Assistant / Associate Professor ( Plant Sciences) x2 (109792-1024)

For informal enquiries, please contact Miriam Gifford (Head of School) at Miriam.gifford@warwick.ac.uk OR Murray Grant (Professor) at M.Grant@warwick.ac.uk. 

Applications are invited for two posts as Assistant or Associate Professor to join the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick in the UK. Our researchers see further, achieve more and change lives by following their relentless hunger for new discoveries. The key to this groundbreaking research is interdisciplinary collaboration. Getting together with specialists from other (often unexpected) areas to open up exciting new perspectives. United by passion, purpose and infinite curiosity, our research teams bring together diverse thinking to make the world better.

The School of Life Sciences (SLS) wishes to appoint two excellent and ambitious early career principal investigators to our academic research and teaching staff. All excellent candidates in plant science are welcome although we are particularly interested in those who work on biotic or abiotic stress, plant physiology and adaptation, including virology and entomology at the lab and/or field scale or in natural ecosystems. We encourage researchers applying novel technologies to work, or collaborate, across scales, such as phenomics, sensing or imaging cells and tissues through to neofunctionalization. Individuals will be expected to have original research programmes and to have demonstrated eagerness to translate their expertise to address challenges in discovery-led biological rules-of-life, or problems in food and nutritional security. Researchers taking approaches that cut across disciplines linking genetic diversity to engineering or physical sciences are strongly encouraged to apply.  

For further information regarding the skills required for this role please see the personal specification section of the attached job description.

Our plant and agricultural science research is spread between our Gibbet Hill Campus and the Warwick Crop Centre (WCC) at the University’s Stratford Innovation Campus. The School of Life Sciences (SLS) has world-leading research in plant and agricultural science, spanning fundamental plant biology through to translational science. This includes successful collaborations within Warwick Agri-Tech in automation and robotics with Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and initiatives in fresh food policy. Throughout SLS our research is supported by cutting-edge experimental and computational facilities, including genomics, proteomics, high-performance computing, advanced confocal, flow cytometry, light and electron microscopy facilities and bioinformatics.

WCC has fully supported field, glass and controlled environment facilities, as well as specialised facilities for pest and pathogen work, including areas to maintain pest populations and quarantine areas for plant pathology. WCC also hosts the UK Vegetable Gene Bank and provides access to archived historical data, such as long-term insect survey and weather records and collections of plant pathogens.

The School has an excellent track-record of high-impact research, grant-funding success and a research culture that nurtures early career researchers. All applicants must be able to demonstrate proven track records in publication and competitive strategies for generating research income; we particularly welcome applicants with independent fellowships. We welcome applications from those who build on our existing research strengths and/or can exploit the unique facilities at WCC, as well as those that can develop exciting new research streams.

SLS attracts a vibrant, high-achieving community of undergraduate and postgraduate students, delivers high quality teaching using a blend of traditional and innovative teaching methods, and consistently achieves high scores in the National Student Satisfaction survey. Applicants must therefore also be able to show commitment to undergraduate and postgraduate education. The successful applicants will contribute to teaching through small group tutorials, practical sessions and lectures, and will be encouraged to innovate with teaching delivery. We believe that collegiality, openness, inclusivity and diversity are essential for an excellent research and teaching environment. Our workplace ethic has enabled us to gain the Athena SWAN Silver award. We are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you are excited by this role, we encourage you to apply, even if your experience does not exactly match the descriptors. We also encourage applications from all groups with protected characteristics traditionally under-represented in STEM fields. For those eligible, the University offers relocation and Immigration Support Scheme packages to assist with costs of relocating and any associated visa applications and HIS (health) surcharge fees.

For further information about the University of Warwick, please visit our website at http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/humanresources/jobsintro/furtherparticulars

Overview of the School of Life Sciences

The School of Life Sciences (SLS) is a cohesive, enthusiastic community producing world-class, high-impact bioscience research and teaching within an open, friendly, inclusive and highly collaborative environment. Research spans the full range from fundamental to strategic and translational. Funding sources include UKRI, charities, Defra, and Innovate UK as well as contracts direct with industry partners.

Our Gibbet Hill Campus is shared with Warwick Medical School and has containment level 2 and 3 facilities for microbiological work and equivalent quarantine facilities that support plant science, in addition to world-class research laboratories and support infrastructures. Warwick’s Innovation Campus near Stratford is home to much of Warwick Crop Centre  https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/lifesci/wcc/ and developing work with Warwick Manufacturing Group in Agri-Tech https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/for-industry/warwickagritech/. WCC has fully supported field, glass and controlled environment facilities, as well as specialised facilities for pest and pathogen work, including areas to maintain pest populations and quarantine areas for plant pathology. WCC also hosts the UK Vegetable Gene Bank and provides access to archived historical data, such as long-term insect survey and weather records and collections of plant pathogens. The University of Warwick operates Research Technology Platforms (RTPs,  https://warwick.ac.uk/research/rtp/) to ensure that its researchers may have access to the latest, high-quality instrumentation along with expert support staff.

