Statistician/Senior Statistician Specialising in Human Health and Nutrition Applications
Salary Grade D £33,595 - £40,769 | Grade E £40,769 - £52,183 depending on seniority of appointment
The post represents an excellent long-term career opportunity for a suitably qualified statistician or quantitative scientist with strong statistical skills, offering a stimulating mix of work including: collaboration with scientists working in human health and nutrition problems at leading UK research institutions; interactions with other quantitative experts within and beyond BioSS; scope to develop your own area of quantitative methodological research; and the opportunity to advance your career in a supportive environment, as we continue to grow as a centre of strong 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 lead proposals as we seek to grow our portfolio of such projects. This position will be based at the Rowett Institute, part of the University of Aberdeen. This post is simultaneously being advertised at both 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 methodological 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 Graham Horgan (Graham.Horgan@bioss.ac.uk), tel +44 (0) 1224 438678) in confidence to discuss this position.
Main Purpose of Job
The successful candidate will:
- Deliver collaborative research and statistical consultancy in the application area of human health and nutrition across BioSS, with particular focus on the needs of the Rowett Institute.
- Develop a portfolio of personal research in applied statistics, mathematical modelling or bioinformatics motivated by quantitative problems encountered in collaborative projects.
- Generate additional income for BioSS by supporting applications for funding and contributing to the resulting projects.
- In the more senior role (Band E), 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 some aspects of our research and consultancy activities, and 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 across BioSS, focussed on (but not limited to) human health and nutrition science at the Rowett Institute.
- Deliver research on applied statistical, mathematical modelling or bioinformatics methods with clear relevance to the Scottish Government funded Strategic Research Programme.
- 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.
- Represent BioSS externally at meetings with stakeholders from scientific and non-scientific backgrounds.
- Extend collaborative links with government agencies, NGOs, universities, research institutes and commercial organisations.
- Contribute to the development and delivery of BioSS training courses for scientists.
- In the more senior role, applicants would be expected to lead and manage funding applications; take personal responsibility for building, managing and maintaining collaborative 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 supporting the involvement of other staff.
Qualifications/Skills/Knowledge
We will be looking for the following ‘Essential’ and ‘Desirable’ attributes in candidates:
Essential
- A PhD in statistics or another closely related quantitative discipline, or an MSc with commensurate post-qualification development and work experience.
- Enthusiasm for development and application of quantitative methods, and for collaborating with applied scientists in a range of scientific areas.
- Strong general statistical skills, including an understanding of relevant areas such as: experimental design, mixed models, generalised linear models, generalised additive models, multivariate analysis.
- Good statistical programming ability in R, Python or another high-level statistical or mathematical programming platform.
- 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 areas are listed below.
- A track record of research and/or collaboration evidenced by scientific journal and conference papers in a methodological field relevant to human health and nutrition; experience in bioinformatics would be particularly welcome, but is not essential.
- Ability to give effective spoken presentations, to both quantitative and wider scientific audiences.
- Evidence of good written communication.
- The ability to work independently.
- For the more senior role (Band E), 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 skill sets would fit the remit of the post, any of which would be desirable. For example, experience in:
- Advanced mixed models with complex variance structures;
- Multivariate analysis of large metabolomic, proteomic or genomic data sets;
- Structural equation modelling;
- Mathematical modelling.
- Experience of communicating with government and commercial clients.
- Experience of developing funding applications.
- For the more senior role, experience of leading funding applications is highly desirable.
How to Apply
We will consider applications at either the postdoctoral or the senior postdoctoral grade, depending on experience; please apply at whatever grade you feel is most appropriate for your situation: note our higher expectations of candidates for the more senior grading. Please state whether you are applying for the post of Statistician or Senior Statistician in your application.
Applications should be made using the recruitment pages operated by our parent organization, The James Hutton Institute.
The deadline for applications is 27 March 2023. Interviews are expected to be held on 3 April 2023.
Other Notes
This is a permanent appointment.
We will not consider the use of 3rd party recruitment agencies for the sourcing of candidates for this position.
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.