Post Title: PhD Researcher in Statistics

Location: Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Anticipated Start Date: 1st September 2023
Closing Date: 7th April 2023
How to apply: Applications are submitted by email; full details below.

Post highlights
● Highly paid PhD Researcher in Statistics position.
● Gross salary will be between €55,956 and €61,896 per annum for three years.
● Employed as a Researcher (for three years) and registered as a PhD student (typically a four-
year duration) at Trinity College Dublin.
● Part of the European LegumeLegacy project, that includes 15 partnering institutions and a
cohort of 11 PhD Researchers; the project will investigate innovative farm-scale solutions to
promote sustainable farming practices.

This post is suited to someone with qualifications in Statistics or closely related quantitative discipline.

Job Summary

This post is a PhD Researcher in Statistics position as part of the LegumeLegacy Doctoral Network. The
PhD Researcher will develop and apply statistical models to the multi-site experimental data that will
be generated across partner sites in LegumeLegacy. The multi-site experiment, implemented by other
project partners, will investigate the role of species diversity within crop rotation systems as a means
to reduce nitrogen fertiliser inputs. The statistical models developed by the PhD Researcher will take
account of the complex nature of the multi-site data that will be generated by other project partners,
including the multivariate, spatial and temporal aspects. The PhD Researcher will rigorously test the
statistical properties of the various components of the models developed. In a collaborative approach,
the PhD Researcher will develop interpretations for the statistical modelling outputs in the context of
improving the sustainability of crop rotation systems. A key component for the PhD researcher will be
to develop modelling approaches to assess the relative importance of species diversity manipulations
with respect to management factors and environmental stresses for the outputs of crop rotation
systems. This project provides the PhD Researcher with the opportunity to use and develop their
statistical knowledge to contribute to finding solutions to increasing food security in the face of the
biodiversity and climate crises.

The PhD Researcher will work closely with the other ten Doctoral Researchers hired on the
LegumeLegacy project. A second LegumeLegacy PhD Researcher in Statistics will be located in
Teagasc, Ireland and the two PhD Researchers in Statistics will collaborate closely. The PhD Researcher
will also undertake two mobility secondments, one at a research institute and one in industry to gain
insight into the broader implications of their statistical work and to develop their research and
industry networks. There will be opportunities for the PhD Researcher to present their work at
national and international conferences.

The PhD Researcher will be based in the School of Computer Science and Statistics at Trinity College
Dublin, Ireland and supervised by Professor Caroline Brophy. They will also be a member of the ADAPT
SFI Research Centre, led by Trinity College Dublin. The PhD project will be titled ‘Analysing multi-site
biodiversity experiments to assess the relative importance of species diversity, management decisions
and environmental stresses across spatial and temporal gradients’.

LegumeLegacy Project Description

LegumeLegacy is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network titled ‘LegumeLegacy – Optimising

multiple benefits of grass, legume and herb mixtures in crop rotations: modelling mechanisms and
legacy effects’. It is funded under the Horizon-MSCA-DN-2021 programme. This project brings
together Principal Investigators and collaborators from 14 academic and industry partners from across
Europe and one Canadian partner. LegumeLegacy will hire and train 11 Doctoral Researchers and will
implement a research programme aimed at improving the sustainability of farm-scale crop rotations.
The role of multi-species grassland mixtures within crop rotations will be investigated in the search
for solutions to develop lower nitrogen farming systems that will promote sustainable farming
practices. The Doctoral Researchers will be located across Europe at partner institutions. The
coordinating partner is Trinity College Dublin (Ireland). The hiring partners are Teagasc (Ireland),
Devenish Research and Innovation Development Ltd. (Ireland), University of Reading (United
Kingdom), the Louis Bolk Institute (the Netherlands), University of Aarhus (Denmark), University of
Hohenheim (Germany), ETH Zurich (Switzerland), Agroscope (Switzerland) and Poznan University of
Life Sciences (Poland). Other partners Goldcrop Ltd. (Ireland), Cotswold Seeds (United Kingdom),
Wageningen University (the Netherlands), Danko (Poland) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
(Canada) will contribute to the research and training programme.

LegumeLegacy is a highly interdisciplinary collaboration bringing together experts in ecology,

agronomy, plant breeding, animal nutrition and statistics. The LegumeLegacy Doctoral Researchers
will carry out their own individual research projects and collaborate on a multi-site experiment
conducted across the network. The Doctoral Researchers will undertake a world-class training
programme developed and implemented by the LegumeLegacy collaborating experts and will meet
twice per year to participate in joint training events. Each Doctoral Researcher will be expected to
undertake two mobility secondments during their PhD facilitating them to develop a deep
collaborative network during their PhD.

