Postdoctoral Researcher in Pasture Adaptation – Erandio, Spain

The Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), offers a full-time Postdoctoral Researcher to support the research activities of research line 3 on Terrestrial Ecosystems, and specifically work on the Pasture Adaptation project – a 3-year research project coordinated by University of Georgia with consortium partners in the USA (Appalachian State University, University of Kentucky, University of Georgia ), Norway (NIBIO), France (CNRS) and Switzerland (ETHZ), and funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation in the context of the “Belmont Forum/JPI Cultural Heritage/JPI climate Collaborative Research Action (CRA) Climate & Cultural Heritage (CCH) 2023” call.

About the project:

“Pasture Adaptation: Mitigation and Adaptation in Cultural Heritage Landscapes: Lessons from Transhumant Pastoral Systems for Managing Novel Climate Risks.” At BC3, this project is led by Ikerbasque researcher Pablo Manzano. It examines, through novel environmental, social and economic sustainability indicators, the cultural landscapes of transhumant pastoralism in France, Norway, and Spain, to understand how this intangible cultural heritage (a) is threatened by climate change and other sociopolitical influences, (b) provides broader lessons regarding ecological knowledge and social organization for adaptive production systems, and (c) can be sustained through community action and policy.

This research treats cultural landscapes as socioecological systems, linking scholarly fields that are often separate. Additionally, the project includes deeply integrated modelling of climate – including mitigation and adaptation, ecosystems, social systems, and policy in the service of community-facing adaptation workshops. Finally, we focus on conserving intangible heritage, especially cultural landscapes of agricultural importance.

Job description:

The selected candidate will contribute to implement the Spanish component of the project. Required to work together with the project IP (an ecologist with ample experience in transdisciplinary research), a scientist with environmental science and socioecosystems background will identify climate adaptation and mitigation elements among the Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Spanish transhumant pastoralists.

Key responsibilities:

• Conduct broad reviews of agro/ecological literature to determine the cascading effects of downscaled climate models
• Conduct social science interviews with farmers, policy-makers, and other key informants, following a protocol developed by the team
• Conduct archival research on farmers’ historical adaptations to environmental stressors
• Analyze and process qualitative and quantitative data following protocols developed by the team
• Help translate climatological and socioecological data into descriptive models or future scenarios for pastoral systems
• Develop sustainability indicators related to the economic, sociocultural, and ecological components of Spanish pastoral systems
• Assist PI in the coordination of works with the rest of the international team
• Share and publish findings with the academic community

Main requirements/skills:

• PhD in in natural and environmental sciences or related disciplines and desired experience on some of these aspects: socio-ecology, pastoralist systems, sustainability indicators.
• Fluency in Spanish language
• Proficiency in English language
• Familiarity with ecological, environmental and climate change concepts
• Experience working with or developing ecological or socioecological models
• Familiarity, or interest in learning, qualitative research methods
• Ability to teamwork

Benefits and work environment:

• Interdisciplinary and inspiring work environment
• Quiet and spacious workspaces
• Possibility of participating in internal training and academic activities of the centre
• 35-hour week work calendar
• 30 days of vacation per year

Term of contract

Starting from July 2024 on,  the position will extend along the whole duration of the project (until the 30th of April, 2027), with a six-month probation period.

Salary

The position will carry a salary matching the academic and professional profile of the applicant (BC3 postdoctoral positions’ gross salaries are in the range of 31,500 to 37.440 euros/year), and excellent work conditions.

Location

Basque Centre for Climate Change, Leioa, Spain.

As an HR Excellence awarded institution, BC3 is committed to conciliating research-academic requirements and family duties. BC3 is particularly concerned with creating equal opportunities for people despite sex and gender. Anyone with relevant qualifications are therefore strongly encouraged to apply for the position.

Application procedure:

Fill the form below and upload one PDF document with the following information:

• CV (2-page maximum length)
• Motivation letter
• Contact details of three referees

Deadline

17 June, 2024 (CET 1:00pm).

Informal enquiries can be made to Pablo Manzano (pablo.manzano@bc3research.org) noting in the subject of the message “Post-doc Pasture Adaptation”.

Please consider that only applications sent through the form included at the bottom of the BC3 web page will be considered (https://info.bc3research.org/job-offers/).,