Applications are invited for an innovative, fixed-term, part-time (10.87 hours per week) position working with Bangor University's School of Arts, Culture and Language and School of Ocean Sciences in collaboration with the RNLI. Are you passionate about engaging with stakeholders and coastal communities about matters relating to the ocean? This role offers a unique opportunity to make a real-world impact by co-developing innovative solutions towards understanding the complexity of tidal movements, keeping beach visitors safe on the shores of Wales.
In this exciting position, you'll collaborate with leading academics and RNLI practitioners to identify actions and co-created communicative strategies that will improve societal tidal literacy – the ability to understand tides sufficiently to stay safe. This will mark a significant shift in the discourse around access to the ocean, including how tidal cut-off hazards are presented across media, communications and wider societal discourse. This collaborative project combines academic rigour with societal benefit by translating research insights into improved communication and action strategies that ultimately will save lives.
The ideal candidate will bring creativity, social media and co-creation experience, applying their skills in building valuable connections with stakeholders, coast guards, local authorities, communities and more. This is a rare opportunity to achieve real-world change by using communicative skills, informed by research on tidal movements and water safety.
Candidates should be educated at least to an undergraduate degree standard (or equivalent) in social sciences, linguistics with a focus on communication and discourse, ocean sciences, or a related field, with experience in outreach. Proven experience with workshop organisation and advanced interviewing skills are essential. Advanced knowledge of tidal movements is highly desirable. The successful candidate will be self-motivated, confident, able to work independently, and possess excellent communication skills to engage with highly diverse audiences. A driving licence is desirable to ensure mobility.
If you’re ready to apply your communicative skills to co-create coastal safety solutions while enhancing your professional portfolio, this position offers exceptional development potential in a supportive and flexible working environment.
The successful candidate will be expected to commence as soon as possible and the post is available until 30/04/2027.
The ability to communicate through the medium of Welsh is desirable for this role.
The role will be hybrid, with flexibility to work from home and Bangor University offices. Through our Dynamic Working framework, there is flexibility to support work-life balance, which will be discussed further with candidates at interview.
Applications will only be accepted via our on-line recruitment website, jobs.bangor.ac.uk. However, in cases of access issues due to disability, paper application forms are available by telephoning 01248 383865.
Closing date for applications: 21st August 2026
Informal enquiries can be made by contacting: Professor Thora Tenbrink, Professor of Linguistics, School of Arts, Culture and Language, [email protected]
Committed To Equal Opportunities
Following collaborative research demonstrating a widespread lack of understanding the complexity of tidal literacy, the post is part of an initiative to enhance tidal literacy across Wales and beyond.
The UN Agenda 2030 promotes safe access to green spaces, and the Ocean Decade aims to enhance humanity’s preparedness for ocean hazards and its relationship with the ocean. The tide is not considered an ocean hazard, yet half of the world’s coastline is susceptible to tides rising more than two meters in a single tidal cycle and globally >300,000 people per annum lose their lives to drowning. This project undertook the first nationally representative survey of public understanding of tide, revealing that over a quarter of the British and Irish public struggled to read a basic tide table. More than one in seven reported having been cut off by the tide, or nearly so, translating to 10 million people having experienced this hazard across the UK overall.
Common misconceptions leading to cut off included the tide coming in much faster and stronger than expected, and often from a different direction. This demonstrates a national failure to understand the variability in tidal movement—one of the most fundamental aspects of the ocean. As the “ocean literacy” agenda advocates for increased access and connection to the ocean, to enable responsible delivery of ocean literacy, it is crucial to understand and increase the public knowledge of tidal variability. This will enable people to enjoy safe access and maintain positive attitudes towards the rapidly changing, and increasingly risky, marine environment of the future. To achieve this, Bangor University academics are working closely with the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) to co-develop improved strategies for communication, educational action, messaging and signage.
The post is part of a collaborative team working to increase tidal literacy across the UK. The project will engage with stakeholders, coastal communities, beach visitors and others to identify concrete actions to reduce tide-related water safety incidents.
The post holder will be responsible for organising workshops, establishing contacts and relationships, holding and analysing focus groups and interviews, and co-developing further actions as collaboratively agreed. They will liaise closely with the RNLI, Bangor University academic supervisors, and community stakeholders to ensure that actions are co-ordinated, purposeful and effective.
