RESEARCH FELLOW for FERTILAB project

About the Position

The Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) offers a full-time Research Fellow position within the Fertilab project, reference PLEC2022-009252 funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and European Union “NextGenerationEU”/ PRTR. BC3 is looking for a Research Fellow who is interested in assessing the overall sustainability performance of innovative bio-products and technologies linked to the production of nutrient-enriched biofertilizers and organic amendments with biopesticide and biostimulant properties. The position will be based at the Research Line of Terrestrial Ecosystems, in the Research group of Agriculture and Livestock systems.

About the Project

The job is associated with the existing FertiLab project. This multidisciplinary initiative focuses on transforming digested sludge from various sources-an abundant waste material found throughout Spain-into valuable resources for producing value-added products. The project will evaluate the most promising novel bio-products and innovative technologies for their overall sustainability performance. This assessment will adopt a comprehensive perspective, incorporating socio-economic and environmental evaluations through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and regional modeling.

Responsibilities

• Task 1: Conduct an environmental evaluation, including Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis, of the best-performing scenarios.
• Task 2: Assess the economic feasibility of the bio-products and technologies investigated through a cost-benefit analysis of their production processes.
• Task 3: Simulate scenarios and compare the effects of adopting some of the most successful strategies tested in this project against current practices (baseline conditions) at a regional level (Spanish Mediterranean area).

Requirements

• Master’s degree in environmental engineering, agricultural sciences, or environmental sciences.
• PhD in agroecosystems modeling or a related field.
• At least 10 years of expertise in environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) for agri-food products.
• Documented experience in modeling farming systems.
• Experience with specific models (SIMSDAIRY, RothC, SIMSWASTE) and proficiency in LCA software (e.g., Simapro).
• Programming skills.
• Excellent skills in assessing GHG emissions and other environmental impacts from ruminant production systems.
• Fluency in Spanish (both written and spoken) and demonstrated ability to communicate effectively in English.
• Proven ability for independent scientific work, as evidenced by a strong publication record.

We Offer

• Interdisciplinary and inspiring work environment.
• Quiet and spacious workspaces.
• Possibility of participating in internal training and academic activities of the center.
• 35-hour week work calendar.
• 30 days of vacation per year.

Term of Contract

Starting in March 2025, the position will be linked to the end of the project (estimated date: 30 November 2025).

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.

Application Procedure

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

1. CV

Deadline

13 February, 2025 (CET 15:00).

Informal enquiries can be made to Prof Agustin del Prado ([email protected]) noting in the subject of the message “RESEARCH FELLOW FOR FERTILAB PROJECT”.

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/).

Proyecto PLEC2022-009252 financiado por MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 y por la Unión Europea NextGenerationEU/PRTR