Salary Grade D £33,595 - £40,769 | Grade E £40,769 - £52,183

Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS) seeks two quantitative scientists interested in developing a personal research profile and delivering statistical consultancy across the environmental, food and agricultural sciences. Our society is facing multiple challenges, where we need to simultaneously increase food security, reduce our impact on climate change, and increase biodiversity, and the quantitative sciences are pivotal in responding to these issues. With rapidly evolving technologies generating large, complex data sets, these positions offer exciting opportunities for committed and innovative scientists to build stimulating careers in a dynamic and collegial working environment. One post is specifically focused on work to improve livestock health and welfare, working primarily with the Moredun Research Institute and SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College). The other offers opportunities to work across a broad area of scientific areas, primarily with SRUC.

The posts represent excellent long-term career opportunities for suitably qualified statisticians or quantitative scientists, offering a stimulating mix of work including: collaboration with scientists at leading UK research institutions; interactions with other quantitative experts within and beyond BioSS; a generous time allocation within which to develop your own area of quantitative methodological research; and the opportunity to advance your career in a supportive environment at BioSS as we continue to grow as a strong centre of quantitative applied research and consultancy. BioSS is eligible to apply for UKRI funding, and we will be keen for the successful applicant to contribute to, develop and (depending on seniority) lead proposals as we seek to grow our portfolio of projects. These positions will be based at the BioSS centre in Edinburgh. Both posts are being advertised simultaneously at a senior and more junior grade, depending on experience.

BioSS is a member of the SEFARI (Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes) collective (https://sefari.scot/); we have an international reputation for research, consultancy and training in statistics, mathematical modelling and bioinformatics. BioSS offers a stimulating working environment, with over 50 staff and students at four locations, collaborating on applications in plant & crop science, animal health & welfare, environmental science & ecology, and human health & nutrition.

Potential applicants may contact Dr Sarah Brocklehurst (sarah.brocklehurst@bioss.ac.uk) in confidence to discuss these positions.

More information describing the posts and what we are expecting from applicants can be found below in the job descriptions.

Statistician/Senior Statistician Specialising in Animal Health and Welfare

Main Purpose of Job

The successful candidate will:

• Deliver collaborative research and statistical consultancy in the application area of animal health and welfare (AHW) across BioSS, with particular focus on the needs of the Moredun Research Institute and of SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College).
• Develop a portfolio of personal research in applied statistics, mathematical modelling or bioinformatics motivated by quantitative problems encountered in collaborative AHW projects.
• Generate additional income for BioSS by participating in applications for funding and contributing to resulting projects.
• If appointed at the more senior grade, candidates would be expected to deliver at a higher level, consistent with a longer or stronger track record of achievement; they would be expected to show more independent initiative and more leadership, and in particular to lead applications for funding.

Main duties of post holder

In carrying out the job, the successful candidate will be expected to:

• Contribute quantitative expertise to collaborative research projects, focussed on (but not limited to) animal health and welfare activities.
• Deliver research, developing statistical, modelling or bioinformatics methods, with clear relevance to the Scottish Government funded Strategic Research Programme.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of BioSS training courses for research scientists.
• Develop strong collaborative links with specific groups of scientists.
• Contribute to applications for funding, including calls from UKRI, and contribute to delivery of resulting projects as appropriate.
• Contribute to meetings with stakeholders from scientific and non-scientific backgrounds.
• Support building new collaborative links with government agencies, NGOs, universities, research institutes and commercial organisations.
• Contribute to raising BioSS’ external profile by presenting work at relevant national and international conferences.
• If appointed at the more senior grade, applicants would be expected to lead and manage funding applications; take personal responsibility for building, managing and maintaining relationships with specific groups of scientists, external organisations and stakeholders; establish new links and new areas of collaboration; and in all such activities explicitly seek to generate benefit across all of BioSS by acting in support of other staff.

Qualifications/Skills/Knowledge

We will be looking for the following ‘Essential’ and ‘Desirable’ attributes in candidates:

Essential

• A PhD in statistics, biomathematics or another very closely related quantitative discipline, or an MSc with commensurate post-qualification development and work experience.
• Experience of development and use of modern quantitative methods applied to real-world examples. No specific area of experience is ‘essential’, but examples of desirable fields are listed below.
• A track record of research and/or collaboration evidenced by scientific journal and conference papers in a methodological field relevant to animal health and welfare.
• Strong general statistical skills, including an understanding of relevant areas such as: experimental design, regression, mixed models, generalised linear models, generalised additive models, multivariate analysis.
• Good statistical programming ability in R or another high-level statistical programming platform.
• Enthusiasm for development and application of quantitative methods, for collaborating with applied scientists in a range of scientific areas, and a willingness to initiate, manage and maintain scientific collaborations.
• The ability to work independently.
• Evidence of good written communication skills.
• Strong verbal communication skills, including the ability to give effective spoken presentations, to both quantitative and wider scientific audiences.
• For appointment at the more senior grade, applicants should demonstrate a stronger past track record across most of these attributes. In addition, evidence of ability to initiate and manage collaborations, lead projects and to manage people are essential for the more senior role.

Desirable

• Different skills sets would fit the remit of the post, any of which would be desirable. For example, experience in any of:
  • Experimental design;
  • Advanced multivariate methods;
  • Pathogen phylogenetics and phylodynamics;
  • Diagnostic test evaluation;
  • Mathematical modelling of livestock disease and husbandry systems;
  • Individual (agent)-based modelling;
  • Bayesian Hierarchical Modelling.

