desirable
- Good knowledge of Irish agricultural systems.
- Knowledge and experience of nitrogen flow modelling techniques.
- Experience working with large datasets.
- Experience in setting own research agenda.
- Evidence of teamwork and collaboration with relevant partners.
