Postdoctoral Researcher on International Climate Negotiations 50 – 100 % | ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften

Postdoctoral Researcher on International Climate Negotiations 50 – 100 %

Join an inspiring international research team in the project “Beyond Coalitions: Small States in UN Climate Negotiations" (BeCoSS Climate) between Sciences Po Paris and ZHAW and conduct research on justice in global climate politics.

School: School of Management and Law

Starting date: by agreement

As part of the BeCoSS Climate project, you will conduct research on the presence, participation and influence of small states in the international climate negotiations, including:

• Data collection and analysis, both quantitative and qualitative, including field research and interviews at the climate negotiations
• Scientific publications
• Assistance with the supervision of a doctoral student and student assistants
• Support with the project's management

The position is planned for 2 years (100%), but part-time applications for a correspondingly longer timeframe (e.g., 50% over 4 years) are possible.

• PhD in political science or related disciplines (e.g., international relations, sociology, anthropology, human geography or similar)
• First international publications in scientific journals available
• Experience with or strong interest in international negotiations and climate policy
• Experience with quantitative methods in political science; interest in qualitative methods
• Excellent communication skills, stylistically confident in written and oral English; German and/or other foreign languages are an advantage
• Open, communicative personality with analytical and conceptual skills, team player with strong ability to work independently
• Candidates with experience in countries of the Global South are preferred

Online applications – including an application letter, a curriculum vitae, a written sample of recent scientific work, and the names of two referees – will be considered on a rolling basis until a suitable candidate is found.

Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW is one of Switzerland's largest multidisciplinary universities of applied sciences, with over 14'000 students and 3'400 faculty and staff.

Over 3000 people from 49 nations work at the ZHAW. Employees appreciate the stimulating working environment and the freedom to organise and act at our university. The work locations in Winterthur, Zurich and Wädenswil also offer a high quality of life.

The School of Management and Law (SML) is one of Switzerland's leading business schools, offering internationally recognised Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes as well as cooperative doctoral programmes, a demand-oriented and established range of continuing education courses and innovative research and development projects. It is the only Swiss university of applied sciences to be included in the renowned rankings of the business newspaper "Financial Times": It is one of the 90 best European business schools and has one of the 90 best management master's programmes in the world. SML also meets the high standards of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the leading international organisation for the accreditation of business schools.

The Center for Energy and the Environment(CEE) is dedicated to shaping environmental and energy policies for the public and private sectors at national and international level. The CEE is a member of numerous European and national research programmes and projects such as H2020 and SWEET.

The postdoctoral position is based at the CEE, but is part of the international research project "Beyond Coalitions: Small States in UN Climate Negotiations" (BeCoSS Climate) funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche and the Swiss National Science Foundation. The project, led by Prof. Dr. Carola Klöck (Sciences Po Paris) and Dr. Paula Castro (ZHAW), analyses the presence, participation and influence of various small states in the UN climate negotiations using quantitative and qualitative methods. Close collaboration with both project partners is planned.

ZHAW is committed to gender-mixed and diverse teams in order to promote equality, diversity and innovation.

Wir bieten hochschulgerechte Arbeits- und Anstellungsbedingungen an und fördern aktiv die Personalentwicklung unserer Mitarbeitenden und Führungspersonen. Eine detaillierte Beschreibung der Vorteile ist auf der Webseite «Arbeiten an der ZHAW» zu finden. Hier die wichtigsten Eckpunkte:

Prof. Dr. Paula Mónica Castro Pareja

Professorin für Energie und Umwelt

Laura Steinegger-Hornung

Recruiting Manager