Post Doctoral Research Associate – Epidemiological study

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Detail information about job Post Doctoral Research Associate – Epidemiological study. Terms and conditions vacancy

Job Reference Number: UOS017170

Are you interested in finding new ways of utilising urban natural environments to promote human health and wellbeing? We have an exciting opportunity in the Department of Landscape at the University of Sheffield for someone with a passion for spatial analysis and natural environments who is looking to use their skills in a GIS based epidemiological study of Sheffield, to make an impact on the health and wellbeing of urban populations with high levels of health inequality.

You will have completed a PhD, or be working towards completion, (or have equivalent experience) in a discipline relevant to this work, most likely in public health, epidemiology, geography, statistics, landscape architecture, planning or ecology. You will also have experience of using GIS for spatial mapping and data analysis and, where necessary, a strong commitment to developing your GIS skills. Expertise in carrying out statistical analysis with a sound grasp of interpretation of results from such analyses would be desirable. You will also need the ability to reach out and communicate effectively with colleagues in other disciplines, and with a wide range of partners and stakeholders to establish good working relationships and develop collaborations and opportunities for co-production.

You will be part of “Improving Wellbeing through Urban Nature: integrating green/blue infrastructure and health service valuation and delivery (IWUN)”, a NERC (Natural Environment Research Council)/joint Research Councils’ funded project, running for 3 years from 6 June 2016- 5 June 2019.

IWUN is one of four health and wellbeing research projects funded under the Valuing Nature Programme (http://valuing-nature.net). Based in the Department of Landscape at the University of Sheffield- the top ranked landscape architecture department in the UK in the last Research Excellence Framework- you’ll join a highly interdisciplinary team from three universities, partnering with stakeholders including The Wildlife Trusts and the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare. You’ll work together with a team of four other post-doctoral research associates to deliver the project outcomes.

You will replace the previous post holder who has been promoted to a full-time permanent academic lecturing post. Your role will be to assist in completing a GIS based epidemiological study of Sheffield focusing on the relationships between urban natural environment characteristics, health inequalities, deprivation and natural environment usage. The job will entail the sourcing, preparation and formatting of key datasets to optimize GIS utility and compatibility. It will involve linking spatial, demographic and health datasets and carrying out analyses using standard statistical and GIS methods. Additionally, the post holder will support the analysis of data generated by ‘Shmapped’- a Smartphone App developed especially for IWUN- and input to the production of IWUN outputs and impact more generally. Participating in this project will position you at the forefront of the green health research community, with opportunities to develop your academic career or move into policy/practice.

We are committed to exploring flexible working opportunities which benefit the individual and University.

This post is part-time, working 50% FTE and fixed-term until 5th June 2019. The closing date for applications is 2nd October 2017.