Position Summary 

Increased flood risk as a result of climate change is a major issue for Ireland. To manage flood risk effectively more needs to be known about the economic costs of flooding and its impact on economic activities in the short, medium and long term. This will be the focus of this project. This research is supported by Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Irish Department for the Environment Community and Local Government under the EPA Research Programme 2014-2020.

University College Cork (UCC) and the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) have been commissioned by the EPA to develop a framework for costing the impact of flood risk on the Irish economy and assessing the options for managing it, with a specific focus on local businesses and the insurance industry. The project will involve conducting original empirical research on the costs of climate impacts for Ireland, with a particular emphasis on flooding.

The role of the post-doctoral researcher on this project will involve empirical econometric analysis on estimating flooding impacts, using detailed data on floods combined with various measures of local economic impacts.

Project: Adaptive Responses to Climate Impacts (ARC)

Salary: €33,975 - €42,394 p.a.

Post Duration: 15 months

Key Duties and Responsibilities

This title will apply to newly qualified Post-Doctoral Researchers and will be considered as a period of training as the researcher will have dual goals in terms of the research project and their own career development. The researcher will be mentored by a Principal Investigator (PI). It is expected that a researcher would spend not more than 3 years at the Post Doctoral level, subject to the term of the project and would then be eligible to compete for a Senior Post Doctoral post advertised by the University.

The primary focus of the Postdoctoral Researcher will be research however a particular emphasis during this stage should include;

• To conduct a specified programme of research under the supervision and direction of a Principal Investigator/Project Leader.
• To engage in appropriate training and professional development opportunities as required by the Principal Investigator, School or College in order to develop research skills and competencies.
• To gain experience in grant writing.
• To engage in the dissemination of the results of the research in which they are engaged, as directed by, with the support of and under the supervision of a Principal Investigator.
• To become familiar with the publication process.
• To acquire generic and transferable skills (including project management, business skills and postgraduate mentoring/supervision).
• To engage in the wider research and scholarly activities of the research group, School or College.
• To interact closely with postgraduate research students who are studying for a Masters or a PhD and possibly have an agreed role in supporting these students in their day to day research in conjunction with an academic supervisor.
• To carry out administrative work to support the programme of research.
• To carry out additional duties as may reasonably be required within the general scope and level of the post.
• To contribute to costing research grant proposals and assist in the financial management of a research project.
  
  

Criteria

Essential:

• A PhD qualification, in Environmental Economics, or a related discipline (applications will be accepted from candidates who have submitted or are close to submitting their PhD). 
• Experience conducting empirical econometric analysis
• Ability to work with and analyse large datasets
• Appropriate research experience.
• Appropriate technical competence and accomplishment.

Desirable:

• Experience using Stata econometric software
• A background in environmental or climate economics
• Familiarity with GIS software 
• Familiarity with spatial econometric techniques
• A capability of working within a project team to achieve results.
• Good communication, organisation and interpersonal skills.
• A commitment to gaining practical experience working on a research project.
• Ability to work well within a team.

For Informal Enquiries on the post candidates should contact:
Name: Dr Thomas McDermott
Title: Lecturer, School of Economics and Principal Investigator, Environmental Research Institute, UCC
Email Address: Thomas.mcdermott@ucc.ie
Telephone: +353 (0)21 4903412