The Rural Economy, Environment and Society (REES) Department is one of the largest groups of economists and social scientists working in the rural, agricultural and land based sectors in the UK.

We are looking for an environmental social scientist to work with SRUC’s Thriving Natural Capital Challenge Centre on the WET HORIZONS project (funded by the EU Horizon programme) and the Galvanising Change via Natural Capital project (funded by the Scottish Government’s Strategic Research Programme), helping deliver work packages on natural capital governance in European peatlands, and natural capital research across Scotland. You will work with a dynamic team of researchers in SRUC in collaboration with teams of researchers from European institutions and the James Hutton Institute to deliver internationally significant and original research that has far-reaching impacts for Scottish and European environmental policy.

Responsibilities will include;
•    Review international practices in natural capital governance, using systematic review and qualitative interview techniques. 
•    Support European study site teams to identify stakeholders and co-produce detailed impact plans.
•    Analyse existing peatland, floodplain and other wetland policies, strategies and data sets in a range of European countries, based on literature review, online interviews with policy stakeholders and an international survey.
•    Analyse opportunities, risks, and barriers to the operation of blended ecosystem markets for peatland and wetland management in Europe, using online stakeholder interviews and a photo survey of geo-located photographs. 
•    Evaluate opportunities and consequences of markets and the blending of public and private finance for natural, economic, human and social capital in Scotland and selected European countries, based on literature review and the evaluation of blended finance policy pilots, including natural capital assessments, social science surveys, interviews and focus groups to understand how pilot interventions affect land manager behaviour and rural communities.  
•    Help facilitate national and international stakeholder workshops to triangulate findings.

Further details on the requirements of this role can be found in the Job Particulars document which you must read before applying for this role. This is downloadable when you click the link below.