Research Associate: Conservation and Land Use (Fixed Term)

University of Cambridge; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 34,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

On-site facilities

Academic pension

Job summary

The University of Cambridge invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to integrate biodiversity metrics into land and sea management decisions across Europe, working with Professor Andrew Balmford in the Conservation Science Group.

You will ensure LIFE is fully integrated into the LOTUS framework, develop LIFE further, and lead a UK-based test case, collaborating with Cambridge colleagues and partners across Europe.

Qualifications

• PhD in conservation science or related analytical discipline.

Responsibilities

• Integrate LIFE pipeline into the LOTUS framework.
• Develop and extend LIFE with new species sensitivity data.
• Apply LIFE metric to policy scenarios and regional assessments.
• Lead design and execution of a UK-based test case.

Skills

PhD in conservation science

Quantitative tools

Ecological data analysis

Programming: Python/R/Bash

GIS / Google Earth Engine

Scientific communication

Collaborative research

Time management

Education

PhD in conservation science

Tools

GIS software

Google Earth Engine

High-performance computing

Job description

Postdoctoral Research Associate: Integrating biodiversity into decisions about land and sea management in Europe

Applications are invited for a postdoctoral research associate to work with Professor Andrew Balmford in the Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge. This position is part of a 6-country Horizon Europe project and will focus on incorporating a global biodiversity metric called LIFE into LOTUS, a coupled climate-biodiversity-economy tool being assembled to help policymakers make better-informed decisions about land and sea management.

LIFE brings together information on the distribution and habitat preferences of ~30K individually-assessed terrestrial vertebrate species to estimate how specified land-use changes (such as habitat conversion) and their drivers (such as people's diets) alter each species' medium-term probability of extinction. The postholder will be responsible for ensuring the LIFE pipeline is fully integrated into the LOTUS framework. They will also play a key role in the continued development of LIFE - working with colleagues in Cambridge and beyond to incorporate new information on species' sensitivities to farm yields, and to extend LIFE's taxonomic coverage.

They will also help apply the LIFE metric to a series of policy scenarios and regional assessments to test the performance of LOTUS, and refine LIFE based on the results of those exercises. Last, the postholder will help lead the design, development and execution of one of these test cases, based in the UK.

Required skills and qualifications:

• PhD in conservation science, land use or a related analytical discipline
• Experience in developing or applying quantitative tools for assessing the impacts of management decisions on biodiversity or other environmental outcomes
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills, including experience handling and interpreting ecological or environmental datasets
• Expertise in landscape-level biodiversity and production analyses using multiple programming languages, for example Python, R, or Bash, and experience in a GIS package or Google Earth Engine
• Ability to develop creative, conceptually clear and pragmatic approaches to complex, data-limited analytical problems
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate scientific findings clearly to a range of audiences
• Clear evidence of communicating and working collaboratively with other researchers, across multiple disciplines and with project stakeholders
• Strong organisational and time management skills

Desirable skills and knowledge:

• Experience of using a high-performance computer
• Experience of environmental policy in Europe or elsewhere

For more information, please refer to the Further Particulars document. The closing date for applications is midnight (GMT) on 21 September 2026. The interview for this role is expected to take place during the week commencing Monday 5 October 2026 (subject to change) and may be conducted remotely.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for up to 31 August 2029.

Applications are welcome from internal candidates who would like to apply for the role on the basis of a secondment from their current role in the University.

The postholder will be based in the Cambridge Conservation Initiative?s David Attenborough Building in Cambridge and will be expected to work on site at least three days per week, except whilst on work-related travel. Flexible working requests (such as part-time) will be considered.

For informal enquiries about the role, please contact Prof Andrew Balmford [email: [e-mail]].

For any queries regarding the application process, please contact the Zoology HR Office [email: [e-mail]]

Please quote reference PF50726 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.