Science Lead - Social Science/Economics

Join us as a Science Lead and make an invaluable contribution to our Food Safety & Biosecurity!

As a science lead your established expertise in the social sciences will work with a vibrant interdisciplinary land use group (working with other social scientists and economists as well as ecologists, remote sensing/GIS experts, stats and modelling etc) of engaged researchers tackling some of the most urgent and exciting interlinked global environmental challenges. Sitting within our Land Use and team you will contribute to the delivery of natural capital projects for key public and private sector stakeholders and increasingly with a wide range of private sector clients with their increasing stake in natural capital. 

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading research projects for public and private sector clients with responsibility for the management and delivery.
• Working with senior Fera colleagues to continue to develop our strategic approach.
• Taking a lead on relevant bidding opportunities.
• Contributing to the development of methods and proposals in response to customer needs.
• Applying a range of research techniques to gather relevant information, including data analysis, document analysis, surveys, focus groups and interviews.
• Engaging with senior stakeholders to develop strong business relationships.
• The analysis and evaluation of research and interpretation of data, including working with inter-disciplinary teams to agree interpretations and derivations of key metrics.
• Engaging with external developments as they relate to the natural capital policy area to inform Fera activities.
• Developing and mentoring team members.
• Create clear and engaging presentations and reports tailored to different stakeholders and customers.
• Contribute to publishing research findings.

What we’re looking for:

• A MSc or higher in one or more of the social science disciplines.
• At least 5 years experience of delivering social science/natural capital research projects in public and private settings. This could relate to developing policies or how private sector businesses need to respond to emerging environmental markets.
• Ability to demonstrate experience of delivering projects to time and budget.
• Experience of bidding and managing projects.
• Extensive experience in contributing to the design, development and implementation of appropriate quantitative/qualitative methodologies and mixed methods research.
• A clear and concise approach to conducting analysis.
• The ability to summarize research findings and effectively communicate these in a clear and compelling manner to stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills are key as well as the ability to synthesize results and write effective project reports and manuscripts.

What’s in it for you?

• ​23 days’ holiday (rising to 27) with the opportunity to buy extra leave.
• Flexible working hours, on-site gym, restaurant, and free parking
• The opportunity to take a paid day out of the office, volunteering for our charity partners or a cause of your choice
• Company matched pension, life assurance, a cycle2work scheme, 15 weeks’ fully paid maternity, adoption and shared parental leave, paternity pay of two weeks…and plenty more.
• Voluntary benefits designed to suit your lifestyle – from discounts on retail and socialising, to health & wellbeing, travel and technology
• Access to our Employee Network Groups, which represent every strand of diversity and allow colleagues to connect and learn from each other on an open, inclusive platform
• Fera operates a LTIP ( Long Term Incentive Plan) under which all employees are awarded points towards shares in the Employee Benefits Trust on an annual basis. The Employee Benefits Trust holds shares on behalf of our employee, at the point of an equity event the shares will realise a cash value.

What we hope you’ll do next:

Choose ‘Apply now’ to fill out our short application, so that we can find out more about you. If you have any questions you’d like to ask before applying, you can contact

We’re an equal opportunity employer, which means we recruit and develop people based on their merit and passion. We’re committed to providing an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment process and working environment for everyone. If you need the job description or application form in an alternative format or if you’d like to discuss other changes or support you might need going forward, please email at and we’ll get back to you.