Research Fellow in Central African Forest Carbon Dynamics

Grade 7 (£38,205 – £45,585 p.a depending on experience)

Do you want to expand our understanding of the forests of the Congo Basin? Do you have skills in engaging partners in tropical research and developing high-quality ecological datasets? Do you want to further your career in one of the UK’s leading research-intensive Universities?

The Ecology and Global Change research cluster at Leeds conducts world-leading research in tropical ecology and change. We are looking to recruit a highly skilled Postdoctoral Research Fellow to lead plot data collection and compilation from the African Topical Rainforest Observatory Network (AfriTRON) and analyse AfriTRON, for the CongoFor1.5 project. The central aim of CongoFor1.5 is to understand the carbon balance and ecology of the forests of the Congo Basin over time. We are looking for a motivated researcher who can discover how the carbon dynamics of intact central African forests have changed from 1985 to 2025. 

The CongoFor1.5 project is large project designed to census at least 225 long-term forest monitoring plots across Cameroon (45 plots), Democratic Republic of Congo (90 plots), Gabon (45 plots), and Republic of the Congo (45 plots), in close collaboration with our long-term partners in each of the four countries. You will join a vibrant team, led by Professor Simon Lewis, and will benefit from the support of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) who fund the project. 

You will be responsible for leading the collection and compilation of the plot dataset from central Africa, with support from the project PI and a wider team in Leeds, including a Research Fellow in African Forest Measurement, Project Assistant, a Research Data Officer, and our partners across the Congo Basin. You will conduct fieldwork in central Africa to assist training partners’ field teams and to ensure that high-quality data are acquired, quality controlled, and archived in the database ForestPlots.net. The successful candidate is expected to utilise the AfriTRON dataset to publish high-impact papers, based on the project and their interests.

The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to CongoFor1.5 in other ways, including helping early career researchers in central Africa with analyses. You will be based in the UK, but will work with colleagues in Central Africa, and take part in potentially lengthy and remote field campaigns, particularly early in the project. You will have excellent existing field skills as well as skills in statistical analysis, a willingness to collaborate widely with colleagues in Africa, as well as a track-record of publishing high-quality papers from your previous research. 

This role will be based on the university campus   with scope for it to be undertaken in a hybrid manner.  We are also open to discussing flexible working arrangements.

The University of Leeds is one of the top 80 universities in the world.  We have a truly global community, with more than 39,000 students from 170 different countries and over 9,000 staff of 100 different nationalities.  Established in 1904, we have a strong tradition of academic excellence, reflected in first-class student education, along with world-leading research that has a real impact around the globe. 

Please note that this post may be suitable for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route but first-time applicants might need to qualify for salary concessions. For more information please visit: www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.

For research and academic posts, we will consider eligibility under the Global Talent visa. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/global-talent

What we offer in return

• 26 days holiday plus approx.16 Bank Holidays/days that the University is closed by custom (including Christmas) – That’s 42 days a year!
• Generous pension scheme plus life assurance– the University contributes 14.5% of salary
• Generous pension scheme options plus life assurance
• Health and Wellbeing: Discounted staff membership options at The Edge, our state-of-the-art Campus gym, with a pool, sauna, climbing wall, cycle circuit, and sports halls.
• Personal Development: Access to courses run by our Organisational Development & Professional Learning team.
• Access to on-site childcare, shopping discounts and travel schemes are also available.

And much more!  

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: 

Professor Simon Lewis

Email: S.L.Lewis@leeds.ac.uk

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