- Messaging Analysis: Desk-based and field research to establish a qualitative account of how tidal information is commonly communicated.
- Collaborative Co-Design: Work closely with Bangor University supervisors, RNLI, and community stakeholders to capture insights and perceptions and agree on actions.
- Analysis and Action: Systematically record and analyse the contributions from various events held to co-develop tidal literacy enhancing actions. Pursue next steps as collaborative agreed and derived from the insights gained.
- Project Communication and Reporting: Provide regular progress updates to the project team; prepare and deliver presentations to academic and non-academic audiences; maintain thorough documentation of methodologies and datasets; contribute to publications and dissemination activities.
- Project Management: Support monitoring of project progress against project goals; help identify and address operational risks; coordinate tasks between university and partners; support timely delivery of project objectives.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Maintain effective communication with all stakeholders; translate complex scientific concepts into clear, non-technical language; foster strong relationships to support and establish collaboration and trust beyond the duration of the project.
- The post holder will be expected to participate in job-relevant developmental activities offered by the University.
- The post holder will be expected to comply with the University’s equality policies and statements, Dignity at Work and Study Policy and the University’s Welsh Language Scheme.
- The post holder has a general and legal duty of care in relation to health, safety and wellbeing and must take all reasonable steps to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for themselves self and for other members of staff, students and visitors affected by their actions or inactions. The post holder is also required to comply with all applicable health and safety policies, procedures and risk assessments.
- The post holder must comply with relevant legal and financial policies and procedures and be aware of their responsibilities in terms of the legal requirements of their post.
Qualifications / Training
Essential
- Undergraduate degree in social sciences, linguistics with a focus on communication and discourse, ocean sciences, or a related field.
Desirable
- Postgraduate degree in a relevant subject area
Experience / Knowledge
Essential
- Basic knowledge of tidal movements
- Experience in workshop organisation
- Experience in stakeholder engagement / outreach
Desirable
- Advanced knowledge of tidal movements
- Experience working with communities to gather perspectives and co-design solutions
- Familiarity with coastal practices e.g., coast guards, RNLI volunteering
- Experience in knowledge transfer between academic and community environments
Skills / Abilities
Essential
- Advanced interviewing skills
- Strong intrinsic motivation and confidence
- Proven ability to work independently.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to engage with highly diverse audiences
Desirable
- Project management skills
- Strong interpersonal skills, particularly in stakeholder engagement and collaborative problem-solving
- Ability to adapt to evolving project requirements and work flexibly across academic and non-academic contexts
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to prioritise workload, manage deadlines, and work independently as well as part of a distributed team
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate complex information into actionable insights
Other
Essential
- Willingness to travel within Wales for stakeholder meetings, workshops, and field visits
Desirable
- The ability to communicate through the medium of Welsh is desirable for this role
- Driving licence
The University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds. We strive to develop a workforce from all sections of the community regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. We promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language through our progressive Welsh Language Policy. We comply with the Welsh Language Standards and are committed to equality of opportunity. You are welcome to apply for any job in English or Welsh and all applications submitted will be treated equally.
We are a member of Advance HE's Athena SWAN Gender Equality charter and hold a Silver award in recognition of our commitment to and progress towards gender equality within the University's policies, practices, and culture. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.
All members of staff have a duty to ensure their actions are in line with the overall environmental aims of the University and minimise their environmental impact.
All offers are made subject to proof of eligibility to work in the UK and receipt of satisfactory references.
We have a legal responsibility to ensure that you have the right to work in the UK before you can start working for us. When you apply for this post you will be required to explain the basis upon which you believe you will able to live and work in the UK legally on the commencement date of the role should your application be successful. If you do not have the right to work freely in any position in the UK already, any offer of employment we will make to you will be subject to you obtaining a right to work visa. The following link provides information on the various visa routes into employment and the eligibility requirements (including switching visa status where permissible) https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas. If you are successful in your application we will discuss visa options with you at the time of making the offer of employment.
Candidates should also note that they may be required to apply for an ATAS certificate (Academic Approval Technology Scheme) from the Counter-Proliferation and Arms Control Centre of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office before being able to apply for a visa - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/academic-technology-approval-scheme
Please note that, in the event of applications being received from candidates on the University's Redeployment Register with a reasonable skills match to the post specification, these applicants will be given prior consideration.
