The Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) in the School of Natural Sciences is looking to recruit a Research Associate in Conservation Science to join the E3 Sharing Space for Nature Programme, a five year programme funded by Research England and based at DICE. The E3 Sharing Space for Nature programme began in August 2024 and will end in July 2029.

The Research Associate will contribute to achieving the overall programme goals related to other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), with a focus on understanding how, where, and under what conditions do OECMs deliver ecological and social outcomes. 

DICE is a world-leading institute, ranked 1st in the UK for the quality of our outputs in the REF21 Geography and Environmental Studies unit of assessment, and awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2019 in recognition of our ‘pioneering education, capacity building and research in global nature conservation’.

As Research Associate you can expect to be involved in:

• Undertaking original, high-quality research and publishing in leading journals.
• Supporting the activities of the E3 initiative to achieve the overarching objectives.
• Co-supervising and mentoring postgraduate researchers. 

What will you bring to the role?

• A PhD in conservation science or a relevant subject, or equivalent
• Specialist knowledge of, and research experience in, a field relevant to OECMs and area-based conservation
• Experience of research publications relevant to area-based conservation

What we can offer in return:

As a member of our team, you can expect a friendly, open and collaborative working environment and support in your development and wellbeing. You'll enjoy a range of great staff benefits including:

• 43 days' leave per year (personal leave, bank holidays and additional days allocated for the Christmas period, pro rata for part-time staff)
• Excellent pension scheme with generous employer contributions
• Corporate employee-funded healthcare plan, in partnership with Benenden Health

For more information about what you can look forward to if you join us, visit our dedicated webpage: Working at Kent

We are ambitious for our people, our communities and the region we serve – join us in making the world a better place. Visit our website for more on who we are: http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/

Please see the links below to view the full job description and to apply for this post. For further information regarding the application process, please contact peopleserviceshr@kent.ac.uk quoting reference number SNS-089-26.

Closing Date: 09 Aug 2026

Section: Research

Salary: £39,906 to £44,746 per annum

Are you interested in applying software engineering skills to modernise internationally used scientific software for computational physics?

We’re looking for a motivated Research Associate with strong software engineering skills and an interest in computational physics, condensed matter physics or high-performance scientific computing. You'll collaborate with leading developers from the DiagHam and ALPS projects, alongside international research software engineering experts, helping to modernise sustainable scientific software used worldwide for simulations of strongly correlated quantum systems.

Working on the Software Sustainability Institute-funded DiagHam–ALPS project, you’ll help modernise the DiagHam software ecosystem through improved software infrastructure, automated testing, continuous integration, packaging, documentation and support for deployment in high-performance computing environments. You’ll work closely with physicists, research software engineers and international collaborators, with opportunities to explore modern software engineering approaches, including use of AI-assisted development tools where appropriate.

As Research Associate you can expect to be involved in:

• Delivering software engineering objectives for the DiagHam–ALPS project
• Developing and maintaining research software using C++, Python and related technologies
• Improving testing, validation, continuous integration, packaging and documentation workflows
• Supporting interoperability between DiagHam and ALPS and contributing to collaborative open-source software development

What will you bring to the role?

• A degree in Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering or equivalent professional software-development experience.
• Software development experience using C++, Python or closely related programming languages.
• Experience with Git, Linux or Unix-based environments, and complex software projects.
• Experience of software testing, validation or continuous integration, together with the ability to develop and validate software involving quantitative or numerical concepts.

Further background on the DiagHam and ALPS software projects is available at:

• DiagHam: https://nick-ux.org/diagham/
• ALPS: https://alps.comp-phys.org/

What we can offer in return:

As a member of our team, you can expect a friendly, open and collaborative working environment and support in your development and wellbeing. You'll enjoy a range of great staff benefits including:

• 43 days' leave per year (personal leave, bank holidays and additional days allocated for the Christmas period, pro rata for part-time staff)
• Excellent pension scheme with generous employer contributions
• Corporate employee-funded healthcare plan, in partnership with Benenden Health

Applicant guidance:

Applicants are encouraged to provide concise, specific examples drawn from software they have developed or maintained. Where available, links to publicly accessible repositories, software releases or technical documentation are welcomed, but equivalent evidence from commercial or proprietary software projects will be considered equally.

Please include:

• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• A supporting statement (maximum 1 page) explaining your interest in the role and how your background has prepared you for it
• Responses to application questions

For more information about what you can look forward to if you join us, visit our dedicated webpage: Working at Kent

We are ambitious for our people, our communities and the region we serve – join us in making the world a better place. Visit our website for more on who we are: http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/

Please see the links below to view the full job description and to apply for this post. For further information regarding the application process, please contact peopleserviceshr@kent.ac.uk quoting reference number EMP-012-26.

Closing Date: 09 Aug 2026

Section: Research

Salary: £39,906 to £44,746 per annum