Postdoc: Synthesis on the role of Nature for Human Wellbeing in the Kilimanjaro Social-Ecological System

The advertised position is part of the research project "The role of Nature for Human Wellbeing in the Kilimanjaro Social-Ecological System”. In the interface between natural and social sciences, the project aims to improve understanding of major components of the social-ecological system at Mount Kilimanjaro under land-use, climate, and governance change. This will be achieved by assessing the relationships between multiple components of biodiversity, Nature's contributions to people (NCPs), human well-being, societal developments, major stakeholder groups and their governance.

In the synthesis subproject “Kilimanjaro as an integrated Social-Ecological System” we integrate the information gained across the project to address synergies and trade-offs between components of biodiversity, NCPs, and multiple constituents of well-being of major stakeholders, to address the natural and social drivers of social-ecological relations at the landscape scale, and to identify opportunities for future decision-making.

For this synthesis work, we seek a postdoctoral researcher who will lead innovative synthesis approaches particularly at the landscape scale. For example, the researcher may upscale existing plot-level data to the landscape scale or model how land-use change and conservation policies may affect stakeholder-specific NCP supply. The research will be in close alliance with researchers at multiple institutions in Switzerland, Germany, and Tanzania.

For this highly collaborative work, we seek a person with quantitative and spatial skills and an understanding for social-ecological data sets. Specifically, we search for a person with the following skills:

• PhD in Ecology, Environmental Geography, Environmental Sciences, or Biology
• Excellent knowledge of at least two of the following: biodiversity, land system science, ­land management, remote sensing, spatial modelling, ecosystem services, NCPs
• Fluency in R and an understanding of advanced statistical techniques
• Competency in spatial data analyses
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English
• Capacity to collaborate effectively within a large and diverse team of researchers
• An ambition and capacity to publish high impact science
• Experience in upscaling or the use of remotely sensed data is advantageous