Researcher (m/f/d) assisting in project management and coordination having expertise in hydrological and soil erosion modelling

Müncheberg

Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF) e.V.

The mission of the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) as a nationally and internationally active research institute is to deliver solutions for an ecologically, economically and socially sustainable agriculture – together with society. ZALF is a member of the Leibniz Association and is located in Müncheberg (approx. 35 minutes by regional train from Berlin-Lichtenberg). It also maintains a research station with further locations in Dedelow and Paulinenaue.

The ZALF Research Group on “Soil Erosion and Feedbacks” aims at assessing soil erosion processes driven by wind, water, and anthropogenic activities as well as their general impacts on landscape functioning. For this strongly transdisciplinary goal we apply qualitative and quantitative approaches. A key issue of the working group is the integration of the different soil erosion processes on landscape scale. The research carried out in the light of expected future global changes finally helps to develop new innovative techniques and approaches to fight, cope with or mitigate negative effects of soil erosion especially in agricultural areas. Within this context our international Research Group gained a 3-years EU-project submitted in the 1st EU-Agroecology call. The project is entitled: “Supporting Agroecological Transitions of Agroforestry Landscapes using an Innovative Transdisciplinary Assessment Framework (AGRECO4CAST)”.

We are offering a 75% part time position (30 hours per week) temporarily limited for 3 years at our location in Müncheberg subject to final confirmation by the funding organization as

Researcher (m/f/d)

assisting in project management and coordination having expertise in hydrological and soil erosion modelling

07-2025

Your tasks:

•   assist in the general management and coordination of the project
•   carry out hydrological and soil erosion modelling using physically based models
•   carry out landscape assessment using hind casting and forecasting investigations based on scenario analysis
•   derive measures to prevent, mitigate or cope with effects like extreme events and water scarcity in the test areas

Your qualifications:

•   background knowledge (min. MSc level) in Geosciences with focus on hydrology and/or soil erosion assessment or related disciplines (e.g. Physical Geography, Geoecology, Geology, Remote Sensing, Soil Science, Agric. Engineering)
•   as an internationally research institution, located in Germany we require good to very good written and spoken English skills and the willingness to take part in further training as part of the language courses in German offered internally
•   experience in environmental modelling, particularly hydrological modelling
•   experience in statistical analysis of geodata
•   experience in GIS and coding (R, python, or similar)
•   experience in coordination/management of scientific projects or research groups

What we offer:

•   an interdisciplinary working environment that encourages independence and self-reliance
•   classification according to the collective agreement of the federal states (TV-L) up to E13 (including special annual payment)
•   a collegial and open-minded working atmosphere in a dynamic research institution
•   company ticket
• in-house language courses in German and English
•   international team with working language English

Women are particularly encouraged to apply. Applications from severely disabled persons with equal qualifications are favored. The filling of the position in part-time is possible in principle. Please send your application preferably online (see button online application below). For e-mail applications, create a PDF document (one PDF file, max. 5 MB; packed PDF documents, archive files like zip, rar etc. Word documents cannot be processed and therefore cannot be considered!) with the usual documents, in particular CV, proof of qualification and certificates, stating the reference number 07-2025 until 28 February 2025 to (see button e-mail application below).

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us: Prof. Dr. Michael Maerker, Tel. +49 (0) 33432/82-292.

For cost reasons, application documents or extensive publications can only be returned if an adequately stamped envelope is attached.

If you apply, we collect and process your personal data in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of the EU GDPR only for the processing of your application and for purposes that result from possible future employment with the ZALF. Your data will be deleted after six months.