Postdoctoral Research Fellow

About The Role

Two full-time posts are available on a fixed term basis and are funded by Dragon Capital Chair from June 1st 2026 until May 31st 2027. In line with the University’s fair employment for all principles, any further funding opportunities identified will be reviewed and discussed during the contract.

The starting salary will be from £43,482 on Grade F, depending on knowledge, skills and experience.
   
The Role
 
The posts are in the LEEP Institute, Department of Economics, University of Exeter Business School, Faculty of Environment, Economics and Society.
 
The Faculty wishes to recruit two Postdoctoral Research Fellows to support the work of Professor Ben Groom, the Dragon Capital Chair in Biodiversity Economics. The successful applicants will contribute to a broad suite of research broadly within the field of biodiversity economics. This is likely to include research in the following areas:

1. Undertake research into the interaction between agriculture and biodiversity in particular the role of crop genetic diversity and the micro-economic determinants the adoption of diverse agricultural systems and the economics value of conserving and maintaining crop genetic diversity.
2. Undertake research into the role of climate policy and carbon removal policy in agriculture, both in the UK and in the global south.
3. Develop novel methods for determining whether and how carbon credits can realistically provide co-benefits of biodiversity conservation.
4. Develop novel contributions to the evidence base on the economic and financial value of nature and biodiversity and he policy instruments that can finance biodiversity conservation.

This broad research programme reflects the breadth of work currently being conducted by the team under the Dragon Capital Chair programme, which the post-holder will join. The Dragon Capital Programme (and team) is housed within the vibrant multi-disciplinary Land, Environment, Economics and Policy Institute at the University of Exeter. Indeed, it is further expected (but not required) that the post-holder will have ongoing projects that they will continue to pursue through the duration of the post, and that such projects shall further benefit from constructive feedback and conversations offered by the Dragon Capital Chair team and the wider LEEP group. The post also entails contributing to the work of the BIOdiversity for Economics and CONservation (BIOECON) network (www.bioecon-network.com), and particularly in ongoing work with the various government bodies including the UK government.

About You
 
The successful applicants will be able to develop research objectives, projects and proposals; identify sources of research funding and contribute to the process of securing funds and make presentations at conferences and other events. Applicants will possess a relevant PhD or possess an equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study.

Applicants should have the following skills:

• Strong background in applied micro-econometrics, development and ideally agricultural economics;
• Experience applying econometric methods to economic, agricultural and environmental problems;
• Knowledge of STATA, R, Python and/or other relevant programming skills for undertaking applied analysis (e.g. machine learning) and handling large geographical or other data sets using GIS or related tools;
• Strong grounding in applied economics (theory and empirics) and environmental and resource economics or related discipline;
• An ability to work with interdisciplinary teams on issues concerning the environment, natural capital, ecosystem services and biodiversity.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role. 

Further information

Please contact Professor Ben Groom, b.d.groom@exeter.ac.uk.

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