The School’s range of technologies is listed at  https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/lifesci/tic/, our

research clusters at  https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/lifesci/research/ and cross-disciplinary research centres at https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/lifesci/research/centres/.

For further information about the School of Life Sciences please visit our website at  https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/lifesci/

Recruitment of Ex-Offenders Policy

As an organisation using the (DBS) Disclosure and Barring Service to assess applicants’ suitability for positions of trust, the University of Warwick complies with the DBS Code of Practice and undertakes not to discriminate unfairly against any subject of a Disclosure on the basis of a conviction or other information revealed.  More information is available on the University’s Vacancy pages and applicants may request a copy of the DBS Code of Practice.

Born in the 60s with a mindset of boldness, imagination and collaboration, the University of Warwick is a world-leading research-intensive university with the highest academic and research standards. We’re one of the world’s top universities, ranked 67th in the world and 10th in the UK*, with 92% of our research assessed to be ‘world leading or internationally excellent’**. 

You'll be joining a diverse, innovative and globally connected community committed to igniting real world progress. Here at Warwick, we offer you opportunities to follow your ambitions as long as you bring the energy and determination to succeed.

*QS World University Rankings 2024

** Research Excellence Framework 2021

To find out more about us visit our website.

CLOSING DATE: Sunday 15 December 2024 at 11.55pm

To apply, please click ‘Apply’ below and submit an application form by the closing date. Please plan for any potential delays as you will not be able to submit an application past this deadline (even if you opened the form at, say, 11.30pm).

Please attach a CV and cover letter.

• Your CV should include your most recent employment experience, any other relevant experience, and education history. Please include the names/details of three referees. 

• Please also provide a covering letter of no more than three pages outlining how you meet the job description and associated criteria, as well as your future research objectives and aspirations.  Please include details on how you will attract funding to develop your research portfolio, describe what makes your research distinctive, and outline how you would develop collaborations across departments.

  You can also include here any career breaks you may have taken (parental or long-term sick leave, caring responsibilities, part-time work, secondments, volunteering or time spent in different sectors) or any periods where you were unable or restricted to work because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please see here for guidance on writing a cover letter. We highly recommend using individual criteria as headers and giving examples below, though you are free to format the letter as you wish.

To streamline our hiring processes, we can only accept applications via our official website, warwick-careers.tal.net.

Interview Date: TBC

Start Date: TBC

We will provide you with a great range of benefits, which include an attractive pension scheme, 30 days holiday plus Christmas closure, excellent learning and development opportunities, and savings on a wide range of products and services. We offer a generous maternity/paternity/adoption/parental leave policy, and onsite childcare facilities. 

We recognise the importance of a healthy work/life balance and offer you access to flexible working, for more information click here. 

We are proud to say that we are a Living Wage employer.

If you are considering relocating to the UK, read our Relocation Guide to find out more about what Warwick has to offer and what might be involved in the process.

Warwick is committed to building an organisation of mutual respect and dignity, promoting a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive working and learning environment.  We recognise that everyone is different in a variety of visible and non-visible ways, and that those differences are to be recognised, respected, and valued.  Where possible, we go beyond legislation to provide a place where everyone can thrive, supporting all staff to achieve their full potential. We aspire to remove economic, social, and cultural barriers that may otherwise prevent people from succeeding. 

We therefore welcome and encourage applications from all communities regardless of culture, background, age, disability, sex/gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion/belief, or sexual or romantic orientation. To find out more about our social inclusion work at Warwick visit our webpages here. 

The University currently holds a Race Equality Charter Bronze Award, Athena Swan Sliver Award and a Disability Smart Bronze Award. The University of Warwick is also one of the six founder institutions of the EUTOPIA European University Alliance. 

Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS)

The University of Warwick is committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellfare of all those we work with. 

In line with the DBS Code of Practice, the successful candidates for any roles involving regulated activity, will be subject to a DBS check at the appropriate level. The University will take all neccessary measures to ensure that any individual subject to a barring order does not undertake any work with the barred group specified (ie. children and/or adults).

We expect all employees, volunteers, and partners to share our commitment to safeguarding.

Rehibilitation of Ex-Offenders

The University undertakes not to discriminate against anyone who makes a disclosure relating to a conviction. The information disclosed at application stage is only visible to the central DBS team (ie. not recruiting managers) to ensure there is no bias during the shortlisting process.