Salary: £35,116 - £45,413 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: 06 April 2025 The Role The Agriculture and Animal Science group (AAS) and the Centre for Rural Economy (CRE) in the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences are delighted to invite applications for three endowment-funded fellowship opportunities, two in AAS (Robert Little Fellow) and one for CRE (Percy Fellow). The fellowships offer a unique opportunity for successful applicants to be provided with the academic support and start-up costs to pursue a personal research agenda that will link to both the specific discipline area and the School’s wider portfolio of interests. The School’s ethos is to create an open, inclusive and collaborative learning and research environment, with scholarship that will have a positive impact on society as a whole. We also pride ourselves on our interdisciplinarity and you will be invited to work with colleagues from a variety of disciplines across both the natural and social sciences. The three fellowships all sit within Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Development, one of the four Areas of Expertise that constitute our School. The Agriculture and Animal Science (AAS) group adopts a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to address the complex challenges of sustainable food production while safeguarding the environment. By uniting expertise in crop and livestock systems, the group is dedicated to developing innovative solutions that enhance resource efficiency, promote ecosystem health, and benefit society at large. Our work bridges crop science, focusing on digital farming, innovative cropping systems, soil health, resource-use efficiency, and land use strategies, with animal science, emphasising animal behaviour, health and welfare, reproduction, nutrition, and regenerative livestock systems. This integration enables us to design and implement holistic strategies that prioritise the well-being of animals, the productivity of farming systems, and the long-term sustainability of agricultural landscapes. We are particularly committed to advancing research on emerging technologies and their application in cropping, livestock and mixed farming systems, exploring the implications of land-use changes on carbon emissions, and fostering farmer engagement with agri-environment policy and practice. By combining expertise across disciplines, we aim to innovate at the intersection of plant and animal sciences, contributing to resilient, regenerative food systems that address global challenges and support thriving environments and communities. To further enhance our capabilities, the AAS group is seeking two Research Fellows to join our dynamic team, We envisage these to be one focusing primarily on Agriculture and the other on Animal Science, however, we would particularly encourage candidates with an interst in research on mixed farming systems (ie integrating livestock and arable/horticulture). We are looking for individuals passionate about driving innovation in cropping systems, land-use changes, or advancing regenerative livestock systems that prioritise animal welfare and environmental sustainability. Some examples include the integration of precision agriculture, climate-smart farming practices, alternative proteins, agroecological approaches such as silvopasture, and sustainable bioeconomy innovations. These roles offer a unique opportunity to collaborate on transformative research and drive meaningful impact in agriculture and animal science. A third Research Fellow, The Percy Fellow, will be appointed to join our award-winning Centre for Rural Economy (CRE). The CRE is an University research centre, internationally recognised, specialising in multidisciplinary applied social science and policy research working towards the achievement of sustainable development in rural areas, including farming. Our research spans topics such as changing land use, food waste, agricultural and rural policy, migrant workers and gender equality. We work closely with stakeholder groups and government (please note our website is currently being updated). We co-host the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE) and are committed to engage with and disseminate the findings of our research to a wide range of stakeholders, including policy makers and practitioners. The successful candidate can focus on any relevant topics on the social science of the rural economy, communities, food, and land use. Across our school, research on food and farming is underpinned by the 800ha mixed arable and grazing NUFarms. The NUFarms constitute a combined commerical enterprise and academic resource, hosting 14 research platforms and facilities/equipment for specialied research, including our Hydrologically Isolated Plots, Agroforestry Plots, Palace Leas Hay Meadow, Porcine and Poultry Research Units and a digital livestock building with a (18m long) gait lab. Core themes of NUFarms are regenerative and resilient farming and digital and molecular smart monitoring. This is a fixed term post for the duration of 4 years. For any informal enquiries please contact Dr Rachel Sparks rachel.sparksnewcastle.ac.uk or Professor Andy Benniston andrew.bennistonnewcastle.ac.uk Key Accountabilities As a Research Fellow you will: spend the greatest proportion of your time conducting independent research in your chosen field, with a specific focus on developing a portfolio of activities to support long term independence. publish in highly reputable peer-reviewed journals, attract research funds and communicate research findings across multiple fora. undertake a small amount of teaching related to your research and postgraduate supervision. contribute to the academic life and research culture within the discipline areas and School, contributing where appropriate to seminars and organisation of conferences. Our Expectations As a Research Fellow you will be expected to: develop your own research plan. attract research funding and prepare research applications. publish articles in reputable journals. collaborate with colleagues and learn from and contribute to other disciplines. communicate and disseminate your research findings with policy makers and non-academic users of research. About You As a Research Fellow you will have: PhD or the equivalent in professional qualifications and experience in a relevant discipline to the Fellowship. experience undertaking independent research beyond a higher degree. track record of publishing (with at least 4 journal articles published or in the pipeline in reputable peer-reviewed journals). research interests aligned with either Agriculture, Animal Sciences or the Centre for Rural Economy. To apply, please provide the following documents: (i) A cover letter (one page maximum) to include: Your motivation to apply and how you will further your research and career aspirations through this fellowship. How does the research plan deliver on the current challenge of global and UK Agriculture or rural issues. How you would contribute to academic life and research culture in the School. Your letter must clearly state which fellowship you wish to apply for (AAS or CRE). You are welcome to include brief details of any impact of COVID on your career, career breaks and periods of part-time work, e.g. parental or long-term sick leave, in this document. We encourage applications from researchers who have taken career breaks and wish to ensure that any such extenuating circumstances are taking into account when considering your track record. (ii) Full CV (four pages maximum) to include: Training and qualification history. Employment history, including dates and positions/roles held to date. Research funding history, and any awards or prizes received. Research outputs (e.g., publications, talks, patents, methodologies, impact generation). Any contributions to other academic activities, including to teaching and supervision, outreach and promoting inclusive research culture. Any other relevant experience and achievements. (iii) A research proposal (two pages maximum) to include: Detail of the programme of research to be undertaken during the Fellowship; Potential benefits of this research to Newcastle University and fit with nominated host discipline (AAS and CRE) and the wider School; Which (if any) NUFarms or other University facilities you would use in your research programme; Approach to engagement with external partners and impact generation; An estimated budget not exceeding £10k per annum which will be made available to successful candidates (excluding any other secured funds if currently managed by candidate). 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 silver 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: 27955