Postdoctoral Health (m/f/d)

The climate needs bright minds. The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) addresses crucial scientific questions in the fields of global change, climate impacts and sustainable development. It is one of the world's leading research institutions in its field and offers natural and social scientists from around the world an inspiring environment for excellent interdisciplinary research.

For the working groups “Climate Change and Health” and “Adaptation in Agricultural Systems” within Research Department 2 – Climate Resilience, PIK is offering a joint

Postdoctoral position Health (m/f/d)

(Position number: 67-2024 Postdoc Health)

in the field of climate change and health modelling, starting on 01.04.2025.

The position is planned to be funded for 3 years. Remuneration is in accordance with the German public tariff scheme (TV-L Brandenburg), salary group E 13. This is a full-time position with a weekly working time of 40 hours per week. The position can be filled on a part-time basis. Appointment is conditional on approval by the funding agency.

The “Climate Change and Health” working group links research on climate change and human health, with a focus on nutrition. Guided by the transdisciplinary concept of Planetary Health, we assess health and nutrition impacts of global environmental change and evaluate win-win solutions for the transition towards climate-resilient, sustainable and healthy food systems. The “Adaptation in Agricultural Systems” working group investigates the intersection between climate change and agriculture in a holistic way, aiming to inform adaptation policies for climate-resilient agricultural and food systems.

The position will focus on the attribution of undernutrition-related climate change impacts on child health. Attribution studies that identify and quantify the influence of climate change are cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and provide crucial scientific insights that can drive adaptation, inform climate litigation, and support international climate finance. Nonetheless, most health-sector attribution studies have concentrated on direct effects, such as heat-related mortality, while the indirect effects—like climate change’s largely negative impact on agricultural productivity—are often overlooked. Furthermore, children are particularly vulnerable to effects of climate change, food insecurity, and malnutrition but often not a study focus. This position provides the exciting opportunity to address this research gap within a multidisciplinary team at PIK as part of a large international project involving scientific partners and societal stakeholders from across the most food-insecure world regions.

Key responsibilities:

• Investigate the climate-agriculture-nutrition-health impact and related pathways for climate change impact attribution studies by using statistical analyses of population-based datasets from household surveys and surveillance sites in low-income settings to estimate the relationship between climate variability and extremes, agricultural deficits, and different child health outcomes.
• Work closely with climate scientists, agricultural scientists, economists, and IT experts to integrate data and models into an open-access digital tool, and apply this to climate change attribution studies through workshops in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).
• Lead, write, and publish articles in peer-reviewed journals that highlight findings from the research project and present research findings at international conferences.
• Liaise and maintain communication with project donors, respond to information requests, prepare project progress reports and policy briefs.
• Supervise doctoral researchers and master students (optional).

Requirements:

• PhD within the broader theme of health science is required, for example global/public health, environmental health, epidemiology, economics, or related fields with a quantitative and empirical orientation.
• Experience in analyzing climate impacts on health and strong quantitative analytical research skills are required. Knowledge in data management and advanced statistical analysis using statistical software/programming languages in Python, R, Stata, or similar, would be desirable.
• Knowledge and work experience in LMICs on health, nutrition, agriculture, sustainable development, and other fields are valuable.
• Excellent communication, presentation and writing skills in English are required. Proficiency in other languages is an asset. Strong scientific writing skills with good track record (according to scientific age) of articles in peer-reviewed journals are required.
• Experience with interdisciplinary and multicultural teams is valuable. Motivation to work on policy-relevant research topics at the climate/health nexus is desirable.

We expect:

• the ability to work independently and on your own initiative,
• a methodical and systematic approach,
• structured and goal-oriented thinking,
• capacity to familiarize yourself quickly with new topics,
• creativity and openness to new approaches,
• reliability, engagement, and a high level of motivation.

We offer:

• the opportunity to work on cutting-edge scientific questions with high societal relevance and the prospect of high-impact publications,
• the opportunity to take rewarded and visible responsibility in an exciting scientific project involving global experts on climate attribution, agricultural modelling, intergenerational climate justice, and health,
• the chance to join an enthusiastic, interdisciplinary and multicultural team at PIK,
• guidance and supervision in career development,
• a stimulating working environment in an internationally recognised research institute on Potsdam's beautiful, historic Telegrafenberg campus, a short commuting distance from Berlin,
• flexi-time and mobile working (up to 50% of your hours),
• a collective pay scheme and associated benefits as well as a subsidized travel card or Deutschland-Ticket Job.

PIK values equality and diversity. We encourage applications without photo. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of ethnic and social origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, care responsibilities, or age. PIK seeks to increase the share of women in scientific positions and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply. In cases of equal qualification and within the given legal scope, women will be given preference. PIK also encourages applications by parents returning from parental leave.

Please apply by 15.12.2024 directly via our application form.

Application documents should comprise a letter of motivation, a CV, relevant certificates, and a list of your peer-reviewed publications with annotations as to their relevance to the position.

If you hold an international higher education qualification, please also submit a certificate evaluation from the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) with your application. If you do not yet have a transcript evaluation, please note that you may have to request one if your application is successful. For further information, please visit the website: https://www.kmk.org/zab/central-office-for-foreign-education.html

For further information or to discuss the position please contact Dr. Amanda Wendt (working group lead “Climate Change and Health”) and Dr. Sabine Undorf (project lead “Climakid”).