Research Associate In Vulnerability To Climate Extremes (Phd Or Postdoc)

1 - Working at the VUB

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike. 

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located. 

Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again. 

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

2 - Position description

The Faculty of Engineering, Department Hydrologie en waterbouwkunde, is looking for a postdoctoral researcher with a grant. 

More concretely your work package, for the validation of your doctoral research, contains: 

Research by the Bclimate group at VUB focuses on extreme events, climate change impacts, energy meteorology, and land-atmosphere interactions. Hereto the team employs global climate modelling, land surface modelling, field observations and ensemble data mining. Much of their research builds on the Community Earth System Model (CESM) and the Community Land Model (CLM).

We are looking for a new colleague who is eager to uncover age-specific vulnerability to a range of climate hazards. This work will be conducted in close collaboration with project partners from IIASA, University of Firenze, PIK and ETH Zurich. Tasks may include the generation of ISIMIP3 simulations with CLM, compilation of spatial data for population age structure, analysis and projection of the different age patterns over the EU territories, derivation of future trajectories of vulnerabilities, and assessment of lifetime climate change impacts (analogous to Thiery et al., 2021). In addition, there will be ample opportunity to work with external stakeholders and present the research outcomes to scientific audiences.

This position is part of the Horizon Europe project SPARCCLE. The SPARCCLE project aims at delivering the next generation of climate impacts and adaptation frameworks that will explore, quantify, and inform the transformations needed for more climate-resilient societies. The project involves three main interlinked workstreams that adopt methods from different disciplines: 1) biophysical extremes and climate impacts; 2) granular socioeconomics and multidimensional vulnerabilities; and 3) risks, damages and adaptation. These workstreams come together through implementation and consistent integration into climate resilient and sustainable pathways developed using integrated assessment frameworks.

The SPARCCLE consortium brings together leading expertise on specific domains, from physical climate science and impacts assessment, to data-driven approaches, social sciences and humanities, climate service provision and stakeholder engagement, among others. Within the consortium, VUB researchers will contribute their knowledge and expertise on biophysical climate impacts and extremes, socioeconomics and vulnerability, adaptation, damages, and climate risk assessment. Want to find out more about the innovative and ambitious SPARCCLE project? Click here!

For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base. 

3 - Profile

What do we expect from you?

You hold an MSc or PhD degree in climate science, environmental science, geography, demography, sociology, social sciences, or in a related field.
 

• You have a strong interest in demography and/or climate research
• You have well-developed knowledge in one of the programming languages Python, R, or Matlab.
• You are passionate about using quantitative methods with a focus on probabilistic spatio-temporal statistics
• You are a creative personality and enjoy solving technical and scientific challenges independently as well as in team efforts
• You are eager to advance climate change risk assessments in close collaboration with project partners
• You have a good command of spoken and written English
• You are eager to communicate your scientific results to fellow scientists and the public

• You stayed abroad for at least 12 months of the 3 years preceding the start date, and during this period you did not work or study in Belgium. However, during these 12 months, short-term stays in Belgium are allowed such as holidays, participation in conferences or a short stay to prepare your stay as a postdoctoral researcher.

The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.

4 - Offer

Are you going to be our new colleague?

You’ll be offered a full-time postdoctoral scholarship, for 24 months (extendable up to max. 36 months, on condition of the positive evaluation of the research activities), with planned starting date 01/04/2024. 

You’ll receive a grant linked to one of the scales set by the government.

At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to (further) build on your career.

As well as this, you will also enjoy various other benefits:

• Extensive homeworking options, a telework allowance of 50 euros per month OR an internet fee of 20 euros per month;
• An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
• Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
• Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike;
• A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
• Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in  all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques;
• Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps;
• The space to form your job content and to continuously learn through our VUB learning platforms and training courses;
• And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.

5 - Interested?

Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?

Then apply, at the latest on 20/02/2024, via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:

• your CV;
• your motivation letter;
• your diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni).

Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Wim Thiery at wim.thiery@vub.be or on 026293029.

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.

Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu, and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.