Doctoral Candidate (PhD) in Social-ecological Modelling and Biodiversity Policy

Organisation/Company

University of Zurich

Department

Department of Geography

Research Field

Biological sciences » Biodiversity

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Positions

PhD Positions

Application Deadline

2 Oct 2026 - 17:00 (Europe/Zurich)

Country

Switzerland

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Offer Starting Date

1 Feb 2027

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Horizon Europe - MSCA

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Project: DC12: Opportunities and barriers for implementing response diversity enabled policy 

Network: ReDiLEEP - Using science-driven Response Diversity knowledge to Leverage Efficient Ecosystem Preservation and restoration 

Funding: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks (MSCA DN), Horizon Europe (36-months); University of Zurich (12-months) 

Host institution: University of Zurich (UZH), Switzerland 

Supervision: Main supervisor: Prof. Maria J. Santos; co-supervisors: Prof. Owen Petchey, Dr Cornelia Krug, Dr Ute Jacob 

Duration: 48 months, full-time 

Secondments: 5 months total, including BioAgora, ThinkNature, Advanced Invasives, and Swansea University 

Application deadline. 02. October 2026 

Salary: In accordance with the regulations of the Marie Curie Fellowship 

Response diversity describes the variation in how individuals, species, or functional groups respond to environmental change and the concept is increasingly recognized as a key driver of ecosystem resilience. Understanding and promoting response diversity is therefore essential for conserving biodiversity and supporting resilient ecosystems in a changing world. To this goal, an important step is to translate this knowledge into informing policy.  

The University of Zurich invites applications for a Doctoral Candidate position in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network ReDiLEEP. ReDiLEEP brings together leading universities, research institutes, and non-academic partners across Europe and beyond to advance response diversity research and translate new knowledge into ecosystem management, restoration, and biodiversity policy.  

The Doctoral Candidate will contribute to this effort by investigating response diversity focusing on identifying and quantifying the socio-economic, cultural, and ecological trade-offs that arise when  
environmental policies prioritise response diversity as a mechanism for ecosystem resilience. 

Research Project DC12 

DC12 will identify and quantify the socio-economic, cultural, and ecological trade-offs that arise when environmental policies prioritise RD as a mechanism for ecosystem resilience. The project will use Agent-Based Policy Modelling (ABPM) to simulate how actors such as land managers, farmers, local authorities, and conservation agencies respond to incentives designed to maintain or enhance RD. This framework will capture feedbacks between ecological dynamics (e.g. functional trait variability, species turnover, co-tolerance) and human decision-making (e.g. economic trade-offs, compliance, cooperation). Further, the candidate will validate ABPMs representing key decision-makers and institutions within EU policy contexts (e.g. Common Agricultural Policy, Nature Restoration Law, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), but could also be elsewhere. Finally, the model will be used to test governance scenarios and policy design for different examples (e.g. subsidies for multi-species cropping, mixed-provenance restoration, or age-structured fishery management). The goal is to identify barriers, leverage points, and governance configurations that can support sustainable ecosystem management while limiting undesirable socio-economic trade-offs. 

Ultimately, the project will elaborate actionable recommendations that integrate socioeconomic realities into response diversity approaches, strengthening the practicable applicability of biodiversity policy for long-term ecological and social resilience. 

Your Responsibilities 

• Develop and validate agent-based policy models representing relevant decision-makers and institutions in EU policy contexts, including the Common Agricultural Policy, Nature Restoration Law, and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. 
• Quantify ecological and socio-economic trade-offs among policy options that influence RD, such as land-use intensification versus diversification, restoration investments, and risk-reduction schemes. 
• Parameterise behavioural rules using empirical evidence, literature, and stakeholder input to represent how information, trust, incentives, and resource constraints shape policy responses. 
• Run governance and policy scenarios targeting RD maintenance, for example subsidies for multi-species cropping, mixed-provenance restoration, or age-structured fishery management. 
• Compare outcomes such as ecosystem stability, social equity, cost-effectiveness, and policy feasibility across scales. 
• Produce peer-reviewed publications, policy-relevant outputs, and recommendations for integrating socio-economic realities into RD-based biodiversity policy. 
• Participate actively in ReDiLEEP network training, secondments, dissemination, reporting, and cohort activities. 

Secondments and Network Training 

The position includes 5 months of planned secondments, with 4 months in non-academic settings, to strengthen the science-policy-practice interface: 

• BioAgora: embedding in a BioAgora demonstration case (2 months, expected around project month 6). 
• ThinkNature: analysing corporate sustainability reporting policy (1 month, expected around project month 12). 
• Advanced Invasives: taking RD research from field to policy (1 month, expected around project month 18). 
• Swansea University: taking RD research from field to policy (1 month, expected around project month 24). 

The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary cohort of doctoral researchers and benefit from ReDiLEEP training in response diversity methods, data management, reproducible code, R/Tidyverse, machine learning and AI for ecologists, visualisation, evidence-based policymaking, science-policy communication, and policy brief writing. 

