Macronutrient Cycles
Announcement of Opportunity
Closing date: 16:00 on 4 June 2010
NERC wishes to appoint a Programme Director to lead, manage and co-ordinate the work of the Macronutrient Cycles programme.
Clarification on eligibility to bid for programme funds
The Announcement of Opportunity for the post of Director states that the post-holder will not be able to bid for grant awards under the programme. This is a standard stipulation for all such posts and applies also to chairs of programme Steering Committees. Its purpose is to counter any perceptions in the community that holders of such posts may have preferential access to funding. For the avoidance of doubt, NERC wishes to make it clear that the restriction applies only to the incumbent and does not extend to members of their research department or organisation.
The programme is a three-year initiative (2010-2013), but with the possibility that some projects funded will extend to around five years. It has £9·55m available, funded through the research themes of NERC's science strategy Next Generation Science for Planet Earth. It is led by the sustainable use of natural resources theme but also involves four other themes: biodiversity; environment, pollution & human health; Earth system science; and technologies.
The Director appointment will be made at a senior level. The successful candidate will need to demonstrate academic excellence in an appropriate research field, an ability to provide leadership to a large interdisciplinary programme involving senior academics throughout the UK, and to represent the programme to both academic and policy audiences.
The Director will be expected to set out a vision for the development of the programme, and to shape and draw together its various elements into a coherent body of work. This will include co-ordination of capacity building in 2010-2011, supporting workshops and short-term proof of concept studies to assist development of tools and techniques across the different communities. The post will also require the ability to communicate and establish links with researchers across disciplines and participants in other research programmes, as necessary.
Macronutrient Cycles aims to quantify the scales (magnitude and spatial/temporal variation) of nitrogen and phosphorus fluxes and the nature of transformations through the catchment under a changing climate and perturbed carbon cycle. 'The catchment' is defined as covering exchange between the airshed and land surface, with a delimitation for the aqueous environment of ending at the seaward estuarine margin.
The programme will pursue an integrated approach to research on macronutrient cycles. It will seek to maximise the value of the funding investment through promoting interdisciplinary working of the different elements of its research community, for example by bringing together those in the freshwater and atmospheric sectors. It will address problems at an appropriate range of scales.
Interested individuals or organisations are invited to bid for a tender using the OJEU Accelerated Restricted Procedure. The first stage of this procedure is for applicants to complete a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ). At the PQQ stage applicants are required to provide details of the proposed Director. Successful applicants will subsequently to be invited to submit a tender for the work, to include details of how the work would be undertaken and detailed costings.
The closing date for submission of PQQs is 16:00 on 4 June 2010.
For further information on the requirements of the Directorate and on how to apply please see the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire below.
Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (671KB)
The updated procurement timescales are as follows:
Deadline for receipt of completed PQQs: 4 June 2010
Issue Invitations to Tender: 9 June 2010
Deadline for receipt of tenders: 28 June 2010
Interviews / presentations (to be held in Swindon): 2 July 2010
Contract award: July 2010
Contract commencement: ASAP thereafter