Postdoctoral Position

About Us

The NCCR CLIM+ is a new National Center of Competence in Research that establishes the first fully interdisciplinary, Switzerland-wide climate research community. NCCR CLIM+ aims to tackle pressing issues related to climate extremes such as heatwaves, floods, heavy rainfalls, droughts, wildfires, and further compound events. The research programme will interact with stakeholders ranging from public health to finance, agriculture, and water management to produce actionable solutions related to climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Further information about NCCR CLIM+ can be found on: https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..ch

To facilitate cross‑disciplinary communication and stakeholder engagement, NCCR CLIM+ will develop storylines of plausible futures encompassing the physical and social dimensions of extreme climate outcomes. The storylines offer narratives that allow our interdisciplinary research team to carefully assess co‑benefits and trade‑offs in the transformation towards a climate‑resilient society.

The Postdoctoral Fellow “Hydrological Extremes and Transboundary Cooperation” will be affiliated with Prof. Olivia Romppainen‑Martius at Uni Bern. The work will be conducted in close collaboration with the research groups of Prof. Manuela Brunner (WSL‑SLF/ETH Zurich), Prof. Valérie Chavez‑Demoulin (UNIL) and Prof. Frédéric Varone (UniGE). While the contract is issued by the University of Bern the workplace is flexible between Bern, Geneva, Zurich and/or Lausanne.

• Co‑develop a vision for the storyline “Hydrological Extremes and Transboundary Cooperation” for Switzerland, in collaboration with NCCR CLIM+ researchers
• Integrate cross‑disciplinary research related to the storyline from several work packages, research groups and institutions of NCCR CLIM+, ranging from natural climate models to the analysis of impacts, adaptation and mitigation measures
• Conduct interdisciplinary research at the interface between natural and social sciences and publish results in scientific and applied journals
• Initiate and actively promote cross‑cutting activities under the supervision of the storyline Lead PIs and Team of Directors, involving NCCR CLIM+ members across all levels and stakeholders across different sectors
• Interact and manage contacts with public and private stakeholders involved in the storyline
• Regularly exchange with the other storyline postdocs, the two storyline coordinators, and the postdoc dedicated to stakeholder engagement at the NCCR CLIM+ Management Center

The position is particularly attractive for postdocs aiming for a career at the interface between science, policy and society. The initial contract will be of 3.5 years.

• PhD in socio‑hydrology, environmental sciences, political geography, political sciences, or a related field
• Interest and experience in studying interactions between hydrological extremes and society
• Experience in research coordination, science integration, and/or stakeholder engagement (e.g. living lab, mini‑public) is a plus
• Integrative personality with interest in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary work at the interface of climate science, social sciences, hydrology and border studies
• Ability to speak the language of different scientific disciplines and of stakeholders and to connect both worlds through engaging and enriching conversations
• Sense of responsibility, quick learner, ability to take initiative, strong organizational and interpersonal skills, team player
• Curious, creative and tolerant to uncertainty as the storyline needs to be defined and further developed over time
• Excellent command of English (written and spoken)
• Command of French and/or German is expected
• Flexibility and willingness to commute to different work places (Uni Bern, UNIL, University of Geneva, ETH Zurich)

• Kollaboratives Umfeld und ambitioniertes Team
• Interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit
• Inspirierendes Arbeitsumfeld
• Universitätssport
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