Are you interested in quantifying and understanding societal consequences of biodiversity loss? Then join our environmental science group for a postdoctoral research position focused on coupling ecological and macroeconomic models. You will be part of a lively, international and interactive group of researchers dedicated to solving a variety of environmental sustainability challenges.

In this position you will be developing and applying an integrated and global ecological-economic model for quantifying the economic consequences of biodiversity loss. To that end, you will link existing global biodiversity and ecosystem services models to a global economy-wide model (e.g. a CGE or PE model) through market or non-market valuation approaches. You will then use the coupled model in scenario simulations to quantify how changes in biodiversity or ecosystem services affect relevant economic performance indicators, such as GDP, prices, trade, and production statistics for different economic sectors, and to evaluate whether the economic benefits of preventing further losses of biodiversity and ecosystems exceed the costs of conservation.

This project contributes to the European DECIPHER project. DECIPHER will improve the evaluation of different policy options tackling climate change and biodiversity loss by establishing feedback loops between economic and physical system models. As part of DECIPHER, you will explore valuation approaches for biodiversity loss. In addition, you will be invited to join an international working group of researchers aiming to advance the integration of environmental and economic modelling. Up to 10% of your working hours may consist of teaching activities.

• You hold a PhD degree in industrial ecology or environmental or ecological economics. 
• You have proven experience in macroeconomic modelling. 
• You have expertise or are at least interested in ecological modelling and/or environmental accounting.
• You have a solid basis in at least one common high-level programming language (e.g. Python, Matlab, R).
• You enjoy collaborative research in international teams. You have a good command of English (written and spoken).

Fixed-term contract: It concerns a temporary employment for 2 years with the possibility of a temporary extension.

• It concerns an employment for 0.8 - 1.0 FTE.
• The gross monthly salary amounts to a minimum of €2,960 and a maximum of €4,670 based on a 38-hour working week, depending on previous education and number of years of relevant work experience (salary scale 10).
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• It concerns a temporary employment for 2 years with the possibility of a temporary extension.
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services. Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Working for us means getting extra days off. In case of full-time employment, you can choose between 29 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the legally allotted 20.

Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

The mission of the Environmental Science group is to provide high-quality scientific knowledge that can help the world move towards greater sustainability. To achieve this, we aim to understand, project and address the impact of anthropogenic pressures on ecosystems and humans from the landscape to the global scale. This enables us to explore and develop wide-ranging sustainable solutions for the environmental challenges the world faces today.


Radboud University
We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 24,000 students and 5,600 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!