Research Associate in Nature Finance - Data and Analytics

Research Associate in Nature Finance - Data and Analytics, Resilience and Development Group
Environmental Change Institute (ECI), School of Geography and the Environment (SoGE), South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY
The Role The researcher will be an important part of the Resilience and Development Group of the Environmental Change Institute and will be part of a team of researchers collaborating together across ECI and academic partner institutions to deliver the Greening Finance for Nature flagship of the UKRI Integrating Finance and Biodiversity (IFB) Programme. The researcher will have the opportunity to contribute to and/or lead one or more defined projects within the IFB programme as well as across our wider research portfolio, e.g. the Resilient Planet Initiative, for example:   •            Working with banks, insurers, asset owners and asset managers to design metrics and frameworks to integrate nature into their business strategies and risk management frameworks and design new financial products to support resilience and nature.   •            Working with Central Banks and Ministries of Finance in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean to build financial resilience to nature-related risks and put in place sustainable finance frameworks to help steer capital away from activities that damage nature and mobilise investment in nature recovery.   •            Assessing current and designing new forms of analytics and metrics to measure the impact of investments on nature-related goals and measure the alignment of firms and financial flows with the Global Biodiversity Framework.   •            Contributing to our work on global systemic resilience, including learning from past nature-related shocks, building the next generation of predictive and exploratory models and working with governments to develop frameworks to manage risks.   •            Contributing to our global collaboration to develop open globally-consistent nature and climate risk analytics and tools as part of the Resilient Planet initiative.   You will contribute to research on quantitative methods to develop and test metrics, analytical tools and frameworks to assess nature-related risks, impacts and dependencies and the alignment of finance with biodiversity goals. This particularly includes (i) nature-climate-economy modelling, and (ii) geospatial data analytics. You will work in interdisciplinary teams as part of academic research collaborations across Oxford, the UK and internationally and have opportunities to lead applied research projects with a range of stakeholders, including civil society organisations, multilateral development banks, Central Banks and supervisors, banks, insurers, asset owners and asset managers and government.   The researcher will report to Dr Nicola Ranger in the Environmental Change Institute, the Programme Leader on Resilience and Development, as well as have opportunities to collaborate with other senior researchers across the university and internationally.   Responsibilities   •            Manage own academic research and administrative activities. This involves small scale project management, to co-ordinate multiple aspects of work to meet deadlines   •            Actively participate in and lead tasked scientific activities and contribute to the scientific development of projects. Apply, develop, adapt and implement new research methods.   •            Prepare working theories and analyse qualitative and/or quantitative data from a variety of sources, reviewing and refining theories as appropriate.   •            Contribute to and lead publications in highly-ranked, peer-reviewed academic journals, as well as book chapters and reviews. Present papers at conferences, and lead seminars to disseminate research findings.   •            Contribute ideas for new research projects, including exploring further opportunities for novel research on climate and environmental risks and resilience solutions.   •            Develop ideas for generating research income, and present detailed research proposals to senior researchers.   What We Offer    As an employer, we genuinely care about our employees’ well-being, and this is reflected in the range of benefits that we offer including:   •            An excellent contributory pension scheme •            38 days annual leave •            A comprehensive range of childcare services •            Family leave schemes •            Cycle loan scheme •            Discounted bus travel and Season Ticket travel loans.   Application Process   You will be required to upload a covering letter with a supporting statement, CV and the details of two referees as part of your online application. In your supporting statement, please explain how you meet each of the selection criteria found in the job description, and why you would like to do this role. See guidance at  https://www.jobs.ox.ac.uk/cv-and-supporting-statement .   Any technical questions related to this vacancy can be sent to  [recruit@ouce.ox.ac.uk  ](mailto:recruit@ouce.ox.ac.uk  )   The closing date is 30th August 2024 at noon. Only applications submitted by this time will be considered.   Interviews will take place on 16th September 2024 via Microsoft Teams.   The University of Oxford and The School of Geography and the Environment are Silver Athena SWAN holders.  Applications are particularly welcome and encouraged from women, black, and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in posts in The School of Geography and the Environment. The School of Geography and the Environment are committed to equality and values diversity
Contact Person :	HR Officer	Vacancy ID :	174124
Contact Phone :		Closing Date & Time :	30-Aug-2024 12:00
Pay Scale :	STANDARD GRADE 7	Contact Email :	recruit@ouce.ox.ac.uk
Salary (£) :	Grade 7: £36,024 – £44,263 Per annum, A less experienced candidate may be appointed at Grade 6(£32,332- £38,205 per annum), with a commensurate adjustment in either the essential criteria, responsibilities or duties