The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) is an international research organisation conducting policy-relevant environmental and sustainable development research around the World. SEI’s York Centre is situated at the world-leading University of York and has a team of 55 staff and 16 PhD students. SEI York has a broad research profile covering five main research areas: air quality and climate change; nature-society relations; sustainable consumption and production; managing natural resources, and urban environments and human health. We have a strong academic track record as well as an international reputation of producing highly credible evidence-based science-to-policy research, engaging with and supporting decision makers at different scales in different parts of the World.
We are seeking to employ a research associate to work on two projects:
ROSSY – the Retrofit One-Stop Shop for York. SEI is developing a business model that can ultimately support the retrofitting of the 60,000 houses in York required by the City of York Climate Change strategy. We will be learning from other local authorities’ activities in this space to identify best practice that will be used to develop upscaling guidance. We will also develop a monitoring and evaluation framework to ensure that the project delivers expected outcomes and a LEAP model, an energy emissions and scenario tool, for the residential sector in York to track how the retrofit progress will help attain climate goals.
Y-PIP – the Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership, has a focus on the retrofitting of historic buildings (listed buildings, conservation areas and non-designated areas with historic character), which are also the properties with the lowest heat-retention efficiency. In addition, this project will assist strategic planning in York and North Yorkshire through developing a LEAP model for York and North Yorkshire and address CO2 removal in landscapes, through the lens of achieving multiple benefits from any changes.
The successful candidate will primarily focus on activities related to stakeholder engagement around the different business models for one-stop shops in the ROSSY project. You will also focus on stakeholder consultation with historic building owners, planning authorities and national bodies with a responsibility of historic buildings such as Historic England, Civic Trusts, and relevant societies, as well as project partners, to establish how key barriers to the implementation of Net Zero measures in these historic parts of York and other cities / rural areas can proceed successfully. You will support the M&E process for the project and assist, if required, in the development and presentation of the LEAP tool being used to help climate strategy development and tracking progress in implementation.
You will be working as part of a team who are currently involved with different projects covering climate and air quality strategy support using the LEAP tool, use of Geographic Information Systems as part of spatial planning, stakeholder engagement and policy support, and who are working closely with City of York Council, York Civic Trust and other relevant stakeholders. In this project the team will also work closely with Leeds Beckett University and the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission.
This role is available on a fixed term basis for up to 15 months.
Interview date: To be confirmed
For informal enquiries: Please contact Prof. Steve Cinderby at steve.cinderby@york.ac.uk or Prof. Johan Kuylenstierna at johan.kuylenstierna@york.ac.uk
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