Postdoctoral Researcher or Research Associate COMPASS ERC Project

As an interdisciplinary centre of the University of Bern, the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) has the mandate to promote and implement research, application, and teaching in the field of sustainable development and global change, in cooperation with academic partners and the Global North and South.

COMPASS project (ERC Starting Grant): Is environmental justice necessary for human well-being? Comparative analysis of certification schemes, inclusive business, and solidarity economy strategies

Unprecedented market concentration in agri-food value chains increases global inequality. Land grabbing threatens the livelihoods of millions. Therefore, reshaping the impacts of agricultural investments, land use, and trade on human well-being is an urgent challenge. To this aim, innovative private sector strategies are needed. The COMPASS project compares the strategies of inclusive businesses, solidarity economy and certification schemes. It analyses their governance arrangements, impacts on human well-being and assesses them from an environmental justice perspective. The empirical and transdisciplinary focus is on the cacao and coffee sectors of Peru and Switzerland. COMPASS is funded by the European Research Council as an ERC Starting Grant (PI: Prof. Dr. Christoph Oberlack).

Tasks

• Lead the human well-being assessment of the COMPASS project, implement a household survey together with a team of collaborators in selected cocoa and coffee producing regions in Peru. Conduct and coordinate field research in Peru over extended periods of time (ca. 6 months).
• Analyse the impact of different governance strategies of companies, cooperatives and other private-sector organizations on the well-being of cocoa and coffee producers and communities in Peru.
• Collaborate with all COMPASS team members to analyse the role of (environmental) justice in mediating/moderating the impacts of governance strategies on human well-being.
• Contribute to CDE's transdisciplinary engagement for more sustainable cocoa and coffee in Peru and Switzerland and beyond.
• Publish and communicate your results in international peer-reviewed journals, scientific and sector conferences, and events/webinars with research participants.
• Have the possibility to contribute to teaching and/or supervising activities, if desired.