Doctoral Researcher

Do you want to contribute to a new and original area of research and produce knowledge of immediate relevance to policy and planning? Do you want to work closely with a larger interdisciplinary team of researchers studying how societal development can moderate future climate change risks? The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) invites applications for the position of Doctoral Researcher on the POLIMPACT project. Application deadline is 30 June 2023. This PhD fellowship is financed as part of a European Research Council grant for the project “POLIMPACT: Enabling Politically Sensitive Climate Change Impact Assessments for the 21st Century”, led by Research Professor Halvard Buhaug. The project aims to develop and make use of new qualitative and quantitative political development pathways, building on the existing Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenario framework. This work entails partly providing empirical evidence of how political factors shape impacts of climatic hazards on core human security outcomes today; partly developing end-of-century narratives and projections of relevant indicators of political development, broadly consistent with the SSPs; and partly using estimates from the empirical analyses to quantify implications of alternative political development pathways for future climate-sensitive societal risks via dynamic statistical simulation models.

The doctoral project is envisioned to focus in particular on the empirical component and on estimating future climate change impacts using the extended scenario framework, although applications may also suggest concrete contributions to other parts of the POLIMPACT project portfolio.

A complete description of the POLIMPACT project will be made available to interested candidates upon request by contacting EU Adviser Anne Duquenne (email: annduq@prio.org).

We seek applicants with solid training in statistical methodology, with a disciplinary background from either of the fields mentioned below. Successful applicants will have developed a doctoral project proposal that is explicitly linked to one or more of the work packages in the POLIMPACT project. Candidates are encouraged to read the background material closely before writing their doctoral project description.

The Doctoral Researcher will work closely with the project team and also have the opportunity to collaborate with other interdisciplinary research groups at PRIO.

The Doctoral Researcher will receive supervision from Research Professor Buhaug and a second supervisor. Depending on which degree-granting institution the Doctoral Researcher is enrolled into (see below), the second supervisor will be another member of the project team or a scholar appointed by the degree-granting institution.

Progress on the doctoral project will be supported through regular supervision sessions, presentations at internal seminars and project meetings, contribution to appropriate PRIO initiatives and research groups, and participation in international academic conferences and workshops. A progress plan will be agreed upon between the candidate and the supervisors at the initiation of the project. The POLIMPACT project will provide funds for conference travel.

Applicants must have the following qualifications:

• A Master’s degree or the equivalent in a relevant discipline in Social Sciences, Computer Science, or Natural Sciences focusing on social outcomes of relevance to the project
• Strong skills in statistical methods
• Good communication skills (written and oral English)
• High degree of independence and willingness to learn

In addition, one or more of the following qualifications are welcome but not required:

• Experience with relevant Social Sciences research
• Experience with programming, preferably in Python
• Experience with machine learning methods
• Experience with Integrated Assessment Models
• Experience with teamwork

The Doctoral Researcher will be expected to be in residence in Oslo and will have a workplace at PRIO. The PhD degree, however, must be awarded by a degree-granting institution. The successful candidate will be responsible for applying to and enrolling into a compatible PhD program as soon as a positive outcome of this position has been communicated. The default option would be the PhD program in Social Sciences at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), given project leader Buhaug’s adjunct professor position at NTNU. Different institutions may have different requirements, and candidates are encouraged to make enquiries about their eligibility for enrolling in a given program in advance. Tuition fees are not covered by the project.

The starting date for the position is 1 October 2023 or as soon as possible thereafter.

PRIO is an equal opportunity employer and values staff diversity. The working language at PRIO is English.

PRIO is located in attractive premises in central Oslo. The employment is for a three-year, full-time position as Doctoral Researcher.The annual starting salary for a Doctoral Researcher at PRIO is NOK 528 502. Employees are offered a membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

Applications should be written in English and include (as PDFs):

1. A cover letter (1 page)
2. A doctoral project description (max 4 pages, including references), outlining the:
   1. research questions, theoretical considerations, methodology, and analytical approach
   2. expected novelty and scientific contribution of the doctoral project
   3. relationship of the doctoral project to the POLIMPACT project
   4. progress plan including an overview of milestones/outputs
3. A writing sample (MA thesis, conference paper or the like)
4. Curriculum Vitae
5. Certified copies of transcripts from higher education
6. Contact details for two academic references

The application must be submitted using the online form.

The candidate should have an interest in PRIO’s broader mission of conducting high-quality academic research on questions relevant to the promotion of a more peaceful world. For more information about PRIO’s ongoing research, see https://www.prio.org/.

The deadline for applications is 30 June 2023 (end of day).

For further information about the position, please contact Research Professor Halvard Buhaug, e-mail halvard@prio.org. To request the complete description of the POLIMPACT project, or for questions regarding the application procedures, please contact EU Adviser Anne Duquenne, email annduq@prio.org, mobile +47 48 36 46 78.