Senior Social Scientist

The postholder will be a member of the Society and Environment Research Group (SERG). SERG is an agile group of twenty social scientists focusing on four broad thematic work areas:

• Well-being and woodlands
• Land manager behaviours in relation to trees and woodlands
• Social dimensions of forest disturbances including tree health
• Social dimensions of wildlife management and reintroduction

Cross-cutting issues include climate change, urban forestry and project, programme, and policy evaluation.  The group delivers evidence direct to policy and other research commissioners, presents at national and international conferences, as well as publishing in a range of high impact journals.

SERG seeks to appoint a Senior Social Scientist to undertake and support research across a portfolio of projects.  The postholder will carry out social science research across core themes with emphasis on assessing impact and outcomes of policies, projects and actions related to forest and woodland management.

Key Work Areas:  

• Contribute to management and development of SERG, through the active supervision of multiple research projects including leading multiple projects, organising staff and tasks within projects

• Work with the senior members to develop the strategic direction of the group, provide leadership in aligning activities with the wider organisational priorities of FR
• Drive forward business development opportunities
• Working with FR Business Development team and Head of SERG,  leading on proposal writing and bid development for new research projects and scientific collaborations
• In collaboration with the senior members of the group contribute to budgeting of the group’s finances, including the production and management of quarterly forecasts
• Manage and empower staff to effectively carry out their roles and develop their full potential  
• Work with existing networks of stakeholders and customers, to understand research needs and policy priorities, and represent the work and capability of SERG and develop new networks
• Lead on the production of outputs;  academic papers, technical reports, research summaries, website and social media content 

Essential Criteria:

• PhD qualification with substantial social science content within an environmental setting or equivalent experience
• Track record of leading multiple social science and interdisciplinary research projects of different sizes, including multiple partners, with evidence of significant project management skills including staff management, allocation of resources, strong planning and organisational skills, and an understanding of the complexities associated with driving applied social science with policy makers
• Experience of staff management including supporting and developing staff
• Demonstrable ability and experience in social science research drawing on relevant theories, identifying most appropriate methods to gather evidence, experience in collection and analysis of data and production of suitable high-quality outputs
• Track record, ability and experience of using IT including data collection and data analysis packages, collaboration platforms
• Demonstrable ability to develop new ideas, relationships and partnerships
• The post holder will need to be able to travel across the UK

Advert information