The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.

Overview

Evapotranspiration (ET) represents a key flux in urban heat & water budgets, cooling cities, mitigating flood risk and reducing Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) discharges into urban watercourses. The role of ET in the ‘urban metabolism’ makes it a key component in our efforts to deliver climate change resilient cities. This post will be part of an EPSRC-funded project focusing on the development of new measurement techniques aimed at the quantification of ET from urban Green Infrastructure (vegetation), including Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). A postdoctoral position is funded for 12 months, with the possibility of extension to up to 42 months. You will lead on the establishment of controlled, instrumented, external test beds to deliver a high resolution data set to characterise temporal variations in microclimatic variables, soil moisture and ET. The work will be hosted by the School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Civil Engineering, in collaboration with the School of Biosciences. You will work closely with the Project Lead, Professor Virginia Stovin, alongside our collaborators in Biosciences: Dr Holly Croft and a second PDRA. We are looking for a well-organised and creative scientist/engineer to join us on this adventure. You will have excellent instrumentation, data analysis, scientific programming, and communication skills and be able to plan and organise your time effectively.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Take an active lead in the establishment of novel instrumented external test beds, and in developing suitable tools for the data analysis activities planned in the project.
• Plan your own research schedule and workload within the project schedule to ensure that the overall project milestones and objectives are met.
• Liaise closely with other academics, advisers and administrators relevant to the study.
• Identify and develop opportunities to collaborate with Project Partners.
• Assist in the writing and maintenance of the project website, newsletters and reports.
• Disseminate research findings & results through contribution to the production of papers for high quality journals and presentations, either in-house or at national/international conferences or seminars, as well as assisting in the running of them.
• Attend project meetings and research advisory group meetings.
• Read and review literature as appropriate.
• Assist with the co-supervision of undergraduate/postgraduate project students and/or PhD students.
• As a member of staff, you will be encouraged to make ethical decisions in your role, embedding the University sustainability strategy into your working activities wherever possible.
• Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post

Person Specification

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.

Further Information

Next steps in the recruitment process

It is anticipated that the selection process will take place in the week commencing 14 July 2025. This will consist of an interview and a presentation. A tour of the experimental facility can be provided on request. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage on the week commencing 7 July. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact mac-recruitment@sheffield.ac.uk.

Our vision and strategic plan

We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: sheffield.ac.uk/vision (opens in new window).

What we offer

• A minimum of 41 days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
• Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
• Generous pension scheme.
• A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
• A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women’s and Parent’s networks).
• Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
• A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes; integrated with our Academic Career Pathways Framework.
• A range of generous family-friendly policies
  • paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies
  • support for those going through the menopause
  • paid time off and support for fertility treatment
  • and more

More details can be found on our benefits page: sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/benefits (opens in a new window).

We are a Disability Confident Employer. If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.

We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision (www.sheffield.ac.uk/vision) outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.