Postdoctoral Fellowship - Biodiversity and ecosystem services for human wellbeing under climate change

Postdoctoral Fellow at the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3)

The Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), offers a postdoctoral fellowship during 2014.  BC3 is looking for a postdoctoral researcher with a PhD in natural resource economics, environmental economics, development studies, ecology, geography or sustainability science. The successful applicant will work in the area of ecosystem services modelling, including socio-ecological valuation, institutional/governance and tradeoff analysis, focusing on the role of ecosystem services for human wellbeing and poverty alleviation in the context of climate change. BC3 is strengthening this area of applied research. The postdoctoral researcher will closely collaborate with the Climate and Natural Environment research group at BC3 and contribute to global initiatives such as IPBES and Diversitas-EcoServices program.

The candidate will also contribute to the European project EcoFINDERS, specifically to work package 5 regarding its focus on linking biodiversity, ecosystem services and human wellbeing. BC3 contributes to the objectives of the EcoFINDERS project by addressing the theoretical and empirical question of how to value ecosystem services provided by agricultural soils while at the same time acknowledging the natural insurance value of soil biodiversity. The research will help to develop successful local, regional and EU level policy frameworks and agricultural soil conservation initiatives.

The postdoctoral researcher will be based at the BC3 in Bilbao. It is expected that the successful candidate will join BC3 as soon as possible and until the end of 2014, with the possibility to extend the contract.

Specifically the Postdoctoral Fellow would:

• Develop conceptual and empirical models regarding the role of ecosystem services for human wellbeing.
• Publish high-impact, peer-reviewed research in international scientific journals.
• Assist with ongoing activities of the Climate and Environment research group including the development of grant applications 

Experience/skills required:

• The applicant must have a PhD in environmental/ecological/natural resource economics, development studies, geography, ecology or sustainability science.
• The applicant should demonstrate expertise on biodiversity ecosystem services research.
• The applicants should demonstrate evidence of a track record in peer-reviewed publications as well as ability to initiate and complete research characterized by originality, creativity and innovation.
• The applicant should also have excellent interpersonal and communication skills (both written and oral) in English.

Other experience/skills valued: climate modeling, environmental valuation, statistics and mathematics.

Location: Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Bilbao, Spain.

Tenure: The position will be available until the end of 2014 with a possibility for extending it as BC3 Research Fellow.

Salary: The position will carry competitive salaries according to the academic and professional profile of the applicant and excellent conditions of work.

Those interested should send their application (2-page CV, one page motivation letter and provide the full contact details of two referees) to hr@bc3research.org noting in the subject of the message “postdoct: ecosystem services and human wellbeing”. Informal enquiries can be made to Prof. Unai Pascual (unai.pascual@bc3research.org ).

Applications close:  9th February 2014 (CET 17:00)