Position Details
Location: Birmingham Salary: £31,406 to £40,927 with potential progression once in post to £43,434 (Grade 7) Hours: Full Time Contract Type: Fixed-Term/Contract Closes: 3rd July 2022 Job Ref: 12098 Full time/FTC for up to 2 years Interviews are provisionally scheduled for 19th July 2022 Are you interested in translating research into practice? This new role provides an exciting opportunity to work in the field of urban design for clean air and make a real difference. Working on a portfolio of real-world projects and applications with external stakeholders such as consultancies, local authorities and charity organisations, you will deliver measurable impact, in environmental, societal, economic or policy terms. The University of Birmingham are looking for an Impact Fellow with a particular focus on GIS, Green Infrastructure (GI), urban design/planning and end-user applications to join the NERC-funded project WM-Air: Clean Air Science for the West Midlands (https://wm-air.org.uk/). WM-Air is a 5-year programme to apply existing environmental science to improve air quality and health across the West Midlands. The project supports a portfolio of case studies, working in collaboration with external stakeholders ranging from local authorities to small (and not-so-small) businesses. They are therefore seeking an enthusiastic, innovative and self-motivated individual, with excellent communication and organisational skills to work alongside our existing team. You will have the ability to exploit the WM-Air and wider University of Birmingham research expertise, and translate, adapt, apply, and communicate this with external organisations in the context of their interests. You will ideally have a background in urban planning / geography/ landscape design or another spatial degree, with experience of GIS; but you will not necessarily be an expert in air quality or health. You will be able to draw upon and leverage the expertise in the wider WM-Air team and translate this to partner interests. The role will span technical, scientific aspects, to providing end-user advice, tools and applications across the region. Listening to partners and adapting in the face of partner needs is essential.
Summary of Role
Working within the scope of the objectives and decisions determined by WM-Air Project Board, the Impact Fellow will be responsible for delivering regional impact through a portfolio of projects and applications – both existing and to be established – with external stakeholders to deliver measurable air quality/urban planning related impact, in environmental, societal, economic or policy terms.
Main Duties / Responsibilities
The successful candidate will work with the WM-Air team and external stakeholders to translate science into measurable real-world impact (i.e. to inform relevant strategies, decisions, plans and activities). The role will comprise a portfolio of case-studies applying clean air, urban design and geospatial science with external partners, for example, improving air quality through appropriate urban design within Local Authorities. The Impact Fellow will work under the overall direction of Professor Bill Bloss & Dr Emma Ferranti, with project-specific direction coming from individual Co-Is for specific case studies, alongside external partners. Specific duties/responsibilities include the following: • Work on a range of WM-Air case study projects, drawing upon technical support and expertise from the wider WM-Air team. Existing expertise within the team spans air quality monitoring, emissions measurement, air quality modelling, and health and economic impacts; the Impact Fellow will complement these strengths with a particular focus on GIS, green infrastructure and urban design/planning. • Develop and maintain existing and new stakeholder relationships. • Work closely with external partners to understand their needs and work to identify, prioritise and lead mutually-beneficial collaborative activities that fall within the remit of WM-Air, in order to deliver impact and maximise project output. • In consultation with the principal investigator and/or strand leads as appropriate, decide on the most appropriate way of undertaking specified activities. • Develop, deliver and evaluate air quality-related impact activities, tools, projects and case studies. • Inform reviews / commentary on external (e.g. consultant) strategies in relevant areas. • Disseminate and translate knowledge in a way that external stakeholders, policy makers and public can understand. • Prepare reports, publications, and other dissemination materials as required. • Present impact outcomes to national and international audiences. • Track impact as it moves from WM-Air into standard practice of partner organisations The responsibilities may also include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below: • Contribute to writing bids for research funding • Undertake management/administration arising from the project • Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration • Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the project • Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of objectives and deadlines
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
• Enthusiastic and innovative approach to work. • Relevant experience working in an urban research context, e.g. in planning / design / urban greening, typically a PhD and/or equivalent professional experience / demonstrable skills • GIS expertise – demonstrated ability to independently use GIS software to undertake spatial analysis to support impact activities. • Demonstrated ability or potential to translate research into policy and application with measurable impact as required by external stakeholders and partners, and take initiative to identify new opportunities. • Excellent interpersonal skills, including very strong communication, explanation skills, to engage with a team with widely differing technical capabilities and translate team outcomes to external audiences. • Experience in, or willingness to learn, end-user applications/software/web applications/APIs. • An appreciation of the current air quality landscape in the West Midlands would be advantageous. • Able to develop good rapport with internal team members and external partners. • Able to manage own time and prioritise to meet deadlines, and to co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort. • Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively (including people, time, money and equipment). • An ability to generate and communicate technical and non-technical impact. • An ability to disseminate the project deliverables at meetings, conferences and/or through reports and publications. • An understanding of, and an ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes. For further information please contact Professor William Bloss, W.J.Bloss@bham.ac.uk or Dr Emma Ferranti, E.Ferranti@bham.ac.uk Candidates must apply by 3 July 2022.
