Interviews for this competition are likely to take place between 15^th and 21^st October 2026, dates to be finalised

Basic Function

Teagasc seeks to appoint a Senior Research Officer, with a recognised and established profile in meat science, to significantly contribute to the development, management and leadership of the Teagasc meat research programme. The successful candidate’s primary responsibility, within a wide remit, will be to develop an integrated and collaborative internationally recognised research programme in muscle biology and meat science, addressing both fundamental questions and industry challenges through advancing the state-of-the-art in meat science in areas such as meat chemistry/ biochemistry, omics, advanced meat processing and relevance of emerging technologies, and/or bio-circularity depending on expertise. The successful candidate will be expected to build and manage large, competitive projects/ programmes on meat science at national and international level in alignment with, and contributing to, national policy and organisational strategy.  A key objective will be to advance the state-of-the-art in meat science, develop and apply fundamental knowledge pertaining to meat science and applied research outcomes that contribute to advancing the competitiveness, resilience, sustainability and bio-circularity of the red meat processing sector. The successful individual will be passionate about industry engagement, and their work will foster an enhanced industry capacity for research and development. The successful candidate will play a leadership role in the Food Quality and Sensory Science Department at Teagasc and contribute to business planning at Departmental and Programme Levels where appropriate. In addition, the appointee will play a leading role in advancing the scientific excellence of the meat research programme; they will leverage their reputation to further develop strong collaborative links nationally and internationally, and contribute to successful technology transfer to the meat sector.

Background

Several challenges face the Irish meat industry on both home and export markets. In order to remain competitive as a supplier of premium quality meat, the industry must embrace science-based innovation throughout the meat value chain. The role of Teagasc is to support competitiveness and innovation in the meat industry through a high quality and scientifically sound research programme.

This role sits in the Food Quality and Sensory Science Department within the Teagasc Food Research Programme which delivers a dynamic research portfolio from two locations, Dublin (Ashtown) and Cork (Moorepark). Based at Teagasc, Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15, and joining a globally recognised meat research team, the successful candidate will have access to extensive meat quality, chemistry, sensory and molecular labs, and the meat industry development unit pilot plant, encompassing fresh and added value categories, prepared consumer foods centre and digitalisation testbed. In the meat science research group, we have developed a broad whole-chain approach to meat research. The research includes a wide remit, encompassing genetics, through on-farm factors to post-mortem interventions, excellence in meat sensory science and finally to meat product innovation, novel packaging and recovering value from meat processing streams to underpin the value chain and enhance circularity. Through our links with other Teagasc research centres and with universities and research organisations in Ireland and abroad, we conduct connected research linked to meat processing and spanning the overall value chain.

• Develop, lead and manage innovative meat research projects at national and international level, focused on the application of fundamental knowledge of meat biochemistry, muscle biology, interaction of meat with processing and innovation to understand and optimise meat quality.
• Design and manage experiments, perform statistical analysis and publish results in scientific and popular press, present at conferences and to stakeholders.
• Attract significant funded projects from Irish and international research funders.
• Engage with industry to commercialise research output and/or develop collaborative research projects.
• Further international collaborations, extend industry linkages and publish collaborative peer reviewed research.
• Develop integrated and collaborative projects with other Teagasc research programmes, such as the Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation, Crops, Environment and Land Use and Rural Economy Development Programmes.
• Strategically contribute to large externally-funded Teagasc-led initiatives, such as the new National Food and Drink Centre.
• Organise and participate in high profile national and international research conferences.
• Contribute at editorial level to high impact journals.
• Manage staff, students and resources assigned to the programme and build a dynamic team of post-graduate and post-doctoral researchers to enhance critical mass in the current meat research programme.
• Contribute to and actively engage in strategic planning within the Food Programme.
• Validation of concepts at laboratory level followed by translation to a commercial setting (note: the successful candidate will require versatility in both research and the transferability of technology as well as familiarity with meat industry processing).
• 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.

Gender, Diversity and Inclusion

At all levels in Teagasc, we believe in growing and keeping alive an open, diverse and inclusive workplace which is respectful to all and nurtures different perspectives, for the benefit of all in the organisation.

We are committed to the principles of 'Equal Opportunities, No Barriers, Active Inclusion'.

We actively welcome applications from people from diverse backgrounds.