Early PostDoc Position on the Governance of Climate Extremes in Bern

Early PostDoc Position on the Governance of Climate Extremes 80-100%, fixed-term, Bern

UniBE is ambitious. With us, you deliver top performance and test your skills against the best.

Job Description

• Research about drought management and water conflicts in agriculture and between different sectors, focusing on user and protection conflicts under climate extremes in general, high and low waters in particular.
• Interest to work on Swiss case studies and to apply different methods in social science research (e.g., social network analysis, content analysis, process tracing)
• Willingness to collaborate across disciplines (typically political science, justice, ethics and sustainability transitions) and workpackages (impact studies, agricultural sciences, and hydrology)

Your profile

• PhD in political science, social sciences, environmental social sciences
• Broad knowledge or interest about the impacts of droughts, heat, floods and compound events on agricultural systems in particular, and about climate extremes and society in general; water user and protection conflicts
• Integrative personality with interest in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary work at the interface of agriculture, water systems, climate and social science
• Curious, creative and comfortable working in exploratory settings
• Excellent command of English, - willingness to engage with stakeholders (i.e. during living labs, focus groups, etc.), and fluency either in German or French.

The salary follows University of Bern and Swiss National Science Foundation regulations

Collaborative environment and ambitious team

Early PostDoc Position on the Governance of Climate Extremes

UniBE is ambitious. With us, you deliver top performance and test your skills against the best.

Start Date

or upon agreement

Employment Relationship

80-100%, fixed-term

Institution / Workplace

NCCR CLIM+ Bern

With us, you create value. For yourself and for society.

About Us

The NCCR CLIM+ is a new National Center of Competence in Research that establishes the first fully interdisciplinary, Switzerland-wide climate research community. NCCR CLIM+ aims to tackle pressing issues related to climate extremes such as heatwaves, floods, heavy rainfalls, droughts, wildfires, and further compound events. The research programme will interact with stakeholders ranging from public health to finance, agriculture, and water management to produce actionable solutions related to climate change adaptation and mitigation. Further information about NCCR CLIM+ can be found on:

To facilitate cross-disciplinary communication and stakeholder engagement, NCCR CLIM+ will develop storylines of plausible futures encompassing the physical and social dimensions of extreme climate outcomes. The storylines offer narratives that allow our interdisciplinary research team to carefully assess co-benefits and trade-offs in the transformation towards a climate-resilient society.

The Early PostDoc will be affiliated with Prof. Karin Ingold at Uni Bern, located at the Institute of Political Science, and in close collaboration with the Uni Bern Management Center of the NCCR

Job Description

• Research about drought management and water conflicts in agriculture and between different sectors, focusing on user and protection conflicts under climate extremes in general, high and low waters in particular.
• Interest to work on Swiss case studies and to apply different methods in social science research (e.g., social network analysis, content analysis, process tracing)
• Willingness to collaborate across disciplines (typically political science, justice, ethics and sustainability transitions) and workpackages (impact studies, agricultural sciences, and hydrology)

Your profile

• PhD in political science, social sciences, environmental social sciences
• Broad knowledge or interest about the impacts of droughts, heat, floods and compound events on agricultural systems in particular, and about climate extremes and society in general; water user and protection conflicts
• Integrative personality with interest in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary work at the interface of agriculture, water systems, climate and social science
• Curious, creative and comfortable working in exploratory settings
• Excellent command of English, - willingness to engage with stakeholders (i.e. during living labs, focus groups, etc.), and fluency either in German or French.

The salary follows University of Bern and Swiss National Science Foundation regulations

Your Benefits

• Collaborative environment and ambitious team
• Healthy corporate culture and good working atmosphere
• Inspiring work environment
• University sports

Working at the University of Bern

The University of Bern not only offers exciting tasks but also an environment that actively promotes development, diversity, and equal opportunities. Discover what makes us stand out as an employer and how you can grow with us.

Karin Ingold

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With us, you create value.

For yourself and for society.

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