Deadline for applications: 28/07/2024

Application process open *

The Cyprus Institute (CyI) is a European Non-profit Science and Technology oriented Educational and Research Institution based in Cyprus and led by an acclaimed Board of Trustees. The research agenda of the CyI is pursued at its five Research Centers: The Energy Environment Water Research Centre (EEWRC), the Computation-based Science and Technology Research Center (CaSToRC), the Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center (STARC), the Climate and Atmosphere Research Center (CARE-C) and the Science and Technology Driven Policy and Innovation Research Center (STeDI-RC). Considerable cross-center interaction is a characteristic of the Institute’s culture.

The Cyprus Institute invites applications for a highly qualified and motivated individual to join the Institute as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the area of climate change, air pollution and health impacts in the Environmental Predictions Department of CARE-C. The successful candidate is expected to work on project “ACCREU – Assessing Climate Change Risk in Europe” (www.accreu.eu), which is funded by the Horizon Europe program. ACCREU is an innovative research project that gathers leading experts on climate change sciences from 14 European research institutions. The project aims to advance knowledge regarding climate change risk and adaptation that can be used directly by stakeholder communities.

In general, the successful candidate is expected to:

• Conduct research to further develop research skills and competencies, and publishing novel and significant results in selective peer-reviewed journals and conferences.
• Contribute to all aspects of sponsored Research, Innovation and/or Development projects (including conducting research, co-authoring publications, implementing deliverables, reporting activities, dissemination activities, etc).
• Contribute to new grant proposals preparation.

More specifically, the successful candidate must have a background in natural sciences, environment and/or climate change, with understanding of relevant risks and impacts on human health. The successful candidate is expected to support current research at CyI on the health consequences associated with air quality and climate scenarios. For this, it is expected to be able to perform impact assessment through numerical modelling and environmental exposure data analysis, and produce research output, including reports and scientific publications. The selected candidate will have the opportunity to contribute to research proposals and the acquisition of research funding in this field.

The initial period of the appointment will be for a duration of 24 months. Post-Doctoral Fellowships can be renewed depending to performance and availability of funds for a fixed-term period. An internationally competitive remuneration package will be offered, which is commensurate with the level of experience of the successful candidate.

Project Related Responsibilities:

1. Performs internationally competitive scientific research through air quality and climate modelling.
2. Contributes to data analyses and health impact assessments at the European and global scales related to environmental and climate policies and scenarios.
3. Initiates and sustains high-level collaborative projects with leading research institutions that conduct research in areas related to their respective fields.
4. Communicating the results and implications of research conducted at CyI at all levels, including the academic community, the public at large and decision makers
5. Collaborating in an interdisciplinary and international research environment

General Responsibilities:

• Conduct research, innovation and development activities based on project requirements.
• Collect and analyze data as stipulated by project specifications and supervision.
• Write research papers in collaboration with the line manager and other peers.
• Present results at conferences and meetings and contribute to journal publications.
• Contribute to research proposal preparation, scientific reporting, and project management.
• Provide mentoring and guidance to Graduate Research Fellows and Research Engineers, if applicable.
• Contribute to dissemination activities (such as public seminars or targeted talks), promoting external recognition at the national and international levels.
• Contribute to planning and organization of Center-level and Institute-level internal and external events (such as workshops, conferences) to promote external recognition at the national and international levels.
• Provide independent input related to research directions, methodologies, etc.

Required Qualifications

1. PhD degree in Environmental Sciences or Climate Change, Air Quality, Public Health or any other related field.
2. Research experience in environmental or public health data analysis and modelling.
3. Strong expertise in atmospheric composition modeling.
4. Experience in postprocessing scripting and large data tools such as R, NCO, CDO or Python.
5. Familiarity with regional and global emission inventories processing.
6. Interdisciplinary and internationally collaborative research orientation.
7. Understanding of physical and mathematical concepts
8. Ability to work with complex computer modeling systems
9. Willingness to travel and spend time in Partner organizations
10. Experience in conducting peer-reviewed research in the relevant field.
11. Demonstrated record of publications and conference presentations.
12. Ability to work independently and as part of an interdisciplinary team.
13. Proficiency in English (written and verbal).
14. Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
15. High level of organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Understanding of air pollution-premature mortality exposure and risk functions concepts
• Knowledge of emission reduction targets and relevant measures

Application

For full consideration, interested applicants should process their application at The Cyprus Institute Exelsys Platform (https://bit.ly/3HDLRTw) based on the instructions given. Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae including a short letter of interest, list of publications and a list of three (3) referees (including contact information) (all documentation should be in English and in PDF Format). For further information, please contact Dr Jonilda Kushta (j.kushta@cyi.ac.cy). Please note that applications which do not fulfill the required qualifications and do not follow the announcement’s guidelines will not be considered.

*Recruitment will continue until the application process is marked as closed

The Cyprus Institute is an Equal Opportunities Employer certified from the Cypriot Ministry of Labor and also an HRS4R accredited Institution that adheres to the European Commission’s “Charter & Code” principles for recruitment and selection.

Contact person: Dr Jonilda Kushta

Reference number: CARE-C_PDF_24_08