PostDoc Position: Backcasting and Climate Services for Climate-Resilient Development

The Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS), a scientific organizational entity of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, invites applications for a PostDoc Position, starting as soon as possible. This 2-years position focuses on (1) co-developing and co-testing of backcasting tools with local communities in Amazonian and Landkreis Harburg regions with the aim to co-define desirable climate-resilient futures and (2) on evaluation and monitoring of digital climate service tools. The place of employment is Hamburg.

GERICS develops science-based prototype products and services in support to local government, administration and grassroots movements in their efforts to adapt to climate change. It builds up a national and international network structure in order to integrate existing competences and knowledge, and to link various actors within the complex area of climate change.

The successful candidate will be working in local case studies in the Amazonian and Landkreis Harburg regions under the frame of the HICSS-funded project BeChange and as part of the Cluster ClimateBridge (https://www.hicss-hamburg.de/projects/ClimateBridge/Detail/index.php.en). The primary goal of the project is to use participatory methods such as backcasting to identify desirable climate futures and to integrate local knowledge into co-created climate-service prototypes for rural smallholder producers. The approach will first be applied in the Brazilian Amazon and then adapted to the Harburg region.

Equal opportunity is an important part of our personnel policy. In principle, the full time position (39 h/week) is also sharable.

Your tasks

• develop a methodological framework (backcasting) in the region of Santarém
• support the implementation of the framework in Landkreis Harburg
• use participatory methods to co-develop and test digital tools with and for local communities
• validate and monitor framework development
• analyze lessons learned from both contexts
• build and strengthen relationships with local communities and municipal stakeholders
• supervise PhD candidate and student assistants of BeChange project
• participate in field trips to Santarém region, Pará, Brazil
• support coordination and cluster cooperation
• participate in project meetings and contribute to project reports
• publish findings in international peer-reviewed journals and present results at scientific conferences

Your profile

• PhD in Geography, Anthropology, Sociology, Sustainability Sciences, or related fields
• familiarity in scientific debates on climate change with focus on political ecology approaches
• strong knowledge of qualitative and participatory methods in empirical social research
• experience working in interdisciplinary and international research projects is an advantage
• willingness to conduct fieldwork in Brazil for several weeks
• fluency in Portuguese and English (oral and written). Knowledge of the German language is an advantage
• strong social, communication, and intercultural skills

For content-related questions, please contact

Dr. Maria Manez

or Prof. Martina Neuburger

We offer you

• an exciting and varied job in a research centre with around 1,000 employees from more than 60 nations
• a well-connected research campus (public transport) and best networking opportunities, subsidy for the Deutschlandticket if certain conditions are met (job ticket)
• individual opportunities for further training
• social benefits according to the collective agreement of the public service and remuneration up to pay group 13 (according to EntgO Bund)
• an excellent technical infrastructure and modern workplace equipment
• 6 weeks holiday per year; company holidays between Christmas and New Year's Day
• very good compatibility private and professional life; offers of mobile and flexible work
• free assistance program for employees (EAP)
• corporate benefits
• office location in the heart of the city of Hamburg in the historic Chilehaus

Severely disabled persons and those equaling severely disabled persons who are equally suitable for the position will be considered preferentially within the framework of legal requirements.