Work pattern: 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm with occasional overnight stays
Salary: Up to £51,443 per year
Contract: Permanent
We are the UK’s largest cat welfare charity. All over the country, our passionate employees, volunteers and supporters are using their kindness and expertise to make life better for millions of cats and the people who care for them.
Will you join us and make life better for cats?
Responsibilities of our Cat Scientist - Emerging Welfare Technology
Support the development, validation, and practical application of feline welfare data collection tools.
Coordinate on-site technical logistics and data collection at UK adoption centres, including hardware deployment and software troubleshooting, while designing resilient, internet-enabled monitoring systems.
Use specialised programming skills to develop and maintain interactive software applications, creating user-friendly mechanisms for stakeholders to interrogate research outputs and inform management decisions.
Act as technical project lead for the transition of a Markerless Pose Estimation (MPE) system from external academic development into internal pipelines for automated cat behaviour and activity monitoring.
Lead and support on evidence synthesis projects and associated publications, in order to create robust knowledge bases for shelter, unowned and owned cat welfare and risk factors.
About the Research team:
The Feline Welfare Research Team are a small but growing team of six scientists, who sit within the wider Cat Welfare department. The team supports the organisation in improving our understanding of feline welfare both on a population and individual basis across a range of disciplines including epidemiology, demography and welfare assessment.
The team are responsible for providing the charity with scientific expertise.
What we’re looking for in our Cat Scientist - Emerging Welfare Technology:
Extensive experience undertaking non-invasive animal behaviour and welfare studies, including first-author publications.
Significant experience in research project design and leadership, including planning, oversight, and completion of projects on time and within budget.
Experience leading and advising on data-led research and innovation projects to inform animal management or conservation strategies
Strong programming and statistical data analysis skills including experience of transitioning academic research or coding systems into practical, operational tools to support positive animal health and welfare outcomes
Solid grasp of research principles and the ability to find, absorb, and apply new analytical techniques
What we can offer you:
range of health benefits
26 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing with length of service
Salary Finance, which empowers you to take control of your financial wellbeing
If successful, your recruitment journey will include:
1. Anonymised application form
2. Virtual interview and presentation
Please email recruitment@cats.org.uk if you require any adjustments to be made for you to complete your application or to participate in the recruitment journey.
We operate a bias-free application process in our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. To assess your application quickly, fairly and objectively, please fully complete the qualifications and work history sections of our online application form.
Redacted CVs may be accepted by exception.
We believe being an inclusive, diverse organisation - where we welcome diversity of thought, value individuals' experience and can reach and partner all areas of society - is crucial if we're to help more cats. Our ambition is to work together to promote a more inclusive environment, which attracts all candidates and signals our commitment to celebrate and promote diversity.
There’s a place for everyone at Cats Protection and we encourage applications from talented people across all communities.
Cats Protection is committed to safeguarding children and adults at risk and protecting anyone that comes into contact with us from harm. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. You may be subject to a criminal record check if required for the role.
