Experience/Qualification required  

• Be educated to degree or HND level in an appropriate animal related qualification 
• Practical experience in companion animal care or management
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and be able to interact at all levels.  
• Evidence of attention to detail 
• Flexible and prepared to work on a rota basis covering weekends and bank holidays, and longer hours during the peak periods
• Ability to work both as part of a team and autonomously as the need demands 
• Ability to undertake a large amount of manual work in the setting up and running of the facilities. 

If you have any queries or questions or for an informal discussion, please contact Jane Thomas at jathomas@harper-adams.ac.uk

Application Procedure:

All applications should be completed and submitted using the Harper Adams e-Recruitment programme at http://jobs.harper-adams.ac.uk   to be completed no later than midnight on Sunday 21 June 2026

Should you require any adjustments to complete your application for this role then please contact vacancies@harper-adams.ac.uk      

This position is not expected to meet the criteria required for the University to provide a Certificate of Sponsorship. Applications from candidates who need sponsorship to work in the UK will be assessed in line with the requirements outlined in the recruitment documentation. All hiring decisions will follow the guidance set by UK Visas and Immigration 

Closing Date: 21 Jun 2026

Department: Support Staff

Salary: £26,093 to £28,031 per annum, pro rata
The point of entry will be dependent upon relevant qualifications and experience

Key qualifications, skills and experience required

Essential:

• An undergraduate degree or relevant postgraduate qualification in veterinary physiotherapy.
• Experience as a practicing veterinary physiotherapist (both canine and equine) in industry and/or academia
• Experience in participation in the delivery of teaching or professional training at Higher Education level.
• In-depth knowledge of veterinary physiotherapy as a discipline. 
• High level practical skills in veterinary physiotherapy.
• High level interpersonal and leadership skills.
• Ability to work both as part of a team and autonomously as the needs demand
• The ability to work both as part of a team and autonomously as the needs of the role demand

Desirable:

• Level 3 or 4 Certificate in Hydrotherapy 
• Experience in conducting scientific research in veterinary physiotherapy.
• Evidence of interprofessional networking and collaboration, especially in teaching and research.
• Proven ability to write research publications in scientific journals in veterinary physiotherapy and/or related disciplines.

If you have any queries or questions or for an informal discussion please contact Jane Thomas, Head of Department via email at jathomas@harper-adams.ac.uk 

Should you require any adjustments to complete your application for this role then please contact vacancies@harper-adams.ac.uk 

Closing Date: 21 Jun 2026

Department: Academic Staff & Research Degree Studentships

Salary: £39,906 to £44,746 per annum
The point of entry will depend upon relevant qualifications and experience.

Precision livestock farming is transforming how animal health and welfare are monitored on farms. However, many current monitoring systems rely primarily on visual or activity-based sensors, meaning important behavioural and physiological signals may be missed. Sound within livestock environments contains a wealth of information about animal behaviour, health and emotional state, yet it remains relatively under-utilised in commercial dairy systems.

This PhD will investigate how bioacoustics and artificial intelligence can be combined to develop automated, non-invasive approaches for assessing dairy cattle welfare. The project will explore how acoustic information generated by cattle and their surrounding environment can be analysed to identify patterns associated with behaviour, health status and welfare.

The research will involve collecting and analysing sound data from dairy housing environments, linking acoustic patterns to behavioural and health indicators, and developing computational models capable of detecting meaningful welfare-related signals. The project will also explore how acoustic information may be integrated with other forms of farm data to improve the reliability of automated welfare assessment.

The successful candidate will undertake a structured training programme at the start of the PhD to develop skills in areas such as programming, data analysis, machine learning and signal processing. This will provide the technical foundation required to work with large acoustic datasets and develop analytical approaches relevant to livestock systems.

In addition to technical training, the student will gain experience in animal behaviour and welfare research, precision livestock technologies, and interdisciplinary collaboration between animal science and data science.

The PhD will be based at Harper Adams University and co-supervised with Nottingham Trent University.

Applicants must hold, or expect to hold, a Master’s degree (MSc) in a relevant discipline such as:

• Animal Sciences

• Veterinary Medicine

• Veterinary Sciences

• Animal Behaviour and Welfare

Strong quantitative skills are desirable. Prior experience in one or more of the following would be advantageous:

• Behavioural observation and welfare assessment

• Dairy cattle management

• Bioacoustics or signal analysis

• Programming in Python or R

• Statistical modelling

Applicants without prior AI experience are encouraged to apply, as structured AI/ML training will be provided.

Dairy Cattle Welfare | Bioacoustics | Precision Livestock Farming | Artificial Intelligence | Machine Learning | Deep Learning | Animal Behaviour | Acoustic Biomarkers | Sustainable Agriculture | Digital Farming

Closing Date: 30 Jun 2026

Department: Self-Funded Research Degrees