Research Scientist, Centre for Climate Resilience

Research Scientist, Centre for Climate Resilience

At the Centre for Climate Resilience at the University of Augsburg, a position is available in” the research group “Climate Resilience of Human-Made Ecosystems” (Prof. Dr. Katharina Waha) from November, 01 st 2025for a

Research Scientist
(Foresighting resilient adaptation and land use change)

in an initially fixed-term employment for a period of two years with regular working hours. The salary is determined based on prior experience and on the fulfilment of requirements according to the German public sector pay scale up to E13 TV-L.

The Centre for Climate Resilience at the University of Augsburg was founded at the end of 2020. The research centre is dedicated to research and science communication in the field of climate resilience with an interdisciplinary approach. The aim is to develop scientific foundations and holistic and implementable strategies at regional, national and international level that demonstrate adaptations to the unavoidable consequences of climate change.

The successful candidate will lead the initial phase of the FORESIGHT research project, a resilience and vulnerability project that received seed-funding for initial research, stakeholder consultation and engagement, preparation of field work, identification of project members and building the consortia. These preparatory steps are aimed at supporting the proposal development for a multi-year, multi-stakeholder research project on climate resilience and land use. We are looking for an individual who is interested in conducting initial research in this area and in coordinating the grant development with a larger multidisciplinary team. Among the confirmed collaborating research institutes for the initial phase are the University of Southern Queensland, Australia (USQ), the University of Cape Town, South Africa (UCT), the University of New South Wales, Australia (UNSW), and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.

• Conduct resilience and vulnerability research for land systems in the Global South (sub-Saharan Africa or South America) and produce high quality scientific or technical documentation.
• Coordinate and lead the initial phase of the FORESIGHT project and the grant development process, including scientific leadership and coordination of the team member`s individual contributions.

Employment requirements:

• Education/Qualifications: A PhD degree in a relevant field, such as geography, environmental science, climate science, environmental engineering, bioscience engineering with a focus on agricultural/environmental science or a related field.
• Communication: Very good written and oral communication skills in English, including the ability to publish research findings, prepare reports and present the results of scientific investigations at national and international conferences and stakeholder meetings.
• Publications: A list of publications in high-quality journals relative to career stage.
• Behaviour: Professional and respectful behaviours and attitudes in a collaborative environment.

Essential are:

• Solid knowledge of climate impacts on land systems and adaptation strategies applied in land or agricultural systems in the Global South.
• Demonstrated technical skills in at least one of the following areas and familiarity with the second method even if not applied yet extensively in practice: (i) climate modelling and forecasting also including climate impact modelling, or (ii) agricultural survey or census data curation at national scale also including statistical modelling.
• Demonstrated success on previous proposals and funding applications, including as a co-applicant if the role required substantive contributions.
• Ability and interest to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary research team, also with external researchers overseas, various stakeholders and to conduct independent individual research to contribute to common research objectives of the working group and project teams.
• Willingness to incorporate qualitative approaches into the research and project design under the guidance of specialists in this field.
• Knowledge of small-to-medium size subsistence to industrialized agricultural systems in countries of the Global South such as in Eastern and Southern Africa or Latin America.
• Previous engagement with proposal review processes, either through participation in review processes of the European, German or other national research councils or similar funding bodies also for applied research, or experience as a reviewer or member of selection committees, or participation in workshops or training programs focused on grant writing and funding strategy.
• Ability to travel for work meetings.

The required qualifications must already be proven in the application documents by appropriate certificates.

Women are expressly encouraged to apply. The University of Augsburg promotes professional equality for women. The University of Augsburg is particularly committed to the compatibility of family and working life. For more information, please contact the women\’s representative of the faculty. Disabled applicants will be given preference if they otherwise have essentially the same suitability, qualifications and professional performance.

Application: Please indicate the desired starting date in your application. Please include the names and contact details of two previous supervisors or academic/professional referees in your CV. Please fill out the digital recruitment form here:https://form.123formbuilder.com/6864062/recruitment-survey . Please send your complete application documents (including 1-page letter about your research interest and your motivation to apply, CV, list of publications) in digital form as a single PDF file by no later than

September, 30 th 2025

to: Prof. Dr Katharina Waha, Climate Resilience of Human-Made Ecosystems, University of Augsburg, Universitätsstraße 2, 86159 Augsburg.

(Subject: Foresighting resilient adaptation and land use change)

Candidates selected for the shortlist will be contacted with details regarding the interview schedule.

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