Postdoctoral Researcher: Effectiveness, Integrity and Synergies of Cooperative Climate Action

Do you want to contribute to an interdisciplinary research project? As a Postdoctoral Researcher, you will explore the integrity, synergies and trade-offs in cooperative climate action, and the relation between cooperative climate action and governmental climate policies.

This two-year position is part of a broader research initiative investigating whether collaborative arrangements between non-state actors (e.g. companies, developers, investors, local communities and NGOs) and public actors (national and subnational governments), or ‘cooperative climate initiatives’ (CCIs), can play a role in strengthening global climate governance and accelerating sustainable transformations. The research particularly focuses on non-state and subnational actors and their contributions to climate action, with a special emphasis on the built environment.

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will lead quantitative and/or mixed methodology analyses assessing the effectiveness, credibility and integrity of CCIs, with a focus on the trade-offs and synergies between adaptation and mitigation objectives. The research will also examine the built environment as a sector where these synergies and trade-offs are particularly relevant in CCIs that include, for example, developers, construction companies, investors and municipalities. You will collaborate with project partners in the Climate Action, Measurement, Data and Analysis (CAMDA) and Achieving High Integrity Voluntary Climate Action (ACHIEVE) projects to ensure methodological rigour and maximise policy impact.

Requirements:

• You will conduct high-quality research on CCIs, focusing on trade-offs and synergies between adaptation and mitigation goals, particularly in the built environment.
• You will engage with policymakers, transnational city networks and other stakeholders to ensure the policy relevance of your research.
• You will publish research findings in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals and contribute to policy briefs and reports.
• You will present your research at international conferences and workshops.
• You will contribute to teaching at the graduate and/or undergraduate level.
• You have a PhD in environmental studies, climate policy, urban studies, economics, political science, environmental sciences, or a related field.
• You have a strong background in quantitative research methods, including statistical modelling, data analysis, machine learning, and/or GIS analysis.
• You have proven expertise in climate action, governance and/or urban sustainability.
• You are familiar with climate policy frameworks such as NDCs, net-zero targets, and the SDGs, as well as non-state and subnational governance structures.
• It is an advantage if you have experience with research on climate change adaptation and/or mitigation policies, climate action in the built environment, and/or urban climate policy.
• It is desirable that you have proficiency in R, Python, SQL, or equivalent programming languages.
• You have excellent written and oral communication skills in English (Dutch proficiency is an advantage).
• You are able to work independently while actively contributing to interdisciplinary and collaborative research environments

Salary Benefits:

• We will give you a temporary employment contract of 2 years.
• Your salary will start at a maximum of step 5 in salary scale 10, depending on your previous education and number of years of (relevant) work experience. The amounts in the scale are based on a 38-hour working week.
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20.

Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

30.4 - 38 hours per week

Houtlaan 4