PhD Position/Doctoral Fellowship Award – “Drivers of change”
United Nations University Objectives:
The United Nations University (UNU) is an international community of scholars, engaged in research, postgraduate teaching and capacity development and dissemination of knowledge in furthering the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The mission of UNU is to contribute, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations and its Member States. For more information, please visit http://unu.edu.
United Nations University-Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS):
UNU-EHS, established in December 2003, is part of the UNU system, a worldwide network of Research and Training Institutes. Its mission is to advance human security through knowledge-based approaches to reducing vulnerability and environmental risks. For more information, please visit www.ehs.unu.edu.
DeltAdapt Project
The DeltAdapt project is a BMBF (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research) funded project aiming to explore the socio-ecological sustainability of coastal agro-ecosystems in the Mekong and Red River Deltas, Vietnam and their adaptation options to increasing salinity intrusion. The main focus is on management shifts between paddy rice, rice-shrimp farming, and saline aquaculture and the consequences of these on-farm adaptation processes to salinity intrusion on soil quality, biodiversity, climate, and livelihoods. UNU-EHS leads work package 2 on “Drivers of change”. The overall aim of the work package is to explore the root causes of salinity intrusion and agricultural system changes observed in both, the Vietnamese Mekong Delta and Red River Delta, particularly in the coastal areas and to explore scenarios of future changes in land use and livelihood. The study will focus on both, the social and the ecological system in place and will be based e.g. on literature and secondary data analysis, stakeholder consultations in a participatory manner and a household surveys carried out in coastal provinces. The work will be conducted in both deltas jointly with University of Würzburg, Can Tho University and Hanoi University of Agriculture and will require interdisciplinary analysis of the drivers and change patterns.
The DeltAdapt project is a BMBF (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research) funded project aiming to explore the socio-ecological sustainability of coastal agro-ecosystems in the Mekong and Red River Deltas, Vietnam and their adaptation options to increasing salinity intrusion. The main focus is on management shifts between paddy rice, rice-shrimp farming, and saline aquaculture and the consequences of these on-farm adaptation processes to salinity intrusion on soil quality, biodiversity, climate, and livelihoods. UNU-EHS leads work package 2 on “Drivers of change”. The overall aim of the work package is to explore the root causes of salinity intrusion and agricultural system changes observed in both, the Vietnamese Mekong Delta and Red River Delta, particularly in the coastal areas and to explore scenarios of future changes in land use and livelihood. The study will focus on both, the social and the ecological system in place and will be based e.g. on literature and secondary data analysis, stakeholder consultations in a participatory manner and a household surveys carried out in coastal provinces. The work will be conducted in both deltas jointly with University of Würzburg, Can Tho University and Hanoi University of Agriculture and will require interdisciplinary analysis of the drivers and change patterns.
Responsibilities:
Under the authority of the Director of UNU-EHS and the Head of the Environmental Vulnerability and Ecosystem Services (EVES) section, the successful candidate will be entrusted with the following tasks:
• Literature and field research to determine the history and spatial/temporal dynamics of land use and land use changes in the coastal areas of both deltas and specifically analyse different social and ecosystem drivers such as environmental change, soil properties, policy change, market forces, etc.
• Understand the relative importance of the increasing salinity levels in water and soil resources as driver for land use changes and adjustments in the agricultural production
• Analyse the trajectories of these changes, i.e. which drivers can be predicted to gain importance in the future and what will be the relative importance of salinization?
• Develop an analytical framework to capture the drivers and changes.
• Literature and field research to determine the history and spatial/temporal dynamics of land use and land use changes in the coastal areas of both deltas and specifically analyse different social and ecosystem drivers such as environmental change, soil properties, policy change, market forces, etc.
• Understand the relative importance of the increasing salinity levels in water and soil resources as driver for land use changes and adjustments in the agricultural production
• Analyse the trajectories of these changes, i.e. which drivers can be predicted to gain importance in the future and what will be the relative importance of salinization?
• Develop an analytical framework to capture the drivers and changes.
Required qualifications and Experience
• Minimum Masters degree or equivalent in Geography, Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Sciences, or related fields;
• Ability to understand both social and ecological processes and work at their interface;
• Experience in empirical work linked to social sciences (questionnaire design, household interviews);
• Excellent command of oral and written English;
• Knowledge of Vietnamese is an asset;
• Willingness and ability to conduct extensive field research in Vietnam, sometimes in remote areas;
• Good team player with strong interpersonal skills demonstrated by the ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.
Stipend:
• Ability to understand both social and ecological processes and work at their interface;
• Experience in empirical work linked to social sciences (questionnaire design, household interviews);
• Excellent command of oral and written English;
• Knowledge of Vietnamese is an asset;
• Willingness and ability to conduct extensive field research in Vietnam, sometimes in remote areas;
• Good team player with strong interpersonal skills demonstrated by the ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.
Stipend:
Stipend of 1,450 EUR per month
Duration of Contract:
The successful candidate will be based at UNU-EHS in Bonn on a full-time basis under the Doctoral Fellowship Award category for a period of 12 months with the possibility of annual extension - up to 36 months, based on a review of the state of progress every 12 months. Extensive stays in Vietnam will also be required.
This is a locally recruited post; no relocation expenses or allowances apply. The successful candidate will be employed under a local contract and will not hold international civil servant status nor be a “staff member” as defined in the United Nations Staff Rules and Regulations.
Applications from suitably qualified women candidates are particularly encouraged.
Starting Date: as soon as possible, 1 November 2014 latest
Application Procedure:
Interested applicants should submit their applications by e-mail (to hrbonn@vie.unu.edu), and must include the following:
• A cover letter setting out how the qualifications and experience match the requirements of the position;
• A curriculum vitae and a completed and signed UNU Personal History (P.11) form downloadable from the UNU website. Please avoid using similar forms provided by other United Nations organizations;
• An indication of the reference number of the vacancy announcement (2014/UNU/EHS/PhD/10).
• A curriculum vitae and a completed and signed UNU Personal History (P.11) form downloadable from the UNU website. Please avoid using similar forms provided by other United Nations organizations;
• An indication of the reference number of the vacancy announcement (2014/UNU/EHS/PhD/10).
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