Doktorand/PhD

Within the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 847585, ETH Zurich is offering a 36-month PhD position for an early-stage researcher (ESR) in the area of sustainable food systems.

Job Description

We are looking for a young graduate with an EU Master's degree in agronomic sciences, with a major in economics, especially in farm and value chains economics. Alternatively, an EU MSc degree in Development Economics, Natural Resources Economics with excellent study results – or an equivalent degree of higher education will be considered as well.

A planned secondment of 12 to 18 months at FiBL in Lausanne (Switzerland) is part of this project. During this secondment, the ESR will make qualitative and quantitative surveys in the region to gather data for the sustainability and resilience assessment of farms and value chains at regional level. To achieve this, the ESR will be working closely with the FiBL research team in Lausanne, the socio-economics group at FiBL Frick and especially with the SMART Team. Furthermore, the location will allow establishing strong collaboration with AGRIDEA for the dissemination of the results of the research.

The anticipated results/outcomes of this project are threefold: at policy level, the results should flow into the discussions about a new policy tool of the Swiss agricultural policy (the “agricultural regional strategies”); at scientific level, the results will enrich the knowledge about sustainability and resilience assessment at a meso-level of coherent territorial entities, and finally for the final beneficiaries of the research, it should identify gaps and target farm and local value chains support measures to fill them in two research area. They will be communicated with Federal and Cantonal authorities, Farmers Unions, local stakeholders and agricultural extension organisations.

Benefits

We are offering an interesting position at the interface of science and policy. While working in an international, interdisciplinary and innovative research environment at ETH Zurich, the ESR will be jointly co-supervised by Prof. Johan Six, head of Sustainable Agroecosystems (SAE) group at Department of Environmental Systems Science at ETH Zurich, Dr Dominique Barjolle in the SAE group at ETH, and Dr Raphaël Charles at FiBL (Research Institute of Organic Farming).

The complete 48 months will be under 100% working contracts.

The PhD salary follows the regulations of ETH Zurich and will be according to EU regulations for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Early Stage Researchers. The monthly gross salary will not be lower than CHF 3920.

The successful candidate will be matriculated and will have a working contract at ETH Zurich. He/she will work in Switzerland. The secondment will take place in Lausanne (Switzerland).

Expected starting date of the working contract: 01.03.2021

For questions and further information on the position, please contact (Prof. Johan Six, jsix(at)ethz.ch), no applications.

For questions and further information on RESPONSE DP and the recruitment, please contact (Dr. Luisa Last, llast(at)ethz.ch), no applications.

Eligibility criteria

Early stage researcher in the first 4 years (full-time equivalent) of their research careers, including the period of research training, starting at the date of obtaining the degree which would formally entitle them to embark on a doctorate either in the country in which the degree was obtained or in the country in which the initial training activities are provided.

At the time of recruitment (for call 3 = Dec 1, 2020) by the host organisation, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Switzerland for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the reference date. Compulsory national service and/or short stays such as holidays are not taken into account.

Selection process

For submitting your online application: https://join.lszgs.uzh.ch/ (select PhD Program Science and Policy). The online application should contain all information as indicated by the application portal. Moreover, the following documents have to be uploaded under “further documents”: 1) a letter of motivation to join a) the RESPONSE doctoral programme and b) to apply for this specific positon (ESR 16), 2) a comprehensive CV, and 3) transcripts of records. If you apply for more than one RESPONSE position, please refer to them in your letter of motivation. Please note that we exclusively accept applications submitted through our online application portal. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered.

Additional comments

RESPONSE Doctoral Programme (DP): «RESPONSE - to society and policy needs through plant, food and energy sciences» is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No 847585. RESPONSE DP builds on the academic expertise of three world-leading institutions - ETH Zurich, University of Zurich and University of Basel. The successful candidate will be integrated in the research network and infrastructure of the internationally renowned competence center Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center.

All RESPONSE ESRs will follow the PSC PhD Program Science and Policy that is unique in its kind. Through the curriculum of this program, ESR will be trained in the communication of scientific evidence to policy-makers and the public; the involvement of different stakeholder groups as well as in policy development and endorsement in Europe and at global scale.

For project, programme and application details: https://www.plantsciences.uzh.ch/en/research/fellowships/response.html

Offer Requirements

• REQUIRED EDUCATION LEVEL

  Agricultural sciences: Master Degree or equivalent

  Environmental science: Master Degree or equivalent

  Other: Master Degree or equivalent

• REQUIRED LANGUAGES

  ENGLISH: Excellent

Skills/Qualifications

Main Research Field: Agricultural economics and policy

Sub Research Field: Sustainability and resilience assessment

RESPONSE is open to applicants of any nationality.

Specific Requirements

To perform successfully, potential candidates should have excellent skills in statistical, econometric and quantitative data analysis; as well as have knowledge and experience in sampling, designing and implementing participatory workshops and face-to-face qualitative interviews. Potential candidates should be keen on developing these skills further. They also should have a keen interest in scientific research on local and global food systems, resilience, sustainability, farm and value chain economic and agricultural policy. The candidates should be in general a flexible, dynamic and sociable person; be persistent and problem-solving oriented; be able to work independently as well as in a team; and be interested to work in a multi-cultural environment.