Postdoctoral position on Climate Science (m/f/d)

The climate needs bright minds. The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) addresses crucial scientific questions in the fields of global change, climate impacts and sustainable development. It is one of the world's leading research institutions in its field and offers natural and social scientists from around the world an inspiring environment for excellent interdisciplinary research.

For the working group Adaptation in Agricultural Systems within Research Department 2 – Climate Resilience, PIK is offering a

Postdoctoral position on Climate Science (m/f/d)

(55-2024 Postdoc ClimateScience)

in the field of climate science, meteorology, and agricultural modeling mainly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), starting as soon as possible.

The position is planned to be funded for 3 yearswith a planned start from January 1^st, 2025. Remuneration is in accordance with the German public tariff scheme (TV-L Brandenburg), salary group E13. This is a full-time position with a weekly working time of 40 hours per week. Appointment is conditional on approval by the funding agency. The position can be filled on a part-time basis.

We are looking for a person with interest in climate impacts, risk management and adaptation for agriculture in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and with experience in project management, stakeholder engagement and transferring scientific results to a non-scientific audience to join our team.

Working together with other researchers from different disciplines, governments, and international organizations primarily in sub-Saharan Africa (with occasional projects also in Asia and Latin America), the working group Adaptation in Agricultural Systems aims to transform research into high impact publications and user-oriented climate services and policies that enable end-users in partner countries to better adapt agriculture to climate change. This position will specialize on analyzing climate data for climate impact assessment in agriculture and related impact sectors. One focus will be on the use of large-ensemble climate model data for climate impact attribution, with latitude in the choice of additional research foci. The work is carried out within different third-party funded projects and in cooperation with climate scientists, agricultural modelers, health scientists, and economists.

Key responsibilities:

• Develop and improve methodologies for climate data processing and evaluation for climate impact assessments, with a focus on LMICs.
• Contribute to research efforts within the working group that attribute and quantify climate change impacts on the agrifood system, including bias correction, statistical downscaling, and the derivation of simplified climate datasets for multi-impact model studies.
• Coordinate and contribute to the implementation of research projects through close collaboration with other researchers as well as the involved stakeholders in the target countries.
• Write and publish articles in peer-reviewed journals that highlight findings from the research projects and present research findings at international conferences.
• Liaise and maintain communication with project donors, respond to information requests, prepare project progress reports and policy briefs.
• Manage projects, develop new project proposals and apply for funding.
• Support in supervising doctoral researchers and master students.

Requirements:

• You hold a PhD in a field related to tasks above within the broader theme of climate science. Examples are meteorology, physics, statistics, geoscience or related fields with a quantitative and empirical orientation. Knowledge and work experience in agriculture, sustainable development, and/or climate impact research is valuable.
• You have profound experience in analyzing climate data, and knowledge of the scientific strengths and limitations of different climate observational, reanalysis, and modelling products.
• You have expertise in data analysis, with programming skills in Python or R as well as in CDO/NCO and HPC, and interest in processing large data. Experience with other programming languages, GIS and/or remote sensing are valuable.
• Experience in project management, and development of research proposals is valuable.
• Work experience in LMICs is desirable as well as the willingness to travel to these countries.

We expect:

• Strong analytical and scientific writing skills, excellent communication skills, and fluent in oral and written English. Proficiency in French is an asset.
• A high interest in teamwork and collaborative research, including support for climate data processing for impact modelling.
• Motivation to work on policy-relevant research topics in climate science.
• Ability to work independently, goal-oriented and on your own initiative.

We offer:

• Opportunities for cooperation with PIK’s national and international network of leading climate research institutes,
• Participation in user-driven research projects with international partners,
• Guidance and supervision in career development,
• The chance to be part of a creative and interdisciplinary team,
• A stimulating working environment in an internationally recognized research institute on Potsdam's beautiful, historic Telegrafenberg campus, a short commuting distance from Berlin, flexi-time and mobile working (up to 50% of your hours),
• A collective pay scheme and associated benefits as well as a subsidized travel card or the Deutschland-Ticket Job.

PIK values equality and diversity. We encourage applications without photo. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of ethnic and social origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, care responsibilities, or age. PIK seeks to increase the share of women in scientific positions and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply. In cases of equal qualification and within the given legal scope, women will be given preference. PIK also encourages applications by parents returning from parental leave.

Please apply by 13.10.2024 directly using our application form below this job advertisement on our website. The application process remains open until the position is filled.

Application documents should comprise a letter of motivation, a CV, relevant certificates, and a short sample of your work (e.g. term paper, section of your thesis or journal publication (approx. 2-10 pages).

If you hold an international higher education qualification, please also submit the Statement of Comparability from the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) with your application. In the case that you do not yet have a ZAB Statement of Comparability for your qualification, please be aware that you may need to request this if your application is successful. You can find further information on this website: https://www.kmk.org/zab/central-office-for-foreign-education.html

For further information or to discuss the position please contact Dr. Sabine Undorf.