Duration:
Temporary externally funded non Grant-in-Aid contract post, the indicative duration of which is 48 months, subject to contract. A panel may be formed from which future similar vacancies may be filled; such a panel will remain active for a maximum period of 12 months.
Basic Function:
Teagasc seeks a highly motivated candidate to work as a Research Officer on the Horizon Europe funded GrassWise project. GrassWise is an international grassland research project which Teagasc is coordinating in collaboration with 20 other organisations across Europe and New Zealand
The objective of GrassWise is to build grassland resilience through sustainability and science with inclusive stakeholder engagement across Europe’s nine pedoclimatic zones. Despite grassland multifunctionality, European grasslands are in decline due to intensification, soil degradation, climate change and land-use change. Grazing intensity also continues to decline, with the reduction of grasslands and grazing accompanied by a loss in farmland biodiversity. Significant Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) spending through eco-schemes and Agri Environment-Climate Measures (AECM) has not been sufficient to halt this trend. A key barrier is the absence of a coherent framework to manage grasslands for their full multifunctionality. Existing data is fragmented, many metrics are now obsolete, and there is a lack of integrated tools to assess grassland multifunctionality.
GrassWise addresses this gap with an ambitious, action-ready initiative designed to deliver real impacts. It will generate and harmonise data across Europe’s nine pedoclimatic zones, integrating farmer networks, satellite observations, and grassland legacy datasets. The project will deliver a new generation of decision-support tools (DSTs), cocreated through a multi-actor approach (MAA), enabling farmers to benchmark multifunctionality, improve grassland management, and adopt profitable, low-emission, circular practices, in line with the EU Agri Sustainability Compass and responding to one of the gaps outlined by the EC in its Vision for Agriculture and Food.
About the candidate:
The ideal candidate should have some research experience in grassland, animal production or agricultural environmental research.. A proven ability for data analysis, report writing and preparation of articles for Horizon Europe deadlines but also publication and peer review are essential requirements. Experience of farmer engagement is desirable. The successful candidate must be capable to lead and organise workshops and meetings, attending and participating in project meetings both in person (at various locations in Europe) and on-line, paper and report writing. The successful candidate will collaborate with European partners involved in the project.
The role will involve working closely with the project co-ordinator and wider project team. Good organisational skills, project management and a demonstrated capacity to deliver on objectives and research tasks along with effective teamwork skills are essential requirements. A demonstrated ability to communicate the research findings to relevant stakeholders regularly is akey part of the role.
About Teagasc Moorepark:
This role will be based at Teagasc’s Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre at Moorepark, Fermoy, Co Cork. The appointee will join the Grassland Science Research Department. Teagasc has an international reputation for researching and developing pasture-based systems of livestock production. Teagasc Moorepark is the site of the dairy research programme and it investigates aspects of dairy production research such as nutrition and milk composition, grassland and grazing management, breeding and reproduction, health and welfare, milking technology, milk production systems, environmental and economic analysis.
