Research Assistant – GIS, Queen’s University Belfast, UK

Queen’s University Belfast

Research Assistant – GIS

Ref: 21/108852

School of Natural and Built Environment

A Research Assistant Position is available for 18 months or until 31 December 2022 whichever is soonest, to develop a Northern Ireland-wide GIS based database for investigating the impact of the urban environment on cognitive health in older adults.

This exciting position will work on the SPACE (Supportive environments for Physical and social Activity, healthy ageing and CognitivE health) project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of the UKRI Healthy Ageing Challenge. The programme of research is focused on investigating the impact of the urban environment on cognitive health in older adults in Northern Ireland. This post will be based in the School for Natural and Built environment linked to the Centre for GIS and Geomatics and will work with a cross disciplinary team of researchers working on the project from across the University.

You will assist the team by developing a linked environmental and health database. The role will involve collaboration with Ordnance survey agencies, public health and environmental agencies to collate geographic data related to relevant public health data and environmental surveillance. The aim is to develop and assist with the testing of a GIS based spatial risk threshold protocol to understand the impact of the urban environment on cognitive health.

Further information about the School/Centre/PI can be found at:

https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/NBE/ https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/jennifer-mckinley

The successful candidate must have, and you should clearly demonstrate this in your CV/Cover letter:

• A relevant primary degree (1st or 2:1 classification) related to the duties of the post such as geography, urban planning or related research area.
• Demonstrable recent relevant experience and knowledge in Geographical Information Science (GIS) and the use of ESRI ArcGIS Pro and/or open source QGIS
• Demonstrable relevant experience in the integration of large spatial databases.
• Proven experience of working with public health data and environmental databases

Salary scale: £28,331 to £30,942 per annum

Closing date: Monday 21 June 2021

Anticipated interview date: Tuesday 6 July 2021

For full job details and essential/desirable criteria please refer to the candidate information link on our website by clicking apply. For further information or assistance contact The Resourcing Team, People and Culture, Queen’s University Belfast, via email on resourcing@qub.ac.uk

Queen’s University Belfast is a driver of innovation based on our talented, multinational workforce. Throughout the University, our academics are collaborating across disciplines to develop new discoveries and insights, working with outside agencies and institutions on projects of international significance. We are connected and networked with strategic partnerships across the world, helping us to expand our impact on wider society locally, nationally and globally. The University is committed to attracting, retaining and developing the best global talent within an environment that enables them to realise their full potential.

We are a leader in gender equality and diversity, and are one of the UK’s most successful universities in the Athena SWAN initiative which promotes gender equality and career progression. We are ranked 1st in the UK for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, (Innovate UK) 9th in the UK for University facilities (Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2018) and 14th in the UK for research quality (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019).

Based in Belfast, a modern capital city, our beautiful campus is surrounded by abundant acres of parkland and is renowned as one of the safest and affordable cities in the UK. The choice of local Schools from pre-nursery upwards are some of the best available, and lovers of the outdoors can enjoy any number of activities from rowing and kayaking to top class golf among many others. We are immensely proud of what our city and our University will offer you.

The University is committed to equality of opportunity and welcomes applications from all.

However, our employment monitoring data tells us that individuals from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, people with a disability and those who identify as LGBT+ are currently under-represented at the University. Also Protestants are currently under-represented in this category of work. As such, we particularly welcome applications from these individuals.

As you may be aware, Queen’s is recognised as one of the most diverse organisations in Northern Ireland. We are committed to ensuring our workplace is a safe, welcoming and inclusive place to work, which is why we subscribe to Equality Charter Marks such as Stonewall Workplace Equality Index, Diversity Charter Mark NI and Athena SWAN.

It is also why we have established award winning Staff Networks such as PRISM and iRise. These networks provide an opportunity for staff to meet in a friendly, informal way to support each other.  More details on all our networks can be found at https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/StaffGateway/StaffNetworks/

Fixed term contract posts are available for the stated period in the first instance but, in particular circumstances, may be renewed or made permanent, subject to availability of funding.