University of Edinburgh
Earth Fellow: remote sensing sand urbanisation
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UE07: £41,064.00 - £48,822.00 Per Annum Pro Rata (£22.50 per hour)
CSG / Edinburgh Earth Initiative / Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability.
Part Time - 9 hours per week.
Fixed-Term for nine months from September 2026.
Job Overview
The Edinburgh College of Art and the School of Geosciences are looking for a PhD student to support with a project to develop and test methods to trace sand extraction and urbanisation processes across Freetown, Sierra Leone. This 9-month project will contribute to understanding how rapid, unplanned urbanisation in Freetown is affecting labour, infrastructure and environmental degradation.
Click here to view the general Earth Fellow job description
Please refer to the project brief and the skills listed below when outlining your skills and experience in your application.
This post will be appointed at Grade UE07, step 1 which is £41,064 per annum, pro rata (£22.50 per hour).
Earth Fellowships are only open to current postgraduate and PhD students at the University of Edinburgh based in the UK. Please do not apply if you will not be an on-campus University of Edinburgh student in the ‘26/’27 academic year.
Your skills and attributes for success
- Current University of Edinburgh PhD student in the ‘26/’27 academic year.
- Interest in the social, infrastructure and environmental impacts of rapid urbanisation in cities like Freetown, Sierra Leone.
- Interest in data visualisation/critical cartography bridging disciplines of science and creative practice.
- Ability to collaborate to develop research methodologies and refine research scope.
- Experience working with big remote sensing data, e.g., with Google Earth Engine.
- Experience performing landcover classification using multi-spectral satellite imagery
- Experience managing datasets and analysing and communicating data, for example with visualisations and/or animations.
- Experience using GIS software (i.e QGIS), scripting using Python or other GIS-friendly languages and Adobe Suite (i,e Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects)
- Ability to work proactively with colleagues and external collaborators with a variety of expertise; understanding and valuing different points of view.
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What we offer
As an Earth Fellow, you will be joining a diverse, fun and dynamic team of researchers, students and staff all working together to address the global climate emergency. As part of the Earth Fellows programme, you will have access to co-working space, exciting networking and personal development opportunities and opportunities to contribute towards partnerships and solutions for climate change on a global scale.
Earth Fellows work on individual and team-based projects which contribute to the University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Earth Initiative’s work on climate change research-led impact, innovation, engagement, and teaching.
Benefits
- A competitive salary.
- An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
- To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
- Comprehensive Staff Benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, a wide range of staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page [https://www.ed.ac.uk/human-resources/pay-reward/staff-benefits] and use our reward calculator to discover the value of your pay and benefits.
Championing equality, diversity, and inclusion
The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter, and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.
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Prior to any employment commencing with the University, you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages [https://www.ed.ac.uk/human-resources/demonstrating-rtw].
The University is unable to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. International applicants will therefore be unable to apply for and secure a Skilled Worker visa. They will only be able to take up this role if they can demonstrate an alternative right to work in the UK.
Key dates to note
The closing date for applications is 4 August 2026.
Unless stated otherwise, the closing time for applications is 11:59 pm (UK time). If you are applying from outside the UK, the closing time shown on our adverts will automatically adjust to your browser’s local time zone.
Interviews will be held in August.
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About the University
As a world-leading research-intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow’s greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values-led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.
Launched in 2022, the Edinburgh Earth Initiative was established by the University’s Executive with a cross institutional remit to drive a step change in the University’s engagements with climate and sustainability challenges.
In 2024, a strategic review of Edinburgh Earth Initiative was completed and the results of that review, including a strategy for 2025-2030, were approved by the University Executive. The strategy states that the mission of EEI is to catalyse bold, globally significant transdisciplinary research, innovation and partnerships at the University in support of the Research & Innovation Strategy 2030 and Climate Strategy.
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