Position for: FG IV – Project Officer in the field of forest modelling

At JRC, ISPRA, Italy

As the science and knowledge service of the Commission, the mission of DG Joint Research Centre is to support EU policies with independent evidence throughout the whole policy cycle.

The vacancy is within the Bio-Economy Unit, (located in Ispra, Italy), which provides scientific support to EU policies related to the bio-economy such as the sustainable production as well as the use of biological resources and the conversion to value added products, such as food, feed, bioenergy and bio-based products.
We are looking for a researcher to contribute to the further development and implementation of the forest growth models as part of the wider forest sector modelling suite of the Unit, in the context of the wider bio-economy and environmental threats (e.g. climate change).
The activity is framed within the assessment and modelling of existing and future forest resources in Europe, with a focus on biomass supply and demand (and the associated environmental impacts) under given policy scenarios.

The envisaged work will consist of:
-Further developing, maintaining and running forest growth models available in the Unit (e.g. Carbon Budget Model).
-Calibrating the model/s for the full set of EU countries, also liaising with the consortium of National Forest Inventories in charge of providing relevant data and supporting model developments.
-Working on the links and feedback loops with the Global Forest Trade Model and other sectorial models of the bio-economy in order to implement projections. of forest biomass supply and demand scenarios.
-Produce scientific publications.

The ideal candidate should have a PhD in forestry, environmental engineering, physics or environmental sciences or related field with emphasis on modelling, multivariate statistics and spatial analysis (or a University degree and 5 years of research experience after the degree giving access to doctoral studies).
Experience working with forest growth models, large environmental datasets and hands on experience with scientific programming (e,g R, Python) and Geographical Information Systems will be considered assets.
Good knowledge of spoken and written English (B2) is required. Relevant publications and presentations should be highlighted.

Directorate unit: Sustainable Resources, Bio-Economy, Further information: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/
Indicative duration
36 months initial contract with possible renewals up to maximum 6 years
JRC Site: Ispra
Country: Italy
Rules and eligibility: The candidate must be on a valid EPSO reserve list for Function Group IV contract staff.
Applicants to the following Calls for expression of interest can also be considered:
1. CAST Permanent – EPSO has launched in January 2017 an open-ended selection procedure to create a pool of candidates from which the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the European Union (EU) can recruit contract agents. Details available at this link
2. Call COM/1/2015/GFIV – Research – The JRC has launched in January 2015 a permanent call for researchers FG IV. Details available at this link
Auxiliary contract staff: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/working-with-us/jobs/temporary-positions/contract-staff-members
Please note that due to the high number of applications received only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

For details and online application to the post: http://recruitment.jrc.ec.europa.eu/?site=IPR&type=AX&category=FGIV
Deadline for applications is 15/01/2018.

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