Earth Observation Specialist

JNCC; Peterborough, Aberdeen City, Cardiff; Remote; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

JNCC seeks an EO Specialist to deploy habitat and feature mapping methods and develop products to detect change in habitat condition for environmental modelling. You will contribute to cross-team projects, bringing technical evidence skills in habitat extent and condition.

Based in the UK, you will work with other analytical and data teams on EO applications such as national habitat maps and indicators of woodland condition. Some marine work may be included.

Job description

We are advertising this vacancy through the Civil Service Jobs website.

Apply before 23.55 Sunday 22 November 2026.

Post background

The Ecosystems Analysis Team helps JNCC’s stakeholders meet the challenges of managing our environment and the benefits it provides.

This dynamic, multi-disciplinary team brings together three elements:

• A set of long-term partnerships with organisations undertaking species surveys in terrestrial, coastal and freshwater ecosystems using networks of volunteers
  
• An analysis and modelling capability producing rapidly deployable models. These include a range of models focussed on predicting outcomes from changing land uses and environmental pressures
  
• An Earth observation (EO) data processing and analytical capability with expertise in using EO to provide high-quality evidence on biodiversity and ecosystems to inform environmental decision making

As an EO Specialist, you will help JNCC deploy habitat and feature mapping methods, develop products to detect change in habitat condition or management, and provide biophysical parameters for environmental modelling. The post would contribute to projects across the work of the team, and to projects led by other teams in JNCC, bringing technical evidence skills and insight into integrating evidence on habitat extent and condition.

The post will focus on EO data analyses but will also work collaboratively with other analytical, data science and data infrastructure skills across the Ecosystems Analysis and Digital and Data Solutions Teams. Recent examples of EO applications developed by the team and our partners include national-scale habitat extent and change mapping, coastal habitat monitoring in a changing climate, developing indicators of urban blue and green space extent and type, and developing national indicators of woodland condition and young tree health. Whilst much of the work of the team is terrestrial, some work on marine environments is possible.