Research Assistant

9 hours ago

Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Newcastle University Full time £30 000 - £40 000 per year

Salary: £33, £34, per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 8 December 2025

The Role

Do you have skills to help apply cutting edge metagenomics to wastewater treatment? We seek a full time junior research assistant (JRA) or post-doctoral research associate (PDRA) with a background or training in either microbial ecology or  environmental engineering, or another quantitative academic discipline. You will help collect and analyse metagenomic data from UK wastewater treatment plants and to use that analysis to improve reliability, reduce emissions and explore our theoretical understanding of the microbial ecology of wastewater treatment. This work will form a key component of the recently awarded OFWAT Innovation Making Microbes Matter project – an ambitious research program aiming to transform the UK's wastewater treatment processes through detailed microbial understanding and optimization.

You will work closely with a highly experienced PDRAs in Newcastle and enthusiastic and rigorous collaborators in the UK water industry.

Your primary roles will be threefold.

Firstly, to set up rigorous systems for the curation, storage of samples and metadata based on best international practice.Secondly, to set up lab systems for the analysis of the samples including the extraction of the nucleic acids, flow cytometry and analogous procedures as required.  Other procedure might include, for example examination of the kinetics of greenhouse gas production.Thirdly, you will work with your academic and industrial partners to relate findings to the performance of and emissions from wastewater treatment plants. You and your team will use these analyses to make recommendations for practitioners.

A well organised, rigorous and quantitative approach is highly desirable. The successful candidate must work well with our partners in Newcastle and in industry and to present and to publish their research internationally.

If you are considering relocating to join us, should you be successful in your application you can find out about our relocation package options here.

Please contact Prof Tom Curtis ) or Ben Allen ) or Mathew Brown ) for further details.

Please apply with a short covering letter and  your Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Key Accountabilities

To organise and run the reception, processing and curation of project samplesTo work in a team on the analysis of the data to gain insights into process emmissions, reliability and underlying science of wastewater treatmentTo enhance (PDRA) or learn (junior research associate) the protocols for the rigorous analysis of metagenomic data in a wastewater contextLiaise with other members of the team in Newcastle and our industrial collaboratorsPresent research findings at project meetings, national and international conferencesSupport the project's adminstrative and management duties such as organising meetings, workshop planning etcAid in the supervision of PhD and MSc research students (PDRA only)Write peer reviewed publications and reportsAssist with the day-to-day running of the lab

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

A commitment to safe working in the laboratory and in the fieldGood basic laboratory skills relevant to the roleAbility to critically analyse data using a variety of computational toolsA systematic and rigorous approach to workExcellent and rigorous record keepingExcellent written and verbal skillsFOR PDRA Experience in metagenomics/microbial ecologyFOR PDRA Established ability to write high impact research papers

Desirable

Sound understanding of wastewater treatment design and kineticsA sound grasp of the use of mathematical modellingAbility to use "command line" tools with confidenceExperience of coding and analysis in R or similar language

Attributes and Behaviour

Ability to work in a teamA commitment to maintaining and enhancing our research cultureA good level of personal organisationThe ability to take the initiative in pursuit of agreed objectivesWillingness to work flexibly (when appropriate) by mutual agreementWillingness to supervise Undergraduate, Masters and PhD studentsClear commitment to a career in researchWillingness to travel and visit project partners

Desirable

Scientific curiosityWillingness to work under pressure to achieve agreed deadlinesA desire to create sustainable technologies for  environmental protection

Qualifications

A higher degree such as masters in Environmental Engineering, or a PhD in a relevant field (Research Associate level)

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 28783

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