Your Profile 

• A Master's degree, or equivalent, in ecology, environmental science, geography, sustainability science, environmental policy, socio-ecological systems, economics, computational social science, data science, or a closely related field. 
• Strong interest in biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, sustainability policy, and the translation of ecological science into decision-making. 
• Experience with quantitative analysis, modelling, simulation, or programming, preferably in R, Python, NetLogo, Julia, or comparable tools. 
• Interest in agent-based modelling, behavioural modelling, governance scenarios, stakeholder-informed research, or policy analysis. 
• Ability to work independently while contributing constructively to an international, interdisciplinary doctoral network. 
• Excellent written and spoken English and strong scientific writing skills. 

Experience with EU biodiversity or sustainability policy, spatial modelling, social-science methods, stakeholder engagement, corporate sustainability reporting, or restoration governance is an advantage. 

What We Offer 

• A 48-month full-time doctoral position at the University of Zurich in an international MSCA Doctoral Network. 36-months funded by MCSA Doctoral Network; 12-months funded by University of Zurich. 
• Supervision by Prof. Maria J. Santos, with co-supervision from Prof. Owen Petchey, Dr Cornelia Krug, and Dr Ute Jacob. 
• Access to UZH expertise in ecological stability, response diversity, landscape sustainability, human-environment interactions, spatial modelling, data science, and the science-policy interface. 
• Computational support through UZH ScienceIT and standard research infrastructure for literature synthesis, modelling, simulation, writing, and collaboration. 
• International secondments with academic, industry, and NGO partners, plus network-wide training and mentoring. 
• A position in a diverse team of international researchers, a friendly work environment, and access to state-of-the-art infrastructure. 
• Relocation and integration support through the UZH EURAXESS Centre, including guidance on visas, residence permits, social security, and daily-life integration. 

MSCA Eligibility Criteria 

Applicants must meet the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network eligibility requirements at the recruitment date: 

• Applicants must not already hold a doctoral degree. 
• Applicants must be doctoral candidates and be enrolled, or eligible to be enrolled, in a doctoral programme at the University of Zurich. 
• Applicants must work full-time and exclusively for the ReDiLEEP project during the appointment, in accordance with the applicable MSCA and UZH rules. 
• Mobility rule: applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity, such as work or studies, in Switzerland for more than 12 months during the 36 months immediately before the recruitment date. 
• Exceptions to the mobility rule apply for compulsory national service, refugee status, and temporary protection. 

Employment Conditions 

The position is funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks framework (36-months) and by University of Zurich (12-months) and will follow the applicable MSCA Doctoral Network conditions (for 36-months) and University of Zurich employment regulations (for 12-months). 

• Gross salary: In accordance with the regulations of the Marie Curie Fellowship. 
• Duration: 48 months, full-time. 
• Place of work: University of Zurich, Irchel campus, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland. 
• Start of employment: Between February 1st and June 30th 2027. The appointment is subject to final MSCA eligibility verification, doctoral programme enrolment, and completion of UZH administrative onboarding. 

How to Apply 

Please submit your application in English by 01 October 2026 as a single PDF file via email to Maja Weilenmann [email protected] . Applications should include: 

• A cover letter describing your motivation for the position, relevant experience, and fit with DC12. 
• A curriculum vitae. 
• Copies of degree certificates and transcripts. 
• A short statement confirming your MSCA mobility-rule eligibility for Switzerland, including countries of residence, work, and study during the previous 36 months. 
• Contact details of two referees who may be contacted for a reference. 

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interviews in English.  

Selection Principles 

Recruitment will follow open, transparent, and merit-based recruitment principles and the MSCA Code of Conduct for the recruitment of researchers. Applications will be assessed on eligibility, scientific excellence, motivation, fit with the project, quantitative and policy-relevant skills, and potential to contribute to the ReDiLEEP doctoral network. Selection committees will be composed to ensure diverse expertise, appropriate gender balance, international perspective, and absence of conflicts of interest. 

Further Information 

More information on this website: https://redileep.eu   For scientific questions about the project, please contact Prof. Maria J. Santos [email protected] . For administrative questions about the application process, please contact Maja Weilenmann [email protected] . The University of Zurich is committed to diversity, equal opportunities, and inclusive recruitment. We welcome applications from qualified candidates of all backgrounds. 

E-mail

[email protected]

Research Field

Biological sciences » Biodiversity

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Website for additional job details

https://redileep.eu

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

University of Zurich, Department of Geography

Country

Switzerland

State/Province

Zurich

City

Zurich

Postal Code

8057

Street

Winterthurerstrasse 190

Geofield

State/Province

Zurich

City

Zurich

Website

https://www.geo.uzh.ch/en.html

Street

Winterturerstrasse 190

Postal Code

8057

E-Mail

[email protected]

• X (formerly Twitter)
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Whatsapp
• 
  More share options
  • E-mail
  • Pocket
  • Viadeo
  • Gmail
  • Weibo
  • Blogger
  • Qzone
  • YahooMail