Junior Research Group Leader (all genders welcome)

At the University of Göttingen -Public Law Foundation-, CBL Sektion II - Sektion Waldökosystemforschung (SWF) im CBL, there is a position as

to be filled. Starting date is 1/1/2025. The position is limited to 12/31/2030.

The successful candidate will lead a junior research group in the new competence center “Landscape resilience” (Kompetenzzentrum Landschaftsresilienz) at the University of Göttingen, Germany, that will be funded by the Eva Mayr-Stihl foundation from January 2025 to December 2030 and based at the Campus Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use (CBL).

In times of climate change, forestry and agricultural land use in Germany face enormous challenges in order to ensure the long-term provision of forestry and agricultural products and ecosystem services. To develop strategies for adapting land use, we need to understand what makes land use and entire landscapes resilient to climate change. Thus, the research group will focus on investigating the resilience of landscapes to climate change across the sectoral boundaries of forestry and agricultural sciences. The main focus could be on either environmental, ecological, socio-ecological, or socio-economic topics based on remote sensing data, in-situ measurements (e.g., ecophysiology, inventory, eddy covariance, biodiversity), modelling (e.g., agent-based, process-based, machine learning), or social science methods (e.g., surveys, interviews, data analyses).

Tasks:

Main tasks of the junior research group leader will include conducting research in the field of landscape resilience, establishing a junior research group (with two early career scientist positions funded by the Eva Mayr-Stihl foundation), publishing in international journals, and acquiring additional third-party funding. Additionally, it is planned to integrate the junior research group into currently ongoing interdisciplinary collaborative research initiatives. Therefore, the candidate should be highly interested in inter- and transdisciplinary research related to social-ecological land use systems.

Requirements:

• Must hold a PhD in a field relevant to research on landscape resilience, e.g., in forest science or ecology, biodiversity, agricultural science, geology, social science, economics, etc.
• Should have completed their PhD degree no later than 6 years ago (if applicable, plus maternity/parental leave).
• Should have excellent methodological knowledge in their particular field (e.g., modelling, remote sensing, ecophysiological methods, socio-economic analyses).
• Should have a high interest and ideally experience in inter- and transdisciplinary work proven by participation in interdisciplinary projects, publications, and/or outreach activities.
• Should have scientific creativity shown by a track record of original and innovative research.
• Must be proficient in English; German is a plus.

What we offer:

We offer an attractive start-up package that includes two 4-year funded early career researcher positions in addition to the group leader position, an investment budget, an annual budget, and administrative support. The university provides a broad range of opportunities for professional development and career advancement, flexible working hours and home office possibility, support for travel and conference attendance, a comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plan, and paid time off, as well as a diverse and inclusive work environment with a strong commitment to diversity and equity.

With its almost 300-year-old university, Göttingen is a vibrant German town with a vivid academic atmosphere. According to international rankings, the University of Göttingen is one of the leading universities in both Germany and Europe for Forestry and Agricultural Sciences. The excellent environment with leading scientists in these fields provides a unique opportunity to develop one’s own research within a dynamic and interdisciplinary research environment with access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment. The position holder will be integrated into collaborative research initiatives from the start and will have the chance to collaborate with researchers in the university’s different interdisciplinary centres like CBL, CIDAS, ZERN. In addition, the junior research group leader will have access to a wide range of academic and professional networks and collaborations both in science and with stakeholders outside of academia.

Your application should include (in the following order, compiled in one pdf): letter of motivation, CV including names of reference contacts, three-page research concept for the junior research group for a duration of six years, list of publications, certificates, and transcripts.

For any questions on the competence center and the advertised position, please contact Prof. Dr. Alexander Knohl (email: bioklima-job@uni-goettingen.de with subject “Junior research group”).

Information on the involved institutions can be found on the websites of the Campus Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, the Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, and the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences.

The University of Göttingen is an equal opportunities employer and places particular emphasis on fostering career opportunities for women. Qualified women are therefore strongly encouraged to apply in fields in which they are underrepresented. The university has committed itself to being a family-friendly institution and supports their employees in balancing work and family life. The University is particularly committed to the professional participation of severely disabled employees and therefore welcomes applications from severely disabled people. In the case of equal qualifications, applications from people with severe disabilities will be given preference. A disability or equality is to be included in the application in order to protect the interests of the applicant.

Please upload your application in one pdf file including the usual documents until 11/14/2024 on the application portal of the university using this link: http://obp.uni-goettingen.de/de-de/OBF/Index/74654.

For more information, get in touch with Serena Müller directly via E-Mail: serena.mueller@forst.uni-goettingen.de, Tel. 0551-3921217.

Please note:
With submission of your application, you accept the processing of your applicant data in terms of data-protection law. Further information on the legal basis and data usage is provided in the Information General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).