Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Compound Specific Radiocarbon Dating

Location: School of Archaeology, Dyson Perrins Building and 1 South Parks Road, Oxford 

About the role 

The School of Archaeology is looking to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Compound Specific Radiocarbon Dating to join our small and friendly team in the The School of Archaeology, Research Laboratory for Archaeology, Dyson Perrins Building, (ORAU), based in the centre of Oxford. The lab provides about 2,000 radiocarbon dates each year for our own research and for collaborators across archaeological, environmental and forensic sciences. This post is a fixed-term contract for 3 years, with possibility of an extension, depending on funding. It is a full-time position.

Reporting to the Director of ORAU, you will mainly work in analysis of single amino acids and lipids and their radiocarbon dating at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU). The post holder will be responsible for implementing the compound specific radiocarbon dating component of NERC’s National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF) programme (www.isotopesuk.org), which provides state-of-the-art isotopic services to the UK’s research community. The post holder will provide guidance to less experienced members of the research group, including postdocs, research assistants, technicians, and PhD and project students.

About you

The post holder should hold a relevant PhD/DPhil in analytical science, chemistry or biochemistry’ with the possibility to underfill if they instead hold a Bachelor’s Degree (or Master’s) in analytical science, chemistry or biochemistry, together with relevant proven experience in the day-to-day use of HPLC and/or GC, with method development and application experience, and an interest in applying these skills to develop improved radiocarbon dating techniques. You will have sufficient specialist knowledge in the discipline to work within established research programmes and have the ability to manage your own academic research and contribute ideas for new research projects. You will also have excellent communication skills, including the ability to write for publication and present research proposals and results, and represent the research group at meetings.

Application process

Informal enquiries may be addressed to hr@arch.ox.ac.uk

You will be required to upload a CV and Supporting Statement as part of your online application. The Supporting Statement should clearly describe how you meet each of the selection criteria listed in the job description.

The closing date for applications is 12:00 noon on 7th May, 2024.

Only applications submitted through the University of Oxford e-recruitment system and received before the closing date can be considered.

We expect to hold interviews the week commencing 20th May, 2024.

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