Postdoctoral Research Associate (system dynamics modelling)

About us 

The Department of Geography is a vibrant community of students, teachers and researchers. Our holistic approach encompasses both human and physical geography perspectives on global challenges and pressing environmental, geopolitical, urban and rural issues. Our research findings contribute to public debates and policy development at national and international scales, making important contributions to work in climate change, disasters, smart cities, risk regulation, water, human migration and land surface processes related to for example agriculture, forests and landscape fire. We are also deeply committed to tackling pressing matters of social justice around the world. We undertake field research in over 95 countries across seven continents. Meanwhile, using London and its surroundings as a laboratory, our students and staff study the regions migration, transport, housing, displacement, air and water quality, and health. 

About the role

Joined up policy and practice for joined up landscapes (JPP4JL) is a Maximising UK adaptation to climate change research project, co-led by Dr Christian Reynolds and Dr Christopher Yap at the Centre for Food Policy, City St George’s, University of London, with collaborators at King's College London; Birkbeck; Brunel University London; Harper Adams University; and the Universities of Reading, York and Cambridge.

JPP4JL partners with WRAP and their Water Roadmap collective action projects (Southeast Rivers Trust and the Wye and Usk Foundation), and the North Essex Farm Cluster. Methods include Rapid Evidence and Qualitative Assessment; participatory and grounded place-based workshops; and System Dynamics Modelling, to understand how to maximise the contribution of Nature Based Solutions to climate change adaptation in the UK through multifunctional landscapes in the medium to long term

The PDRA will contribute to Work Package 4 of the “Joined up policy and practice for joined up landscapes” (JPP4JL) project, which focuses on the system dynamics modelling of Nature-Based solutions (NBS) in the UK context. This role involves developing a system dynamics model of NBS in relation to the UK food system.

The successful candidate will work closely with project partners to develop coupled sub-models within a system dynamics framework. Working with colleagues from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the candidate will build a behavioural sub-model using the CRAFTY GB model, a spatially-explicit agent-based model of land use change in Great Britain. This will be coupled with a system dynamics model of macro-scale drivers of land system change. Working with colleagues from the MET office, the candidate will use outputs from the JULES land surface model to run model experiments that test NBS adaptation potential under different climate change scenarios. For example, the potential for NBS to address agricultural drought or flood risk.

The successful candidate will generate a front-facing app to test with policy and practice stakeholder, and conduct webinars for knowledge exchange

The successful candidate will work closely with the KCL Co-I, Dr Katie Manning, and with the multidisciplinary team of researchers from the Centre for Food Policy at City St George’s, University of London, and collaborating institutions including Birkbeck, Brunel University London, Harper Adams University, and the Universities of Reading, York, and Cambridge. The Research Fellow will also engage with project partners such as WRAP, the Southeast Rivers Trust, the Wye and Usk Foundation, and the North Essex Farm Cluster to ensure the practical application of research findings

This is a full-time post, and you will be offered an 18 month fixed-term contract.

Advert information