Postdoctoral Researcher on everyday urban adaptation for IMAGINE Adaptation Project

About the Position

The Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) offers a full-time postdoctoral researcher position to support the research activities in the context of the European Research Council (ERC) project IMAGINE Adaptation (ID: 101039429), led by Dr Marta Olazabal. This is a 5-year research project funded by the ERC that is being developed in the framework of the Adaptation Lab (Research Line 4) and the cross-cutting Urban Theme at BC3.

The project ‘IMAGINE adaptation’ addresses the imperative of how to evaluate adaptation in urban areas as a contemporary complex phenomenon with implications across governance scales. It argues that the current focus on policy progress can be useful as a first step, but it is not indicative of effective adaptation.

In this project, we aim to explore broader understandings of success in adaptation that transcend technocratic approaches and consider equity, justice, and maladaptive issues. In order to enable evaluation and learning from these diverse understandings of adaptation, ‘IMAGINE adaptation’ has four timely and ambitious objectives: first, the reformulation of the concept of successful adaptation using expert and local views. Second, the exploration of trends and needs regarding monitoring and evaluation and how these may enable or hinder adaptation. Third, the development of comparative case study research across 12 urban areas worldwide. Finally, the analysis of how evaluations of local progress can inform global goals. The outputs of this project aim to be a reference for future adaptation assessment studies and to pioneer the understanding of the ways to enable far-reaching, transformative urban adaptation through processes of evaluation and learning.

Responsibilities

• Develop two urban case studies in different cities worldwide to evaluate adaptation interventions through comparative, transdisciplinary, and co-creative research.
• Develop a research theme on everyday adaptations and lived experiences of adaptation within the framework of the project.
• Co-lead a participatory evaluation study on climate change adaptation in urban areas.
• Support the organisation of project meetings, workshops, and conferences.
• Contribute to the training and mentoring of other team members.

Requirements

• Doctoral degree (PhD) in human geography, urban geography, or a closely related discipline.
• Strong background in research on everyday adaptations and lived experiences of urban adaptation, evidenced by prior work, including doctoral or postdoctoral research.
• Experience with participatory and creative research methods, (e.g., photovoice), as well as, with cognitive mapping approaches (e.g., fuzzy cognitive mapping).
• Proven interest and experience in participatory evaluation or community-based adaptation, evidenced by previous postdoctoral or collaborative research with communities.
• Experience working with a diverse range of stakeholders in urban adaptation, including local governments, water utilities, and non-governmental organisations, demonstrated through prior engagement in co-production and transdisciplinary research processes in Spain and overseas.
• Experience in science outreach and dissemination, particularly in communicating research findings to broader audiences through visual and creative methods (e.g., video documentaries).
• Strong publication record in topics related to everyday practices and lived experiences of urban socio-environmental challenges, evidenced by papers published in high-impact scientific journals.
• Fluent English and Spanish (minimum level C2 or native).

We Offer

• Interdisciplinary and inspiring work environment.
• Quiet and spacious workspaces.
• Possibility of participating in the internal training and academic activities of the centre.
• Standard 35-hour workweek calendar.
• 30 days of vacation per year.
• 1 day per week for remote working at home.

Term of Contract

The contract will be for a period of two years, including a six-month probationary period based on performance.

Salary

The position will carry a competitive salary, matching the academic and professional profile of the applicant, and excellent work conditions.

Location

Basque Centre for Climate Change, Leioa, Spain.

About the Company

As an HR Excellence awarded institution, BC3 is committed to conciliating research-academic requirements and family duties. BC3 is particularly concerned with creating equal opportunities for people independently of gender, culture, and race. Anyone with relevant qualifications is therefore strongly encouraged to apply for the position.

Application Procedure

Fill the form below and upload one PDF document with the following information:

1. CV (4 pages max.) including contacts of two referees.
2. One-page MOTIVATION LETTER.
3. One-page bulleted list explaining how you meet the requirements of this job offer, links to relevant previous work/project/initiative are welcome.

Deadline

20 November (CET 15:00).

Informal enquiries can be made to Dr Marta Olazabal ([email protected]), noting in the subject of the message “Postdoctoral researcher everyday urban adaptation”.

Please consider that only applications sent through the form included at the bottom of the BC3 web page will be considered (https://info.bc3research.org/job-offers/).

Contract financed by European Research Council Established by the European Commission, Grant reference 101039429