Job offers at GERICS
PhD Position (m/f/d) on regional climate modelling for urban areas
The Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS), a scientific organizational entity of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, located in Hamburg, invites applications for a PhD candidate (m/f/d), starting as soon as possible, in the project “URBAN CLIMATE FUTURE LAB: Urban Areas and Climate Impact - a Future Lab for Multidisciplinary Knowledge and Sustainable Transformation [UCFL]”. The position is limited to three years and is intended to complete with a PhD.
GERICS develops science based prototype products and services in support to government, administration and business in their efforts to adapt to climate change. It builds up a national and international network structure in order to integrate existing competences and knowledge, and to link various actors within the complex area of climate change.
The aim of UCFL is to gain a deep understanding of the complex interplay between urbanization, climate impact and mitigation, with a particular focus on Lower Saxony and its extrapolation to wider contexts. UCFL promotes a close interdisciplinary collaboration between architects, urban planners, landscape architects, engineers, climate scientists, and governance experts who work on achieving the transformation towards more resilient as well as low-carbon urban spaces: The planned research aims to first understand how different settlement types contribute to climate change, and how they are affected by it. Second, partnering with real-world actors, cities, municipalities, NGOs and industry, the research will focus on transformation knowledge: How can urban systems in Lower Saxony and its constituting elements be transformed to reduce climate effects and increase its overall resilience and sustainability with application to wider contexts?
More detailed information about the project can be found here.
The position aims to improve climate information at regional to local scale with a special focus on urban areas and on Lower Saxony in Germany. It makes use of already existing and newly created state-of-the art regional climate simulations. Newly developed analysis and visualization technics will help to identify hot-spot areas and high-impact events related to climate change with respect to socio-economic factors.
Equal opportunity is an important part of our personnel policy.
Your tasks:
- Perform a literature review about regional climate change information and its impacts in Lower Saxony with respect to extreme, compound and high-impact events
- Develop research questions with respect to adaptation and mitigation of climate change in urban areas in the frame of the project UCFL
- Analyse regional climate change simulations with respect to impacts on urban areas and their surroundings under past, present and potential future climate conditions with a special focus on Lower Saxony
- Develop new analysis methods to identify high-impact events of climate change related to socio-economic factors together with the project partners of UCFL
- Contribute to stakeholder engagement in the frame of UCFL as well as to the dissemination of research results
- Collaborate with UCFL project partners, prepare project reports and participate in UCFL project meetingspartners and associated practice partners
- Publication of research results in peer-reviewed journals
- Representing GERICS externally at scientific conferences and meetings
Your Profile:
- Master degree in meteorology, physics, physical geography or related disciplines in natural sciences and Earth science
- Experience in regional climate modeling and in analyzing climate model simulations on high performance computers
- Extensive knowledge of programming in Python and working under Linux operating systems
- Experience in conducting workshops for researchers and practitioners is desirable
- Experience in working in national and international research projects and international environments or communities such as EURO-CORDEX is desirable
- Motivation to work in a multi-disciplinary and international environment
- Experience in publishing peer-reviewed articles
- Additionally, we welcome knowledge on working in the urban context and supporting adaptation processes
- A very good command of German and English is required, since activities of the UCFL will be conducted in both
Content-related inquiries regarding this position can be directed to
We offer you:
- An exciting and varied job in a research centre with more than 1,000 employees from around 60 nations
- Individual opportunities for further training
- Social benefits according to the collective agreement of the public service and remuneration
- An excellent technical infrastructure and modern workplace equipment
- 6 weeks holiday per year; company holidays between Christmas and New Year's Day
- Very good compatibility private and professional life; offers of mobile and flexible work
- PhD Buddy Program
- Free assistance program for employees (EAP)
- Corporate Benefits
- Office location in the heart of the city of Hamburg in the historic Chilehaus
Severely disabled persons and those equaling severely disabled persons who are equally suitable for the position will be considered preferentially within the framework of legal requirements.
Interested?
Then we are looking forward to receiving your comprehensive application documents (cover letter, CV, transcripts, certificates etc.) indicating the reference number code no. 2024/KG 19 until 19.11.2024.