This list is explicitly not exhaustive; all applicants who believe that they have expertise relevant to the post will be welcome.

• Experience in animal health and welfare applications, or closely related fields.
• Experience of communicating with government and commercial clients.
• Experience communicating scientific activity to the public, including use of social media.
• Experience of developing funding applications.
• For appointment at the more senior grade, experience of leading funding applications is also highly desirable.

Statistician/Senior Statistician Specialising in Environment, Food and Agriculture

Main Purpose of Job

The successful candidate will:

• Deliver collaborative research and statistical consultancy across application areas in the environmental, food and agricultural sciences, with particular focus on the needs of SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College).
• Develop a portfolio of personal research in applied statistics, mathematical modelling or bioinformatics motivated by quantitative problems encountered in collaborative environmental, food and agricultural projects.
• Generate additional income for BioSS by participating in applications for funding and contributing to resulting projects.
• If appointed at the more senior grade, candidates would be expected to deliver at a higher level, consistent with a longer or stronger track record of achievement; they would be expected to show more independent initiative and more leadership, and in particular to lead applications for funding.

Main duties of post holder

In carrying out the job, the successful candidate will be expected to:

• Contribute quantitative expertise to collaborative research projects, focussing on several of these areas: soils and crops, animal behaviour and welfare, crop and livestock disease control, agricultural emissions, biodiversity, agri-food systems, and agri-economics and social sciences.
• Deliver research, developing statistical, modelling or bioinformatics methods, with clear relevance to the Scottish Government funded Strategic Research Programme.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of BioSS training courses for research scientists.
• Develop strong collaborative links with specific groups of scientists.
• Contribute to applications for funding, including calls from UKRI, and contribute to delivery of resulting projects as appropriate.
• Contribute to meetings with stakeholders from scientific and non-scientific backgrounds.
• Support building new collaborative links with government agencies, NGOs, universities, research institutes and commercial organisations.
• Contribute to raising BioSS’ external profile by presenting work at relevant national and international conferences.
• If appointed at the more senior grade, applicants would be expected to lead and manage funding applications; take personal responsibility for building, managing and maintaining relationships with specific groups of scientists, external organisations and stakeholders; establish new links and new areas of collaboration; and in all such activities explicitly seek to generate benefit across all of BioSS by acting in support of other staff.

Qualifications/Skills/Knowledge

We will be looking for the following ‘Essential’ and ‘Desirable’ attributes in candidates:

Essential

• A PhD in statistics, biomathematics or another very closely related quantitative discipline, or an MSc with commensurate post-qualification development and work experience.
• Experience of development and use of modern quantitative methods applied to real-world examples. No specific area of experience is ‘essential’, but examples of desirable fields are listed below.
• A track record of research and/or collaboration evidenced by scientific journal and conference papers in a methodological field relevant to the environment, food or agriculture.
• Strong general statistical skills, including an understanding of relevant areas such as: experimental design, regression, mixed models, generalised linear models, generalised additive models, multivariate analysis.
• Good statistical programming ability in R or another high-level statistical programming platform.
• Enthusiasm for development and application of quantitative methods, for collaborating with applied scientists in a range of scientific areas, and a willingness to initiate, manage and maintain scientific collaborations.
• The ability to work independently.
• Evidence of good written communication skills.
• Strong verbal communication skills, including the ability to give effective spoken presentations, to both quantitative and wider scientific audiences.
• For appointment at the more senior grade, applicants should demonstrate a stronger past track record across most of these attributes. In addition, evidence of ability to initiate and manage collaborations, lead projects and to manage people are essential for the more senior role.

Desirable

• Different skills sets would fit the remit of the post, any of which would be desirable. For example, experience in any of:
  • Experimental design;
  • Advanced multivariate methods;
  • Bayesian statistical modelling;
  • Statistical methods for socioeconomic research;
  • Latent variable models and/or mixture models;
  • Mathematical modelling and/or inference methods for models;
  • Individual (agent)-based modelling;
  • Bioinformatics and statistical genomics.

This list is explicitly not exhaustive; all applicants who believe that they have expertise relevant to the post will be welcome.

• Experience in environmental, food and agricultural sciences applications, or closely related fields.
• Experience of communicating with government and commercial clients.
• Experience communicating scientific activity to the public, including use of social media.
• Experience of developing funding applications.
• For appointment at the more senior grade, experience of leading funding applications is also highly desirable.

How to Apply

We will consider applications at either the statistician or the senior statistician grade, depending on experience: note our higher expectations of candidates for the more senior grading.

Please state whether you want to be evaluated as a statistician or as a senior statistician in your application; also please state if you have a preference between the animal health and welfare or the environment, food and agriculture application areas.

Applications should be made using the recruitment pages operated by our parent organization, The James Hutton Institute.

To apply, please create an account and upload personal details along with a CV and a covering letter/statement detailing why you consider yourself suitable for your preferred post(s).

The deadline for applications is 2 April 2023. Interviews are expected to be held on 21 April 2023.

Other Notes

These are both permanent appointments.

We will not consider the use of 3rd party recruitment agencies for the sourcing of candidates for this position.

BioSS is formally part of The James Hutton Institute, a Scottish charity No. SC041796.

The James Hutton Institute is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We encourage applications from underrepresented groups in STEM, particularly women, BAME and LGBTQ+.

The James Hutton Institute is happy to talk flexible working.

The James Hutton Institute is a: Stonewall Diversity Champion; Athena SWAN Bronze Status Holder; Disability Confident Committed Employer and a Living Wage Employer.