The Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) is opening a competitive call for applications for one Research Assistant position to pursue a PhD on issues related to environmental sustainability indicators. The selected person will take part in different projects aimed at developing novel environmental sustainability metrics in a Beyond-GDP context based on the Environmental Sustainability Gap (ESGAP) framework.
To that end, the candidate will work with environmental and economic data to build indicators that show how far each country is from environmental sustainability, and what closing that distance would require. Specifically, the work involves extending the country coverage of the Strong Environmental Sustainability Index (SESI) – a composite indicator that measures country performance against reference values of good environmental functioning – and computing, for the first time, the Monetary Environmental Sustainability Gap (M-ESGAP) of European countries – a composite indicator that estimates the cost of achieving environmental sustainability. The research will be conducted at BC3 and in collaboration with other international research institutions such as University College London, the French Development Agency (AFD) and the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development.
The position is intended to lead to a doctorate. The initial two-year contract may be extended for two further years upon a positive assessment of performance. The thesis would be supervised by Arkaitz Usubiaga-Liaño (BC3) under the doctoral programme of the University of the Basque Country (EHU).
Main requirements/skills:
- The applicant should have a University Master Degree in Environmental Sciences, Earth Sciences, Biology, Geography, Environmental/Ecological Economics or similar, with a solid background in quantitative methods.
- Interest in sustainable development and sustainability monitoring frameworks, and their science-policy interface
- Interest in developing a doctoral thesis in this field
- Good interpersonal and communication skills (both written and oral) in English
- Knowledge of programming languages such as Python or R would be highly valued
- Flexibility to collaborate in existing research projects
- Desire to work in a diverse and multi-disciplinary research environment
Benefits and work environment
- Interdisciplinary and inspiring work environment.
- Quiet and spacious workspaces.
- Possibility of participating in internal training and activities of the centre.
- 35-hour work calendar.
- 30 days of vacation per year.
More info: https://www.bc3research.org/en/job_offer/research-assistant-for-esgap-project-with-a-route-to-a-phd-on-environmental-sustainability-indicators/
Between €20,800.00 and €22,880.00 per year depending on experience