The Institute of Global Change Research of the Czech Academy of Science (CzechGlobe) is seeking a Researcher to join the Department of Human Dimensions of Global Change. The position is a fixed term contract and will mainly contribute to the ENABLE project funded under the Biodiversa+, the European co-funded biodiversity partnership supporting excellent research on biodiversity with an impact for policy and society.
About the employer
Global Change Research Institute CAS (CzechGlobe) is one of the institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences. CzechGlobe conducts comprehensive scientific research on issues of the global climate change and its impacts on the atmosphere, terrestrial ecosystems and human society through the use of the up-to-date research techniques and instrumentation.
The Department of Human Dimensions of Global Change is focussed on research that explores the relationships between human society, natural systems and global change. The work is inter- and trans-disciplinary, with an emphasis on the policy and practical use of research results. As such, researchers are skilled at bringing together scientists and knowledge from a range of disciplines, alongside practitioners and civil society to identify pertinent research gaps and co-create relevant knowledge and solutions to environmental problems.
To learn more about CzechGlobe, see: https://www.czechglobe.cz/en/
To read the blog of the Department of Human Dimensions, see: https://sustainablecz.org/
About the project
It is increasingly acknowledged that decision-making on biodiversity conservation and land-use must consider the multiple values of nature and its benefits for people by employing a pluralistic approach. At the local scale, assessments of nature’s contribution to people, including the linkages between land-use and conservation management and its effects on the provisioning of ecosystem services, as well as multi-stakeholder approaches to valuation, promise more equitable, legitimate decision-making. Nevertheless, the challenge remains how the quantitative biodiversity monitoring data and qualitative approaches to biodiversity valuation can be negotiated within the timing, scale and logic of decision-making processes. Based on this diagnosed mismatch between the supply of and demand for biodiversity data and the challenges of evidence-based decision-making, we focus on these research objectives:
1. Identify needs and questions of local land-use and conservation management that can be informed by biodiversity monitoring data and describe social challenges of a data integration.
2. Match data demands with existing species and habitat data across spatio-temporal scales, identify gaps and assess capacities to fill gaps via remote sensing-based biodiversity monitoring.
3. Enable data integration across scales by leveraging instruments and capacities in local decision-making for land-use and conservation management.
About the role
In this role, you will delve into the intricate intersection of biodiversity monitoring, political decision-making, and policy implementation. Join us in exploring the integration of political perspectives into local land-use and conservation management practices.
Responsibilities: As a PhD candidate in the ENABLE project with a focus on policy making processes and the role of monitoring data therein, your responsibilities will encompass:
- Policy and data integration assessment: Conduct in-depth policy and document analyses, and qualitative research interviews, to identify the political needs and questions within local land-use and conservation management. Explore how biodiversity monitoring data can inform and influence political decision-making processes.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate closely with political stakeholders, government authorities, and policy-makers to understand their perspectives and incorporate political considerations into the integration of biodiversity monitoring data. This will include organising collaborative workshops in our case study area.
- Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Work collaboratively with researchers from diverse fields, including political science, environmental science, and data science, from Czech Republic and our project partners in Germany and Sweden, to ensure a comprehensive understanding of political nuances in the integration process. Collaborations will include study visits to other partners and their case studies.
- Research Dissemination and Communication: You will engage in communicating the findings of results in Czech and English, to policy, popular and scientific audiences. This will include contributions to the department blog, and peer-reviewed scientific papers, and formats that are appropriate to the needs of project stakeholders.
You will work closely with Prof. Julia Leventon, Dr. Tomáš Baďura and Dr. David Stella in these tasks.
Person specification
Essential
- Excellent spoken and written English and Czech
- A master’s degree in sustainability science, environmental social science, political science, sociology, or other relevant discipline.
- An interest in understanding people, policy and politics and their role in creating and solving sustainability problems
- A commitment to participating in a thriving intellectual community in the department, embedded within the broader institute
- A commitment to creating a real-world impact from research by communicating beyond academia to policy, practice and public forums.
Desirable
- Experience with designing research and methodologies and working in inter- and trans-disciplinary research environments
- Experience with international research projects (ideally projects funded under EU schemes)
- Excellent communication skills while working in international environments.
Remuneration and benefits
- Competitive salary agreed based on experience
- Thriving academic environment (seminars, discussions, reading clubs, peer-to-peer skills training, etc.)
- Career development opportunities offered by CzechGlobe (language classes, training workshops, CzechGlobe internal grant agency for small funding for PhD and post-doctoral researchers to develop their own research ideas)
- Support in developing own funding proposals for future research, both as an individual and as a member of a team
- Office in Prague, a combination both home and in-office working, flexible working hours
Contract details
- Contract length: 3 years
- Contract start: Early 2024
- FTE: 0,5 to be agreed before contract commences
- We will consider job shares
To apply
For informal enquiries, contact Dr. David Stella at stella.d@czechglobe.cz.
To submit your application, send the following documents to jobs@czechglobe.cz (with kubuskova.v@czechglobe.cz in copy) by 4th December 2023. Shortlisted candidates will be notified by 8th December. Interviews will take place on 13th December 2023
- your academic CV
- the names and contact details of 2 referees
- cover letter that addresses the person specification provided above