The IBF Research Group, part of the IIASA Biodiversity and Natural Resources (BNR) Program, is offering an opportunity for an applied economist to work on modeling of the EU agriculture and food system and related sustainability issues, such as climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity, and food and nutrition security, at the interface between science and policy.
BACKGROUND
The IBF Research Group adopts an integrated approach to sustainable land use and ecosystems modeling taking into account i) interactions between different economic sectors, including agriculture, forestry, bioenergy, and fisheries, ii) synergies and trade-offs between multiple societal objectives, including, but not limited to, GHG emissions and climate change mitigation, climate change impacts and adaptation, food security, sustainable nutrient and water management, and biodiversity, iii) across different spatial and temporal scales, going from pixel through the country level up to the global scale, and from annual to a hundred year time horizon.
The group is strongly connected to the international academic community, placing emphasis on transdisciplinary synergies, and applied approaches. The work accomplished has long been recognized through regular publications in high-ranking scientific journals, and the BNR Program includes several Top 1% highly cited researchers. In addition, BNR is recognized as a reliable partner in support of national policy making and international multilateral processes.
the Position
The successful candidate will advance the representation of the EU agricultural sector and related policies within the partial equilibrium model GLOBIOM. They will work in a large multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team of researchers and will contribute to the development of assigned thematic areas as well as the application of the model in EU research and policy projects, such as (LAMASUS, BrightSpace, or SWITCH) .
MAIN Tasks AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Further develop the agricultural sector representation in GLOBIOM along different dimensions including
- Improved policy representation to cover key agricultural and land-use related policies,
- Updating (spatially explicit) datasets such as land cover information, yields, or cropping areas etc.,
- Improved costing of agricultural production systems,
- Improved model calibration to observed data and historic trends.
- Include new management practices in the model such as organic farming, agro-forestry etc. that are important to achieve EU policy targets as presented in the Farm to Fork Strategy and the EU Green Deal. This includes data analysis and processing, module conceptualization and implementation.
- Apply the model in the context of international research and policy projects – incl. regulatory assessments – on the impact of agricultural policy interventions on land use sectors and other sustainability metrics.
- Produce project and policy reports and publish relevant results in authoritative peer-reviewed journals.
- Grow further the topics of expertise within the team, by expanding the international network and new funding acquisition.
- Participate in IIASA research dissemination in scientific conferences, workshops, and stakeholder events.
- In line with the team spirit that prevails at IIASA, the incumbent may occasionally work on other tasks assigned by their superiors, that might not be directly related to this appointment but where the post holder has relevant experience and skills, and/or a shortage of immediate personnel capabilities requires such.
Requirements
- PhD degree, or a master's degree combined with relevant research experience in applied economics, such as agricultural economics, development economics, resource economics.
- Experience with large scale applied economic models, either at sector level or in the general equilibrium framework.
- Strong analytical, quantitative, and programming skills (such as R, Python, and GIS tools) combined with exceptional problem-solving skills.
- Proficiency in GAMS is an asset.
- Commitment to continuous learning and capacity to take upon novel topics.
- Proven capacity to autonomously design and implement research.
- Deliver high-quality results within set timelines, ability to produce policy-relevant reports and publish scientific articles.
- Excellent command of English, both in spoken and written form.
- Flexibility to travel.
- IIASA offers an interdisciplinary and international workplace, and the possibility to interact with researchers of different nationalities, with strong ties to a world-wide network of research institutions engaged in environmental systems research. The successful candidate must be able to work in, and have respect for, an intercultural environment, and IIASA core values.
