Background

Under the Paris Agreement, the EU seeks to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. As part of this goal, the EU has set a target of enhancing terrestrial carbon sinks to 310 million tonnes CO2e per annum by 2030. In order to verify both an increase in carbon sinks and reduced land-based carbon emissions, robust measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) to the UNFCCC is required.

This competition seeks to recruit one Research Technologist position affiliated with the MARVIC Project - Monitoring, Reporting & Verification (MRV) systems for carbon removals in European agriculture (https://www.project-marvic.eu). It aims to develop a context-specific MRV framework to encourage farmers to engage in carbon farming activities. MARVIC is a Horizon Europe Soil Mission project which supports the EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) regulation, a crucial step in scaling up carbon removal activities and boost faith in European carbon farming schemes. Teagasc are task leaders of the science-to-policy task in MARVIC and are fully integrated across the wider research programme. The primary role of the Research Technologist is to support policy forums and science to policy dialogue. The technologist will gain experience of the needs of policy stakeholders along the CRCF policy pathway and also build understanding of the needs of farmers and other stakeholders across the MARVIC partner countries. This post will include communication with a range of different stakeholders, including scientists, policymakers, NGO organizations, farm advisory and industry. The Research Technologist will contribute the final project outputs such as the generation of science-based soil carbon monitoring, reporting and verification advice, policy briefs and information transfer tools for stakeholders. They will contribute to scientific reports and publications which will help to underpin Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) policy development and world leading science based recommendations.

This project requires the appointment of a Research Technologist, Grade 1 position for approximately 17 months. The position will be based in the Environment, Soils and This position will be based in Teagasc Environment, Soils and Land-use Department in Johnstown Castle, Wexford, Ireland Teagasc - Johnstown Castle is Ireland’s leading research institute on soils and environment related research, and conducts both fundamental and applied research on a wide range of subjects, e.g. soil quality, nutrient efficiency, water quality, gaseous emissions, agro-ecology, and land use. A significant proportion of the research is conducted in close collaboration with researchers in other institutions in Ireland, UK, the EU and other countries

• Working with and supporting the research project team, to complete the project research tasks. 
• Collating, organising and managing the project related data and information into data bases.
• Developing understanding and knowledge of existing carbon accounting initiatives and related projects and creating links and exploiting synergies with MARVIC.
• Gathering the data and information required to support science-to-policy dialogue, including the needs of soil policy stakeholders.
• To generate specifications for a science-to-policy information hub and help with collating the information to be made available to stakeholders.
• Helping with day-to-day project management tasks, including meeting the timelines for tasks, project deliverables and project progress reporting.
• Communicating and providing information to project partners and project stakeholders.
• Assist preparing scientific reports and popular press publications for a variety of audiences, as appropriate.
• To contribute to the teamwork and team-spirit in the agri-environmental research department at Johnstown Castle, and to foster and add to further collaboration and integration
• To assist Teagasc in meeting the commitments of the Quality Customer Service Charter and Action Plan.
• To actively participate in the annual business planning and Performance Management Development System (PMDS) processes.
• Fully co-operate with the provisions made for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of themselves, fellow staff and non-Teagasc staff and co-operate with management in enabling Teagasc to comply with legal obligations. This includes full compliance with the responsibilities outlined in the Safety Statement.
• Any other duties as may be assigned from time to time

* This job specification is intended as a guide to the general range of duties and is intended to be neither definitive nor restrictive.  It will be reviewed from time to time with the post holder.

 Note:  The ‘essential’ qualifications, knowledge, skills and behavioural competencies outlined above are ‘must-have’ which will be used in the selection process.