Job Description

Scientific Specialist - Research Statistician

Advertising Salary: dependent on skills and experience

Location: AL5 2JQ, Herts, UK

Work Area: Science Capabilities

Closing Date: 11 Sep 2023

Overview Of Role

Are you a knowledgeable statistician with an appetite for tackling the real-world challenges of modern sustainable agriculture? We are seeking a skilled statistician to develop research solutions to add value to a our core-funded research programmes. You will be joining a specialist group of statisticians and data scientists, part of a rapidly growing community of quantitative scientists at Rothamsted Research, in a dynamic interdisciplinary research environment.

You will initially focus on statistical research challenges within the three National Bioscience Research Infrastuctures (NBRIs) at Rothamsted Research - the Rothamsted Long-Term Experiments (RLTE), the Rothamsted Insect Survey (RIS) and the North Wyke Farm Platform (NWFP) - including the current development of Digital Twins focussed on the NWFP. Current research opportunities include

• the combined analysis of cattle performance data across multiple years of the NWFP,
• the development of next-generation forecasting models for aphid phenology using RIS data.

This initial research will provide a springboard to develop your statistical expertise to address further questions across the institute research programme, with a strong focus on livestock and grazing research at our North Wyke campus.

The successful candidate will have:

• experience of applying statistical and data science approaches to solve real problems in agricultural and environmental research
• a broad knowledge and understanding of traditional statistical methods, ideally including the design and analysis of experiments, a range of statistical modelling approaches, and multivariate analysis methods
• a knowledge of biologically relevant modern statistical data science approaches, including AI and \'big data\' methods
• good general computing skills with knowledge of one or more statistical software packages / environments, including Genstat, R or Python
• a logical approach and pragmatic attitude to problem solving and model development

You should expect to contribute to other Statistics and Data Science Section activities, including the provision of consultancy to PhD students and post-docs, and the delivery of our statistical training programme. Although based at our Harpenden campus, you should also expect to regularly visit the North Wyke campus in Devon.

If you are a motivated and skilled applied statistician looking to contribute to innovative research and cutting-edge discoveries, we invite you to join our team. Help us to make the most of our investments in data collection and make a lasting impact on sustainable agriculture.

Interested but not sure you meet all the criteria? At Rothamsted we are committed to building diverse teams, so please apply even if your past experience doesn\'t align perfectly with the requirements - you just might be the perfect fit!

This is a fixed-term 3-year appointment in the first instance with a salary in the range of 29,842 -32,315 for Band D or \xc2\xa337,890-\xc2\xa341,438 for band E (dependent on skills and experience)

For any enquiries, please contact andrew.mead@rothamsted.ac.uk.

Closing date: 11 September 2023

Interviews: 28 September 2023

About The Company

Established in 1843, Rothamsted Research is one of the UK\'s leading Research Institutes delivering world class agricultural science. Our commitment to learning and development, equality and diversity as well as creating a positive work life balance, enable a welcoming environment for all prospective employees. As part of our flexibility to working arrangements for our staff, the institute operates a policy whereby regular homeworking arrangements can be considered.

We have an attractive benefits package including 25 days annual leave, a generous pension scheme and an attractive campus offering cultural and recreational activities. Rothamsted Research values its commitment to equality and diversity in its workforce and we particularly encourage applications from women, disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented within the organisation.

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