Postgraduate Placement, Fishing Vessel Data Analysis and Mapping

You will join NRW’s Marine and Coastal Ecosystems Advice Team, working closely with the Lead Specialist Advisor for Marine Species (Fish) and the Lead Specialist Advisor for Marine Fisheries.

As part of the role, you will work with colleagues across NRW’s Strategy, Policy and Evidence functions, as well as a range of external partners. You will receive support and mentoring throughout the placement, be involved in marine technical discussions, and have opportunities to build your professional network with specialists from across NRW.

What you will do

• Apply your professional training to a real world situation, to develop NRW’s evidence base through the analysis of fishing vessel positional data into presumed fishing activity outputs (datasets and maps).
• Develop data processing, analysis and mapping workflows for vessel positional data. The aim would be for these workflows to be able to be applied for future datasets.
• Work closely with NRW’s marine fish and fisheries advisors.
• Presentations of outputs at relevant meetings.
• Develop good working relationships both internally and externally
• Undertake health and safety duties and responsibilities appropriate to the post
• Be committed to Natural Resources Wales Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy , together with an understanding of how it operates within the responsibilities of the post
• Be committed to your own development through the effective use of your personal development plan (known as Sgwrs).
• Any other reasonable duties requested commensurate with the grade of this role., Please note if you do not meet the A1 requirement i.e., ability to understand basic phrases and ability to pronounce Welsh names correctly, then NRW offers a variety of learning options and staff support to help you meet these minimal requirements during the course of your employment with us., Natural Resources Wales is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position. Although we hold a Skilled Worker visa sponsorship licence, it applies only to specific roles that meet both the eligibility criteria and salary requirements set out by the UK Government under the Skilled Worker visa route.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is seeking a postgraduate to join an exciting fixed-term placement delivering a high-priority marine evidence project. The role will focus on analysing and mapping four years of fishing vessel positional data collected through Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS), helping to provide the robust spatial evidence needed to support NRW’s marine advisory and reporting responsibilities.

This is an excellent opportunity for a recent postgraduate, or someone completing a PhD or postdoctoral project, preferably in marine or fisheries science, to apply advanced analytical skills to a nationally important project. Your work will directly inform marine conservation and management in Wales while further developing highly sought-after skills in R and/or FME, GIS, spatial analysis and data processing.

Working alongside experienced marine specialists in a supportive and flexible environment, you will gain valuable experience within a major environmental organisation, contribute to meaningful environmental outcomes and build your professional network through mentoring and collaboration with specialists across NRW.

As an organisation, we support flexible working. Candidates can work from home, and attendance at an NRW office is optional. The contractual office location is flexible, with an appropriate NRW office agreed on appointment. Working arrangements will be agreed with the successful candidate to support both business and individual needs., Your qualifications, experience, knowledge and skills In your application and interview you will be asked to demonstrate the following skills and experience using the STAR method.

• A postgraduate qualification in a relevant scientific or data analysis discipline, such as marine science, ecology, environmental management, environmental science, geography, maths, computing, data science etc.
• Experience of working with large datasets.
• Strong data analysis and computing skills including the use of R, GIS (preferably ArcGIS) and, ideally, FME.
• A knowledge of marine science and fisheries is desirable.
• Good written and verbal skills and the ability to communicate confidently,
• Good inter-personal skills with the ability to work under pressure using your own initiative in order to meet tight deadlines.
• Strong ICT skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. Welsh Language level requirements, Successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) check. Appointments are normally made within 4 to 8 weeks of the closing date.

This role will offer a range of benefits, including:

• Civil Service Pension Scheme offering employer contributions of 28.97% (successful internal staff will remain in their current pension scheme)
• 28 days annual leave, rising to 33 days
• generous leave entitlements for all your life needs
• commitment to professional development
• health and wellbeing benefits and support
• weekly wellbeing hour to use as you choose

See full details for all the employee benefits you will receive. Please keep reading We’re passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from under-represented communities. We embrace equality of opportunity irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

We are committed to equal opportunities, and we guarantee interviews for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

We want to attract and retain talented and highly skilled staff, so we make sure that our pay scales remain competitive. We advertise the full pay scale on our job descriptions. Appointed candidates start at the first point of the pay scale and annual increments are paid each year.

We want our staff to grow professionally and personally. From leadership development to access to further and higher education courses, our staff have opportunities to expand their knowledge on variety of topics, stay current in their field and continue to learn as their career progresses.

We are a Bilingual organisation which complies with the Welsh Language Standards. Welsh language skills are considered an asset to NRW, and we encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills.

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