The mission of the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) as a nationally and internationally active research institute is to deliver solutions for an ecologically, economically and socially sustainable agriculture – together with society. ZALF is a member of the Leibniz Association and is located in Müncheberg (approx. 35 minutes by regional train from Berlin-Lichtenberg). It also maintains a research station with further locations in Dedelow and Paulinenaue.
The advertised position will support the European Partnership “Accelerating farming systems transition: Agroecology Living Labs and Research Infrastructures”. The assumption of this AGROECOLOGY Partnership is that the challenges faced by the European agricultural sector can be addressed through agroecology, which is a systemic approach that builds on natural, biological interactions while using state-of-the-art science and technology, and innovation based on farmers’ knowledge and tested best practices.
The partnership relies on a common vision to team-up and unlock the transition to agroecology so that farming systems are resilient, productive and prosperous, place-sensitive, as well as climate, environment, ecosystem, biodiversity and people-friendly by 2050. ZALF is part of the AGROECOLOGY Partnership, which is expected to start at 1st of January 2024.
The particular focus of the advertised position within the AGROECOLOGY-Team at ZALF is on identifying and engaging actors and stakeholders of the value chain and on providing methodological guidance (co-creation and collective intelligence methods) that promote the development of new Agroecology Living Labs.
We are offering a full-time position temporarily for 3 years, starting 1st of February 2024 at our location in Müncheberg as Post-doctoral researcher (f/m/d) on transdiciplinary methods in agroecological living labs, 116-2023
Your tasks:
- conducting systematic literature reviews
- developing a methodology for “regionalization” in order to select the optimal geographical scale for governing the agroecological transitions
- conceptualizing, conducting and analyzing (e.g. qualitative text analysis) semi-structured interviews on e.g. best practices of transdisciplinary research
- identification of and engaging with experts, stakeholders and actors
- organizing workshops with international experts
- joint representation of ZALF in the AGROECOLOGY Partnership
- prepare deliverables and journal publications
- discussing, integrating, and sharing of results with project partners
- attending international project meetings
Your qualifications:
- PhD in environmental / agricultural science, (rural) sociology, human geography, political sciences, or related subjects
- knowledge of transdisciplinary approaches and methods in theory and practice; research experiences in living labs will be an advantage
- knowledge on systemic agroecology and agroecological transformation processes
- experiences in qualitative research methods
- experiences in spatial analytical methods
- excellent command of the English language (written and oral)
- organizational skills and ability to work independently
- interest in working in an interdisciplinary and international project team
What we offer:
- joining an ambitious project team at ZALF
- opportunity to connect and exchange with living lab experts at EU-level
- opportunity to engage within the agroecology community
- an interdisciplinary and international working environment that encourages independence and self-reliance
- classification according to the collective agreement of the federal states (TV-L) up to E13 (including special annual payment)
- a collegial and open-minded working atmosphere in a dynamic research institution
- company ticket
Women are particularly encouraged to apply. Applications from severely disabled persons with equal qualifications are favored. It is generally possible to work in the position on a part-time basis. Please send your application preferably online (see button online application below). For e-mail applications, create a PDF document (one PDF file, max. 5 MB; packed PDF documents, archive files like zip, rar etc. Word documents cannot be processed and therefore cannot be considered!) with the usual documents, in particular Cover letter, CV, proof of qualification and certificates, stating the reference number 116-2023 until 30 November 2023 to (see button e-mail application below).
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us: Dr. Madlen Walther (administrative questions), Tel. +49 (0) 33432/82-4072; e-mail: madlen.walther@zalf.de or Dr. Maria Busse (content related questions); e-mail: maria.busse@zalf.de .
For cost reasons, application documents or extensive publications can only be returned if an adequately stamped envelope is attached. If you apply, we collect and process your personal data in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of the EU GDPR only for the processing of your application and for purposes that result from possible future employment with the ZALF. Your data will be deleted after six months.