Postdoc Fellow NatCap

at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. Closing date: 24 May 2024.

Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) is a research centre on resilience and sustainability science at Stockholm University. The Centre advances the scientific understanding of the complex, dynamic interactions of people and nature in the Biosphere; train the next generation of sustainability researchers and leaders; and engage in collaborations with change agents. It is a joint initiative between Stockholm University and the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The SRC currently employs around 160 members of staff.

Project description
This postdoctoral position will focus on assessing and valuing ecosystem services and integrating them into environmental-economic accounting. This work will contribute to the development, advancement, and translation of the concept of Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) (e.g. https://doi.org /10.1007/s13280-023-01948-8).

This postdoctoral position is part of the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation-funded strategic research collaboration and postdoc program between the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC), Stockholm University, and the Natural Capital Project (NatCap), Stanford University, “Advancing the research frontier of biosphere stewardship.” This program aims to generate high quality scientific outputs and understanding, accelerating science-based insights as guidance for transformations towards biosphere stewardship and a sustainable future. The collaboration between SRC and NatCap bridges the complementary scientific expertise, approaches, and networks of the two institutions to make sense of highly complex, ever shifting, and globally connected human-nature interactions, and how stewardship of our Anthropocene biosphere can be cultivated, ever more strengthened, and sustained.

Main responsibilities
The main responsibilities of the postdoctoral position will be to estimate ecosystem services values at a national and regional scale in Sweden. The researcher will help develop a GEP framework for Sweden by exploring the available data for ecosystem services at multiple scales, assessment models, and valuation methods. GEP has been developed and applied in China as a measure of the aggregate monetary value of final ecosystem-related goods and services in a specific area and for a given accounting period. A variety of polices based on GEP have been designed and implemented in China, from payment for ecosystem service schemes to land-use planning. In recent years, GEP has also been taken-up by researchers and policymakers in countries across Asia, Latin America, and Europe.

This project aims to assess how experiences in China and other countries can be usefully translated and applied to Sweden. The candidate will work with SRC and Stanford based teams to develop and test ecosystem service integration into the GEP framework with a specific emphasis on the context of Sweden. The candidate will work with existing research infrastructure such as the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) modelling framework, GEP methodologies, and ecosystem service data collected from Sweden.  We expect that this research will assess GEP at both the national scale and within several case study regions, including the greater Stockholm region.

The candidate will be employed at SRC, at Stockholm University, but will collaborate with researchers across the globe. Research visits to the NatCap at Stanford are expected. The main supervisors will be Prof. Garry D. Peterson (SRC), Dr. Megan Meacham (SRC), and Dr. Tong Wu (Stanford).  This supervisory team has experience applying GEP in China and in analyzing ecosystem services in Sweden.

Qualification requirements
Postdoctoral positions are appointed primarily for purposes of research. Applicants are expected to hold a Swedish doctoral degree or an equivalent degree from another country.

Assessment criteria
The degree must have been completed at latest before the employment decision is made, but no more than three years before the closing date. An older degree may be acceptable under special circumstances. Special reasons refer to sick leave, parental leave, elected positions in trade unions, service in the total defense, or other similar circumstances as well as clinical attachment or service/assignments relevant to the subject area.

In the appointment process special attention will be given to research skills needed for the position. We seek a candidate with the following qualifications:

• Experience conducting empirical analyses and synthesis research on ecosystem services,  including ecosystem service assessment and valuation
• Familiarity with Swedish and European environmental data and environmental accounting is a merit
• Skills in geocomputation and programming competence in an open source scientific programming language such as R, Julia, or Python
• Previous experience using InVEST models is a merit
• Demonstrated experience in data curation and management
• Experience conducting research on social-ecological systems
• Demonstrated ability to conduct research independently
• Willingness to work as part of a transdisciplinary team, and evidence of previous work with researchers from different disciplines
• Ability to communicate research ideas and results and an interest to engage with stakeholders outside the academic community
• Excellent written and spoken English skills.  Swedish is not a requirement, but is a merit.

In the recruitment, emphasis will be placed on trans-disciplinary research skills. We are seeking an enthusiastic, organized researcher who is familiar with ecosystem services concepts, data, and research. We are looking for a person who has the ability to work in an international, fast-paced environment. You are responsible, responsive, and a good team player. You are self-motivated, take responsibility for your tasks and have a structured way of working. You are used to prioritizing and can keep an overview of a complex organization while delivering on concrete tasks.

Terms of employment
The position involves full-time employment for a minimum of two years and a maximum of three years, with the possibility of extension under special circumstances. Start date as per agreement.

Stockholm University strives to be a workplace free from discrimination and with equal opportunities for all.

Contact
Further information about the position can be obtained from Prof. Garry D. Peterson, garry.petersson@su.se, telephone: +46 8 674 77 42.

Union representatives
Ingrid Lander (Saco-S), telephone: +46 708 16 26 64, saco@saco.su.se, Alejandra Pizarro Carrasco (Fackförbundet ST/OFR), telephone: +46 8 16 34 89, alejandra@st.su.se, and seko@seko.su.se (SEKO).

Application
Apply for the position at Stockholm University's recruitment system. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the job advertisement, and that it is submitted before the deadline.

Please include the following information with your application

• Your contact details and personal data
• Your highest degree
• Your language skills
• Contact details for 2–3 references

and, in addition, please include the following documents

• Cover letter
• CV – degrees and other completed courses, work experience and a list of publications
• A document outlining (no more than 2 pages):
  – why you are interested in the field/project described in the advertisement
  – what makes you suitable for the project in question
• Copy of PhD diploma
• Do not submit letters of recommendation until asked to in the interview process
• Publications in support of your application (no more than 3 files).

The instructions for applicants are available at: How to apply for a position.

You are welcome to apply!

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