Research Associate in Prospective Life Cycle Assessment of UK Buildings

About the role

We are looking for a researcher to join our team work on an exciting multi-institution project on circular economy for buildings: BuildZero.

BuildZero aims to understand if the UK’s needs from its building stock can be met with zero new raw material extraction, zero emissions and zero waste. Our research will show to what extent this vision is achievable and desirable, and provide a platform for translating circular economy approaches into practice and policy at scale.

Within this wider project, your focus will be on understanding the environmental footprint of circular economy strategies into the future. To do this, you will conduct prospective life cycle assessment of BuildZero strategies. This is essential to ensure that selected strategies really do move us towards zero carbon and zero waste construction when the whole life cycle is considered. To conduct your work you will be an integral member of the large, multidisciplinary BuildZero project team, and you will also contribute to wider project tasks, events, and outputs.

A lower grade offer may be made (Grade 6) with comparable reduction in responsibilities and amendment in job title to Research Assistant, if a suitable applicant cannot be found to fill the Grade 7 position. Applicants will need to be within six months of their course [PhD] completion date and will be promoted to Research Associate once their PhD has been awarded. 

Please ensure you submit your application via our website. Please note that during initial shortlisting, the panel can only see your application form and your answers to the shortlisting questions; they cannot see your attachments (e.g. your CV).

About you

Our ideal candidates will have:

• Completed a PhD in a relevant discipline.
• Expertise in life cycle assessment.
• Experience using Brightway 2 and/or openLCA, or other relevant experience in programming (particularly Python).
• Familiarity with issues of circular economy and the built environment, though this could be substituted by a strong ability for interdisciplinary collaboration and a willingness to learn.

Apart from excellent technical skills, you will need:

• The ability to organise and prioritise your own workload, and to work in a broad interdisciplinary team, both within Bath and across the wider project.
• Excellent oral, interpersonal and written communication skills.

Interaction with academic and industrial partners of BuildZero, and participation in consortium events, will be expected. 

Further information

This role is a full-time position, initially offered for 2 years and available from 1 June 2026. Part-time working may be possible and if interested in applying on this basis you should make this clear on your application form.

We offer a hybrid working arrangement, combining the benefits of remote working with regular on-campus collaboration. You will be required to work on campus 2–3 days per week.

As a member of Research Staff at the University of Bath, you will be encouraged to take up a minimum of 10 days professional development pro rata per year.

For further details of the role’s requirements, please see the job description.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Dr. Stephen Allen on mn0sra@bath.ac.uk.

We consider ourselves to be a university where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations and have made a positive commitment towards gender equality and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award.

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