Postdoctoral position in Sustainability science - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

We invite applications for a bright, creative, energetic researcher based at the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies in Lund, Sweden. The applicant will be part of the project ‘Recasting the disproportionate impacts of climate change extremes (DICE)’, funded by FORMAS. The project goal is to expand theories of climate governance to incorporate contemporary dynamics and challenges of loss and damage (L&D) and the associated effects, in particular challenges to noneconomic wellbeing, and those posed to the Sustainable Development Goals.

In particular, the researcher will work on how L&D is conceptualized, identify who are the people affected and where they are located, identify and analyse the connections between L&D governance and adaptation governance, as well as the effectiveness and scalability of L&D governance mechanisms.

The position is within the interdisciplinary environment of LUCSUS, the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (https://www.lucsus.lu.se/). LUCSUS includes about 30 staff (faculty, postdocs, and PhD students), who study a range of issues from global environmental governance to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. LUCSUS also runs an international master’s programme in sustainability science (LUMES, http://www.lumes.lu.se/), with about 50 students each year from 20+ countries.

The position will be supervised by Principal Investigator Prof. Emily Boyd, Director at the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS). She is an expert in the social science dimensions of climate change and sustainability science. The project also involves partners in the US (University of Montana) and Bangladesh (International Centre for Climate Change and Development).

Position Instructions

Research Focus (80% time)

Contribute to developing conceptual framework for L&D. Conduct meta-analysis of the literature to assess how L&D is conceptualised. Conduct interviews in the field to assess who and where are the people affected, including how, why and at what scale. Conduct interviews with policy makers on the connections between L&D governance and adaptation governance. Evaluate how effective L&D governance mechanisms are and to what extent they can be scaled up. Maintain excellent data and analysis records following open data practices. Lead analysis and writing of peer-reviewed publications. Contribute to stakeholder engagement and outreach to involve government, non-government, and private interests in the research design through dissemination in Sweden, US and Bangladesh.

Administrative and Service Focus- (20% time)

 Contribute to project management and reporting, including contributing to reports to funders, outreach materials for stakeholders, and regular website and social media updates. Co-supervise MSc student theses especially those working on climate change extremes and, teaching in sustainability science.

Required Qualifications:

Completed PhD degree in related field (sustainability, environmental studies, geography). A strong grounding in pluralist methodologies and methods in sustainability science . An established research record, including record of successful collaboration and co-operation with others, particularly interdisciplinary collaboration.

Excellent qualitative and quantitative skills, including strong proficiency in interview techniques , participatory/action research and some familiarity of Geographical Information Systems, spatial mapping and understandings of large datasets. Please address these skills directly in your application.

Ability to work creatively and independently in designing and leading research, while also taking direction as part of a team. Management experience of research teams (e.g., supervision of students or research assistants). Excellent academic writing skills, including leading the development of well-argued and clearly written scientific manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication. Strong scientific integrity and ethics. Fluent in written and spoken academic English and proficient in Swedish.

Preferred Qualifications:

Some experience with non-economic dimensions of the impacts of climate extremes, experience working with stakeholders in research. Experience in popular science writing and communication (blog posts, social media). Website management and design.

Application instructions

The application should include a cogent research plan describing an area of research interest in the context of climate extremes. In particular, the plan should propose linkages between different kinds of data including interview data on non-economic L&D; social, economic, and environmental drivers (e.g., subsidies, climate); spatial data; data from participatory and visual methods (e.g. photo elicitation) and outcomes (e.g., vulnerability assessments) to arrive at new insights for climate governance. Links with the Sustainable Development Goals are particularly welcome.

The successful application will demonstrate feasibility by asking a clear and focused research question and contain a research design of sufficient detail to answer the question. (The actual research carried out over the course of the postdoc may change from the proposed plan.)

 A complete application consists of:

Cover page: Short motivation of the applicant and connection with the position, including how this position serves future career goals. Include name and contact information of applicant (1 page max)

CV: Academic and professional background, detailing relevant experience, particularly research. Any publications (separate peer-reviewed, technical reports, and popular science or outreach). Any teaching experience. Include names and contact information for three academic or professional references who can speak to your professional and teamwork abilities. At least one should be a former or current research supervisor. Research Proposal: Project title (max. 20 words) Project abstract (max. 200 words) Main research proposal text (max.1200 words);Research question(s) or hypotheses, in the context of their relevance to DICE’s goals; Research plan, including methods and feasibility; Expected outcomes and significance; Include at least one figure showing a conceptual overview of your proposal, and any expected results. Applications must be submitted in Times New Roman (12 pt), 1.5 line spacing, and margins 2.5 cm.