Postdoctoral Fellow in Economic Analysis of Nature Restoration Measures Across Different Farming ...

Are you interested in Economics of nature restoration in agriculture and can you contribute to the development of the Horizon Europe research project BALANCE? Then the Department of Environmental Science invites you to apply for a two-year Postdoc position.

This is a two –year position from 1 May 2027 or as soon possible.

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The postdoctoral researcher will contribute to an interdisciplinary, EU-wide project investigating how nature restoration and nature-positive farming systems can contribute to biodiversity and farming. You will be working primarily with assessment of the short-, medium- and long-term costs and benefits of different nature restoration measures across different farming systems, with a focus on farm income, farm productivity and farm production. You will also develop methods for upscaling the findings on costs and benefits to the EU level. You will be involved in collaborations with researchers in agricultural and environmental economics as well as researchers in other disciplines and stakeholders collaborating in the same project.

Applicants should hold a PhD in Environmental or Agricultural Economics or similar. Candidates should demonstrate strong skills in quantitative economics methods. Documented experience with farm economics and biodiversity is desirable.

• Strong analytical skills
• Experience in quantitative economic assessment related to agri-environmental challenges
• Experience in data collection from scientific articles and public and advisory reports
• Demonstrated ability to publish scientific work in peer-reviewed journals
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English
• Ability to work independently while contributing actively to an interdisciplinary research environment

• Experience in assessing environmental or agronomic topics across different spatial and time scales
• Familiarity with policy-related research
• Experience in collaboration across disciplinary boundaries, particularly between natural and social sciences

We value motivated candidates with strong interpersonal and collaborative skills, who can engage constructively with researchers and stakeholders from different disciplinary and professional backgrounds.

The Department of Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary department under the Faculty of Technology at Aarhus University. The expertise ranges from economics, policy analysis, social science, and geography to physics, chemistry, microbiology and mathematical modelling. Both basic and applied research is conducted related to some of the major challenges facing society, such as pollution, pollution control, land management, climate change, and energy systems, relevant to the quality of soil, water, air, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services. Advisory services within these areas are offered to ministries and other stakeholders. Currently, about 170 staff and PhD-students are working at the department. Further information may be found at http://www.envs.au.dk/en/. The department is located at Risø Campus in Roskilde, 35 kilometers west of Copenhagen.

The selected candidate will be affiliated with the Environmental Social Science and Geography research unit. The unit employs approximately 25 staff, focusing on interdisciplinary analysis of the interlinkages between the environment and society from political science, economics and sociology perspectives. The strategic focus of the unit includes environmental policy development, regulation and instruments, understanding of actions and actors in policy formulation and implementation, spatially integrated modelling as well as policies and economics of ecosystem services and nature-based solutions. Research findings are used for dissemination to the research community, in advisory services to decision makers as well as for teaching.

Our ambition is to have an inclusive and open working environment.

The department offers:

• an exciting interdisciplinary and international environment with many national, international and industrial collaborators
• a research climate encouraging lively, open and critical discussion within and across different fields of research
• a work environment with close working relationships, networking and social activities
• a workplace characterised by professionalism, equality and a healthy work-life balance.

The place of work is Department of Environmental Science, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark, and the area of employment is Aarhus University with related departments.

For further information, please contact: Professor Katarina Elofsson, email katarina.elofsson@envs.au.dk.

Applications must be received no later than 10 January 2027

Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the appointment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. All applicants will be notified whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee, and each applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that concerns him/her self.

Technical Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary and terms as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Unions at basic salary steps 4-8.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it here.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

Om Aarhus Universitet

Aarhus Universitet er et fagligt bredt og forskningsintensivt universitet med høj kvalitet i uddannelse og forskning, og et stærkt engagement i samfundsudviklingen nationalt og globalt. Universitetet tilbyder et inspirerende uddannelses- og forskningsmiljø for 37.500 studerende og 9.000 medarbejdere med en årlig omsætning på 8,9 mia. kr. Læs mere på www.au.dk