ATU Galway: Post Doctoral Fellowship – Marine & Freshwater Research Center (Waves of Change) P985

Fixed Term Contract Up to 31st August 2026

Location: ATU Dublin Road Campus, Galway – MFRC

Reporting to: Dr Róisín Nash, Senior Lecturer, Department of Natural Resource & The Environment

The Role:

Applications are invited for a 4-year funded Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Marine and Freshwater Research Centre at the Atlantic Technological University, based at our Galway campus.

The overall aim of the Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the area of Ocean Literacy and Education is to investigate optimum methodologies to achieve behavioural change among citizens and stakeholders leading to more sustainable practices and citizen engagement in ocean issues. Develop a workable strategy, based on best available knowledge and practice to measure over time ocean awareness among stakeholders and citizens.

Focusing on the 7 Ocean Literacy Principles, on the Sustainable Development Goals and on the United Nations Ocean Decade, Waves of Change is a project that aims to promote sustainable development and circular economy values through ocean literacy and stakeholder engagement. Building upon existing knowledge and expertise, this project will develop reusable education materials (e.g., Transitional Year cross-curricular module) for Ireland and promote collaborative learning workshops among stakeholders.

The project will focus on climate change, ocean pollution and biodiversity loss, and the outputs will target marine science, data analysis, critical thinking, and cross curriculum collaboration. Three main target audience groups will be involved in this project: educators, policymakers, and the civil society.

A series of assessment tools will be developed to estimate the Ocean Literacy level within Irish society and to stimulate and measure behaviour change through a succession of learning workshops, focus groups and carbon footprint audits. These activities allow for stakeholders to better understand the Ocean, make better informed decisions, and evaluate their consumption patterns with the aim of individual and community engagement towards a climate neutral ocean economy

Essential Criteria:

• Must hold a PhD in environmental science, marine biology/ecology, or related discipline or Level 8 or 9 Qualification (hons) with 4+ years relevant post qualification experience.
• Good organisational and Project management skills.
• Excellent organisation, communication and inter-personal skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Outreach and dissemination experience, including School liaison experience
• Experience in the development of educational materials
• A track record in organising and leading workshops
• Past experience engaging with diverse stakeholders (policy makers, educators, and civil society)
• Full clean driver's license.

Desirable Criteria:

• A certificate in teaching and learning would be an advantage.
• Experience in assessment and evaluation (logic models) of outreach events/activities/workshops
• Governance and public participation skills
• Web site creation, content, and maintenance within a template
• Experience in engaging diverse stakeholders (policy makers, educators, and civil society)
• Analytical skills (quantitative and qualitative)

Knowledge and Experience:

• Demonstrate knowledge of key aspects of the research e.g. The Irish curriculum, Climate change, Ocean pollution, Sustainability, and Biodiversity loss, Carbon footprint, Citizen science initiatives, Ocean literacy principles and EU Environmental strategies e.g., green deal
• Demonstrate evidence of research activity and a commitment to ongoing research and publications.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the operational and management requirements of a successful research project

Duties:

• Conduct individual and/or collaborative research to the highest ethical standards in a variety of settings.
• Carry out any administrative and management work associated with your programme of research.
• Contribute to the identification of external funding sources, the preparation of grant proposals.
• Participate in in Education and Public Engagement activities, as required.
• Engage in the dissemination of the results of the research in which you are engaged in for relevant research stakeholders in the appropriate form.
• Engage in the wider research and scholarly activities of your research group, centre or unit and contribute to its profile by participating in promotional activity.
• Participate in internal/external networks for the exchange of information and to form relationships for future research collaboration.
• Supervise and provide day-to-day advice, support, mentoring, and assistance to research graduates, students and other junior members associated with your research group, centre or department.

Salary Scale: €39,132.00 - €46,442.00 (Point 1 – Point 7 Post-Doctoral Researcher Level 2 IUA Scale) *Starting salary is dependent on funding availability & experience and will also be market driven and discipline related.

Hours of Work: 39 Hours per week

Annual Leave: 22 days annual leave per annum

Further information on the position may be obtained from Dr Roisin Nash (Roisin.Nash@gmit.ie)

To apply, please visit the ATU website here.