Postdoc in enabling decision support for GHG mitigation in Danish agriculture

Are you motivated to turn advanced research into real-world solutions for climate-smart sustainable soil management? Join us at Aarhus University's Department of Agroecology as a postdoctoral researcher focusing on the social, behavioral, and institutional dimensions of implementing decision support for low-emission agriculture.

This position is embedded within the Novo Nordisk Foundation-funded SMARTFIELD project. We are looking for a candidate with extensive knowledge in social science, environmental management, agroecology, or a related field, who is committed to research in the science-policy-society nexus.

We expect that you will be an important part of the research environment and that you will contribute positively to the social working environment. We also expect that you will take part in our teaching activities and that you will report research results in high-impact scientific journals.

Start date and duration of employment

The position will be for 3 years and will be available from 1 October or as soon as possible thereafter.

Jobdescription

This postdoc position offers a unique opportunity to bridge environmental modelling, behavioral insight, and policy innovation to understand and support the adoption of low-emission agricultural practices.

The postdoc will be part of the Danish Novo Nordisk research project SMARTFIELD - An innovation platform for N2O mitigation in agriculture https://www.smartfield.dk/uk/, where you will join a project team with an exciting international interdisciplinary research environment and industrial collaboration.

The postdoc will contribute to understanding the foundations for reliable decision support and Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Danish agriculture, particularly exploring conditions for the uptake of sustainable management practices among farmers. Ensuring credibility is a central enabling condition for legitimacy and trust when combining environmental modelling and soil monitoring for decision support, policy design and ultimately for the adoption of low-emission practices. We welcome candidates with experience of using qualitative or participatory methodologies, as well as experience of combining quantitative and qualitative approaches.

You will be an essential member of a collaborative and interdisciplinary team within the Agricultural Systems and Sustainability research group, working alongside researchers, policymakers, industry partners, and farmers who translate complex data and modeling outcomes into practical insights.

As the chosen candidate, you will be critical in contributing to the main goals of our research group, which aims to enhance the sustainability of diverse farming and food systems concerning local and global impacts.

The focus is on the balance between production efficiency, competitiveness, nature, and environmental impact, and contribution to the vitality of rural areas. Your responsibilities will be closely aligned with the research goals, as outlined below:

• Analyze social, economic, biophysical, and technical conditions affecting the farmers' behaviour and uptake of mitigation advice and tools.
• Contribute to improving the utility and usability of the MRV system as a robust foundation for policy interventions and advisory services.
• Assist in the design of decision-support tools based on emissions inventories, scenario modelling, and mitigation pathways.
• Bridge natural and social science perspectives on sustainable agri-food transitions
• Assess the foundation for using environmental models and observations to incentivize improvements in the primary production.
• Engaging with farmers, advisors, and policymakers to ensure the MRV system reflects real-world needs and barriers.
• Organize policy and science-stakeholder forums for co-developing MRV strategies and implementation pathways.

Your profile

We are searching for a highly motivated candidate who has:

• A PhD in a relevant field such as environmental management, geography, sociology, organization studies, political science, or related disciplines. The ideal candidate will possess proficiency in:
• Policy engagement, stakeholder consultation, and socio-economic analysis in an agri-food context.

• Advanced communication skills and the capability to interact effectively with a broad array of stakeholders.
• Capacity to work independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team environment.

Further, we will prefer candidates with some of the following qualifications:

• Teaching and supervision experience at the BSc and MSc level
• Interest and experience in developing competitive national and international research applications
• Experience in planning and conducting social scientific field-work

Who we are

At the Department of Agroecology, our main goal is to contribute to sustainable solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems within the areas of soil, plants, animals, humans, and the environment. We want to make a difference by contributing to both fundamental knowledge generation and the attainment of sustainable production systems via innovative research, contracted policy advice, and education. We offer professional laboratories, greenhouses, semi-field, and field-scale research facilities, advanced computing capacities as well as an extensive national and international researcher network.  The department consists of eight research sections with around 320 highly dedicated employees, of which approximately 50% are scientific staff. More information can be found here.
We believe in encouraging inclusion, acceptance, and understanding by employing staff who bring unique perspectives to our department.

What we offer

• An informal and multicultural research environment with high professionalism, where accountability, commitment, helpfulness, flexibility, and close collaboration is a prerequisite solving the core tasks
• A good social environment with activities and routines that make it possible to talk across and strengthen the inclusive relationship, and where mutual trust, respect, kindness, and professional sparring are emphasized
• A flexible workplace with a good work-life balance
• A workplace where we work actively with diversity, equity and inclusion
• An exciting and varied working environment, where two days rarely resemble each other. We are often busy, and we work creatively for solutions to societal challenges

Special benefits when working in Denmark

• Subsidized preschool childcare and a free education system from primary school up to university level
• Universal health insurance as a resident of Denmark, including family members officially residing in Denmark
• Five weeks paid holiday per year
• In connection with childbirth: the right to have a total of 52 weeks shared maternal/paternal leave with full or partial salary pay

Place of Work

The place of work is Aarhus University, Campus Viborg, Blichers Allé 20, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark.  The affiliation will be with the Department of Agroecology.

Contact information

More information can be obtained from contact to Associate Professor Martin Thorsøe (martinh.thorsoe@agro.au.dk) and or Assistant Professor Morten Graversgaard (morten.graversgaard@agro.au.dk )  

Application procedure

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. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.

Letter of reference

If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

If you wish to add a referee after you have submitted your application, you must send this person’s details (name, job title, place of work, and email address) as well as the name of the position you have applied for to: HR.Nattech@au.dk

Formalities and salary range

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 depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

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.

 

Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/