Marine Ornithologist - Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Scottish Government

Scottish Government

Verified Company

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

2 weeks ago

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

beBee Recruiter

Description

Details:

Reference number:

Salary:

- £31,120 - £37,936
Job grade:

Higher Executive Officer
B2
Contract type:
Permanent
Type of role:
Science
Working pattern:
Fulltime
Number of jobs available:
2Contents

Location

About the job

Benefits:

Things you need to know

Location

Aberdeen, Scotland, AB11 9

DB :
Leith, Scotland, EH6 6

QQ :
Glasgow, Scotland, G2 8

LU :
Inverness, Scotland, IV1 1SFAbout the job

Job summary:

The Scottish Government has set a target to generate 50% of Scotland's overall energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030.

Large-scale deployment of offshore wind farms (the ScotWind offshore wind leasing round) and other marine renewables are a key part of meeting this target so understanding the environmental effects of this essential.

Scientists within the Renewable Energy Environmental Advice (REEA) Group of the Scottish Government's Marine Scotland Directorate provide scientific expertise and advice on the potential effects of marine renewables on key environmental receptors (marine birds, marine mammals, marine fish, fisheries, diadromous fish, benthic habitats and species, and oceanography).

This expertise and advice are underpinned by a scientific evidence base focusing on the environmental effects of marine renewables. REEA scientists both identify evidence needs and develop and deliver research to address priority knowledge gaps. This evidence base is used to provide advice on marine energy developments, marine conservation, and climate change.

This has included providing expertise on seabirds in relation to the recent Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak, seabird 'wrecks', and the identification of potential management measures to improve seabird conservation prospects.

The evidence base is delivered through a combination of external commissioning, building collaborations with specialists and stakeholders, and in house science.

We collaborate with specialist science, policy and planning colleagues across Marine Scotland, as well as universities, research institutes, NGOs, consultancies and industry to deliver high quality, relevant applied research that is used in real-world decision-making.

Critical knowledge gaps that risk effective planning and consenting are addressed through Marine Scotland's Scottish Marine Energy Research (ScotMER) Programme.

There will also be opportunities to take part in scientific cruises on Marine Scotland's research vessels.

A key environmental receptor for Marine Scotland are seabirds, and we are looking to build our team of scientists by recruiting additional ornithologists.

Information about the Role
We are in a global climate emergency. Would you like to play a critical role in producing scientific advice to help mitigate climate change while ensuring environmentally sustainable use of Scotland's seas?

You will play take a leadership role in delivering marine ornithology research and advice within Marine Scotland.

As part of the REEA team of scientists, you will identify and address key knowledge gaps and deliver applied research to fills these gaps.

This includes contributing to the ScotMER programme, scoping and designing research projects, undertaking research activities, providing science input and oversight of the commissioning and delivery of research projects, developing strong collaborations including PhD supervision, seeking external funding to support research and other means of delivering high quality research.

Currently, we are developing projects to tag and monitor seabirds at Scottish colonies and are participating in research to understand how seabirds and their prey are affected by offshore wind farms, PrePARED:
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A key part of the role will be the provision of specialist advice and technical guidance on marine birds to Marine Scotland Licensing Operations Team (MS-LOT) and Policy and Planning colleagues in relation to the assessment of environmental impacts of marine renewable developments.

Critical to this will be the development of the scientific evidence base underpinning the advice via the ScotMER Programme and the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind ornOrnithology Working Group.

You must ensure that you are familiar with the best available science through maintaining a comprehensive understanding of best practice and detailed up to date knowledge of marine bird ecology and assessment methodologies.

You will help to maintain and further develop good working relationships with relevant stakeholders, including NatureScot, JNCC, RSPB, academia, consultants and industry.

You will represent the Scottish Government and Marine Scotland at national and international forums.

This is a varied and highly rewarding post in a technical field of scientific excellence, and the post holder must successfully manage a range of competing priorities often to very tight deadlines.

Job description: