Place of work

Leipzig

Working time

65% (25.35 h / week)

Contract limitations

limited contract / 36 months

Salary

Remuneration according to the TVöD public-sector up to pay grade 13 including attractive public-sector social security benefits.

Contact

Your contact for any questions you may have about the job:
Dr. Jürgen Groeneveld (juergen.groeneveld@ufz.de)

This work will be supervised by Prof. Karin Frank as university supervisor and Dr. Jürgen Groeneveld and Dr. Christian Klassert as UFZ supervisor.

Your application

Please submit your application via our online portal with your cover letter, CV (please omit your photo, age, or marital status) and relevant attachments.

Diversity and Inclusion

The UFZ has a strong commitment to diversity and actively supports equal opportunities for all employees regardless of their origin, religion, ideology, disability, age or sexual identity.
We look forward to applications from people who are open-minded and enjoy working in diverse teams.

The UFZ

The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) with its 1,100 employees has gained an excellent reputation as an international competence centre for environmental sciences. We are part of the largest scientific organisation in Germany, the Helmholtz association. Our mission: Our research seeks to find a balance between social development and the long-term protection of our natural resources.

The job

Within the new PhD cohort SafePol (Safeguarding Pollinators facing multiple stressors in multifunctional landscapes) at UFZ we offer four PhD positions. In SafePol we aim to unravel the impact of heat stress and pesticide exposure in multifunctional landscapes on bumble bees. Therefore, (1) we will investigate the link between external and internal exposure of bumble bees to pesticides and other chemicals, (2) we will explore the effect of multiple stressors on bumble bee health and behaviour using proteomics and metabolomics, (3) we will monitor bumble bee colonies in agricultural landscapes and identify their collected pollen, (4) and finally we will simulate bumble bee populations facing multiple stressors.Position (4) will be filled in the Department of Ecological Modelling.

Your tasks

The successful candidate will simulate the putative interactions between pesticide exposure, nutritional stress, heat stress, and landscape structure on bumble bee behavior, population dynamics of single and multiple colonies in the landscape. Apart from utilizing data sources describing current land use we will use future land use scenarios for the simulations to better understand the impact of expected trends on pollinator health. For the simulations it is planned that the candidate will use and expand an existing simulation tool (BEESTEWARD).

To meet these objectives, the successful candidate will:

• Analyse and prepare data for model calibration and parameterization
• Design, execute and analyse simulation experiments
• Program new modules to be able to answer the research questions
• Write publications for peer-reviewed scientific journals about the results and present them at international conferences
• Communicate and disseminate research results to diverse audiences, e.g. our external project partners working in regulatory offices and industry

We offer

• Excellent supervision and optimal professional and interdisciplinary qualification through our HIGRADE graduate programme
• The freedom to master even the most demanding challenges between basic research and practical application
• The opportunity to work in interdisciplinary, international teams and benefit from a wide range of perspectives
• Firstclass integration into national and international research networks to work together on global challenges
• Excellent research infrastructure and research data management to optimally support your work
• A wide range of options for balancing care responsibilities and work through our family office
• Competent support and advice for international colleagues arriving at the UFZ from the ‘International Office’
• Special annual payment, capital-forming benefits and subsidised Deutschland-Job-Ticket
• A workplace in a vibrant region with a high life quality and social and cultural diversity

Your profile

• A very good university degree (Master, Diploma) including subjects as system sciences, mathematics, physics, geography, computational ecology
• Expertise in modelling and analyzing complex systems
• Proficiency in programming (e.g. NetLogo, R)
• English language proficiency (CEFR level C1 or higher)
• Strong interpersonal skills and a desire to cooperate closely with other members of the PhD cohort
• Excellent team work capabilities in a multidisciplinary, international team

The following experiences are beneficial but not mandatory:

• Experience in ecological modelling using mechanistic simulation models
• Prior experience in pollination ecology
• Experience in publishing and presenting research findings in peer-reviewed journals and at scientific conferences
• Experience with one or more fields of research: ecotoxicology, stress ecology, statistics
• Some knowledge of German is helpful for navigating life in Germany but not required for the job

Application deadline: 31.01.2025

More information about jobs at the UFZ:
www.ufz.de/career

LinkedIn @UFZ

Family Support

International Office

Accessibility

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion