Location
Central London, with home-based working and access to RSPB offices. Study sites across the southern half of England requiring regular field visits.

Hours
Full Time - 37.5 hours per week

Salary
£40,381 per annum

About the Role
We have a fantastic opportunity for a scientist to join the England & Wales team within the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science. The successful candidate will lead a new project investigating the ecological benefits of hydrological restoration of lowland broadleaved woodland, focusing on invertebrate abundance, decaying wood resources, and woodland phenology in relation to Lesser Spotted Woodpecker habitat requirements. This species is of high conservation priority due to marked long-term declines and is associated with wet woodland features. The project aims to inform woodland conservation management and policy recommendations.
The postholder will be responsible for setting up and running the study, contributing to data collection, managing field staff, analysing data, and communicating and publishing results. Experience in invertebrate sampling and laboratory identification and quantification is essential. Data collection will take place over six months annually, with regular field visits and occasional travel for meetings and conferences, including some overnight stays.
This is a fixed-term contract from October 2026 until March 2029 (30 months). Interviews will be conducted from the week commencing 12th October.

Experience
- Designing and delivering ecological or conservation research projects, demonstrated through a PhD or equivalent professional research experience.
- Effective communication with colleagues, partners, and funders, and ability to build collaborative working relationships.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, GIS software (such as QGIS or ArcGIS), and R or equivalent statistical software for data management, analysis, and presentation.
- Applying appropriate statistical methods to analyse ecological or environmental datasets and interpret results.
- Planning and managing research activities, prioritising competing work, and meeting project deadlines.
- Collecting, managing, and analysing complex ecological datasets suitable for scientific publication or reporting.
- Using field survey techniques relevant to ecological research, including invertebrate sampling, bird surveys, passive acoustic monitoring, or environmental data collection.
- Coordinating or supervising field staff to deliver research activities safely and effectively.
- Writing scientific reports and publications, including contributing to or leading peer-reviewed papers.
- Valid UK driving licence.

About you
Experience or knowledge of woodland ecology, tree identification, or UK conservation policy is beneficial. Candidates may have developed relevant expertise through different research settings; support will be provided to build understanding of the specific ecological context of the project. You should demonstrate how your knowledge and experience relate to this role.

Qualifications
A PhD or equivalent professional research experience in a relevant ecological or conservation field is required.