LegumeLegacy aims to lead the way in transforming productive agricultural crop rotation systems and
the 11 Doctoral Researchers will be trained to emerge as the next generation of leading researchers
in this field. Further information at: https://legumelegacy.scss.tcd.ie/.
Eligibility, qualifications and skills for the position

Eligibility
● The PhD Researcher must be an ‘early-stage researcher’, i.e., at the time of recruitment have
not already been awarded a doctoral degree.
● The PhD Researcher is required to undertake physical, transnational mobility (i.e. move from
one country to another) to take up this appointment. The PhD Researcher must not have
resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Ireland for more than 12
months in the 3 years prior to their recruitment. Compulsory national service and time spent
as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not
taken into account.
Qualifications and skills
● At least a 2.1 grade (or equivalent) in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in Statistics,
Mathematics or closely related discipline. An undergraduate degree is essential, and a masters
degree is highly desirable.
● Strong programming skills using statistical software.
● Knowledge of working with real world data, ideally in an experiment setting.
● Strong communication skills with an ability to collaborate within a multi-disciplinary and
international research team.
● The Trinity College Dublin English language requirements for non-native speakers of English
are available here: https://www.tcd.ie/study/apply/admission-requirements/postgraduate/

Application process

Please adhere to the following guidelines to apply for this position. Each application should consist of
only two documents
● Document 1 should include:
o A maximum 1-page cover letter outlining your suitability for the post, with reference
to relevant qualifications or experience;
o Detailed curriculum vitae, including qualifications and experience, publications (if
applicable) and the name and email contacts of two academic referees;
o Transcripts of degrees;
o A maximum 1-page statement outlining your research project experience to date (this
can be related to undergraduate or postgraduate research projects and/or research
work experience etc).
All four items above should be compiled into a single pdf document.

● Document 2:
o Please complete the LegumeLegacy eligibility form available here and convert to pdf
before submission.
The two documents should be sent by email to Professor Caroline Brophy at [email protected].
Do not include additional documents other than the two that have been requested. Do not include
substantive information in the body of the email.

For the subject of your email, please use: LegumeLegacy TCD application – [your surname]

The deadline for applications is 7th April 2023.

Please note that applicants that do not follow these guidelines may not be considered for shortlisting.

Conditions of employment

The salary for the post corresponds to the 2021 MSCA Doctoral Network funding model. The salary
includes (all figures are gross pay per year before taxes and other deductions are made):

● Living allowance of €48,756

● Mobility allowance of €7,200
● Family allowance (if eligible to receive) of €5,940

Thus the gross salary will range from €55,956 to €61,896 (depending on eligible for the family
allowance) per annum for three years; this is gross pay per year before taxes and other deductions are
made. A special needs allowance is also available under certain conditions.

The PhD Researcher will be employed for three years as a Researcher and is required to register for a
PhD. The PhD programme in the School of Computer Science and Statistics, is typically a four year
programme. Financial support will be available for year 4, however, such support would be at a lower
level than years 1-3. Please note that the salary attached to this PhD Research position in years 1-3 is
considerably higher than what PhD students are usually paid in Ireland.

Benefits of working at Trinity College Dublin include:

● Competitive salary ● Bike to Work Scheme
● Flexible working arrangements ● Sports Facilities
● Pension ● Paid Sick Leave
● Day Nursery ● Travel Pass Scheme

Diversity

The School of Computer Science and Statistics at Trinity College Dublin is a proud recipient of a Bronze
Athena Swan award, attained in 2021. As part of the School's on-going actions in relation to equality,
diversity and inclusion, it welcomes all applications that meet the eligibility and qualifications criteria
and particularly those from under-represented groups.

Contact information

Informal queries can be emailed to Professor Caroline Brophy ([email protected]).

About Trinity College Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin is Ireland’s leading university, one of the top ranked
universities in Europe and a member of the League of European Research Universities. It is currently
ranked 98th in the QS World University Rankings 2023. Founded in 1592, the University is steeped in
history with a reputation for excellence in education, research, and innovation.

Located on an iconic campus in the heart of Dublin’s city centre, Trinity has 18,000 undergraduate and
postgraduate students across our three faculties – Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; and Health Sciences. The pursuit of excellence through
research and scholarship is at the heart of a Trinity education, and our researchers have an
outstanding publication record and strong record of grant success.

About the ADAPT Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Research Centre

ADAPT is the world-leading SFI research centre for AI Driven Digital Content Technology hosted by
Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. ADAPT’s partner institutions include Dublin City University, University
College Dublin, Technological University Dublin, Maynooth University, Munster Technological
University, Athlone Institute of Technology, and the National University of Ireland Galway. ADAPT's
research vision is to pioneer new forms of proactive, scalable, and integrated AI-driven Digital Content
Technology that empower individuals and society to engage in digital experiences with control,
inclusion, and accountability with the long term goal of a balanced digital society by 2030. ADAPT is
pioneering new Human Centric AI techniques and technologies including personalisation, natural
language processing, data analytics, intelligent machine translation human-computer interaction, as
well as setting the standards for data governance, privacy and ethics for digital content.