Research Assistant / Associate Islands of Britain and Ireland Climate Dataset

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Research Assistant / Associate Islands of Britain and Ireland Climate Dataset

Requisition ID: 28176

Location: Newcastle, GB

Contract Type: Fixed Term

Working Pattern: Full Time

Posted Date: 13 May 2025

Newcastle University offers excellent benefits, including a generous holiday package, pension schemes, and health and wellbeing initiatives.

The Role

We seek a Researcher to develop an hourly (or higher resolution) gridded rainfall dataset for the UK and Ireland, assessing it against existing datasets. The Climate+ Co-Centre, led by Trinity College Dublin and involving multiple UK institutions, aims to address water challenges on the Islands of Ireland and Great Britain through research on climate change, biodiversity loss, and water quality degradation.

The researcher will build upon recent work at Newcastle University to evaluate, develop, and improve observational datasets of climate variations, including creating an hourly (or 15-min) rainfall dataset by blending radar, gauge, and satellite data, following methods from Yu et al. (2020) and Lewis et al. (2018, 2021). Responsibilities include quality control, dataset assessment, and integration into a climate atlas within the Climate+ project.

The candidate should collaborate effectively with team members at Newcastle and across partner institutions.

To apply, please attach your CV and cover letter demonstrating how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the Person Specification. Ensure all documents are within 10MB.

The position is fixed-term for 18 months, starting September 2025, on a full-time basis (37 hours/week), on-site in Newcastle. Flexible working arrangements can be discussed.

Shortlisting begins the week of 9 June; interviews are scheduled for the week of 7 July.

Additional information about working at the School of Engineering can be found here .

Key Accountabilities

The main tasks include:

1. Developing a high-resolution rainfall dataset by blending radar, gauge, and satellite data.
2. Quality controlling radar data and evaluating satellite data inclusion.
3. Assessing the dataset against existing precipitation datasets.
4. Analyzing spatial and temporal rainfall variability and trends.
5. Investigating physical mechanisms behind rainfall variability.
6. Creating actionable outputs for internal and external use, including within the climate atlas.

You will achieve this by:

1. Contributing ideas and selecting appropriate methodologies.
2. Assessing research findings for further investigation needs.
3. Contributing to research dissemination via publications and presentations.
4. Presenting findings at conferences and in reputable outlets.

Our university supports career development through three levels of research roles, outlining competencies and qualifications for each.

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Experience analyzing rainfall observations from gauges and radar.
• Proficiency in coding and handling large datasets.
• Experience with statistical methods for data blending.
• Research publication record appropriate to career stage.
• Development of quality control procedures for rainfall data.
• Ability to contribute to funding proposals (for Associate level).

Attributes and Behaviour

• Original thinking and initiative in research.
• Independent working ability and effective collaboration.
• Strong communication skills, both oral and written.

Qualifications

• A PhD (or near completion) in environmental science, engineering, or related field.

Newcastle University values diversity and is committed to inclusivity, equality, and supporting staff from all backgrounds. We are an equal opportunities employer, a University of Sanctuary, and hold awards recognizing our commitment to gender and race equality. We also support disabled applicants through the Disability Confident scheme and are part of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.