Research Associate in LCA/MFA of Regional Petrochemical Systems

International Society for Industrial Ecology; Bath; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative research institute in Bath is looking for a skilled Research Associate in LCA/MFA of Regional Petrochemical Systems. The role focuses on developing models to assess and reduce GHG emissions in petrochemical production. Candidates should have a PhD in a relevant field and expertise in Material Flow Analysis. This full-time position offers a salary range starting from £38,249 to £45,413 with ample benefits.

Benefits

Free counselling services

Cycle to work scheme

Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme

Staff discount at Team Bath gym

Generous annual leave allowance

Wide range of personal development opportunities

Qualifications

• A PhD in a relevant subject area or equivalent professional experience.
• Expertise in Material Flow Analysis and/or Life Cycle Assessment.
• Strong ability for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Develop an integrated, regional-scale, whole-system model of the petrochemical system.
• Build on global-scale models to create regional Material Flow Analysis models.
• Model future scenarios and changes in processes and emissions.

Skills

Process-based Material Flow Analysis

Life Cycle Assessment

Organizational skills

Presentation skills

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

PhD in relevant subject area

Tools

Python

Version control

Job description

Research Associate in LCA/MFA of Regional Petrochemical Systems

This is an exciting opportunity for a skilled and motivated postdoctoral researcher, with an interest in working at the interface of industrial ecology and chemical engineering to support the decarbonisation of the petrochemical industry, to join our team at the Institute of Sustainability and Climate Change . This project aims to understand how future changes in demand for polymers, chemicals and transport fuels interact with changes in petrochemical production systems, and under which conditions the most significant reductions in life-cycle GHG emissions can be achieved. You will be playing a key role in the global effort to deliver Net Zero.

About the role

In this research position, you will play a key role in developing an integrated, regional-scale, whole-system model of the petrochemical system, from feedstocks through to polymer production and end-of-life treatment. Specifically, You will:

• Build on models of the petrochemical system at global scale, previously developed at Bath, to create regional Material Flow Analysis (MFA) / Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) models of current production routes and their emissions.
• Work with other members of the research team (based at the University of Sheffield) to integrate their process modelling and production data analysis into the regionalised model to represent current operation and emissions.
• Again working with the wider project research team, model future scenarios and changes in demand and in process characteristics and production routes, and their effect on emissions.

The role is advertised at Grade 7, but 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. In this case, applicants will need to be within six months of their course completion date and will be promoted to Research Associate once their PhD has been awarded.

This research project is an industry collaboration jointly with the University of Sheffield.

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.

Our ideal candidate will have

• A PhD in a relevant subject area, or equivalent professional experience in a relevant field.
• Expertise in process-based Material Flow Analysis and/or Life Cycle Assessment, or experience in other relevant modelling / data analysis projects and a proven ability to learn and apply new modelling approaches.
• Good organisational and presentation skills.
• The ability to work well in an interdisciplinary environment, with academic and industrial partners.

Ideally, you will have knowledge of chemical engineering and/or polymers and related products and systems — or, perhaps you have instead a strong ability for interdisciplinary collaboration with researchers in chemical engineering, and a willingness to learn.

In our group, we work with Python, version control, and similar tools for developing and sharing research code and models. If you like working in this way, that's great, but also many are new to this, and we'll support you to learn as appropriate.

Further Information

This position is offered on a full time (36.5 hours per week) fixed term basis with an expected end date of 06 November 2027.

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 . We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students, so we encourage applications from all genders, backgrounds, and communities, particularly from under-represented groups, and value the positive impact that will have on the university. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students, staff, and community by reinforcing our Safer Recruitment commitment.

• Free counselling services through Health Assured
• Cycle to work scheme
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
• Staff discount at Team Bath gym
• Staff discounts on postgraduate tuition fees
• Staff discount on language courses
• Generous employer contributory pension schemes
• Generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days so that you can enjoy a positive work life balance
• A wide range of personal and professional development opportunities including Apprenticeships, LinkedIn Learning and more
• Free entry to the Holburne Museum in Bath
• An excellent reward package that recognises the talents of our diverse workforce

Starting from £38,249, rising to £45,413