CENTA Training Fellow

Job Purpose

CENTA stands for the ‘Central England NERC Training Alliance’, a consortium of Universities and research institutes working together to provide excellence in doctoral research training within NERC’s remit. The CENTA alliance receives 5 successive annual awards of to fund a cohort of PhD studentships. Match funding from the partners means that a total number of 21-24 PhD studentships starts each year for the lifetime of the DTP.

Our vision is to attain new standards of excellence in research training and to deliver a transformative interdisciplinary experience for doctoral researchers, developing well-rounded individuals confident in a wide range of scientific, research, leadership and entrepreneurial skills. Such individuals will go on to become future sector leaders, equipped with not only specialist and technical expertise in their research fields, but also the ability translate research into impact and to address the complex and shared environmental challenges facing society.

Students register for a PhD degree with one of the University partners (Birmingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Warwick and Open University), but they may be co-supervised by someone in another of the partners or another organization, or one of the research institute partners (British Geological Survey and Centre for Ecology and Hydrology).

CENTA encompasses research activities with four broad themes: Dynamic Earth, Anthropogenic Impact, Evolution, Biogeochemistry. These themes cut across the 17 academic departments, within the 5 universities, as well as the 2 NERC research organisations involved. This reflects both the multidisciplinary nature of much of our research and the critical mass of researchers in central England who span the breadth of the NERC remit. A critical mass of researchers in close geographic proximity is our great strength. It facilitates shared access to facilities and training and helps to build a strong cohort identity. We recruit graduates who have studied a wide range of subjects including earth sciences, geography, environmental science, chemistry, biology, physics, math’s, engineering and computing.

The Training and Teaching Fellow position can be primarily based at any of the CENTA partner organizations (Birmingham, Leicester, Warwick, The Open University, Loughborough , The British Geological Survey in Keyworth (BGS) or the Center for Ecology and Hydrology, CEH), but the fellow will be expected to travel extensively between the partners.

Person Specification

• Higher degree relevant to research or teaching area or equivalent qualifications
• Ability to design and deliver module materials successfully
• Ability to assess and organise resources effectively
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
• Planning and organisational skills sufficient to lead in the planning of the next iteration of the training programme in accordance with the CENTA Training programme rationale.
• Managing administrative tasks related to own work.
• Ability to Research, observe, select and tailor the best elements of training from the extensive array of modules and workshops currently provided by the CENTA partners;
• Ability to assess and organise resources.