Postdoc in Societal Implications of Compound Weather Events

Do you want to bridge science and society to address the growing challenges of climate change? Do you thrive in an interdisciplinary team and enjoy co-creating solutions with stakeholders? Join us in the WELCOME project to investigate the societal impacts of compound weather events and design interactive tools to enhance public and decision-makers’ preparedness!

Your job

Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of compound weather events, where multiple extremes (e.g., droughts, floods, heatwaves) occur simultaneously or in succession, leading to cascading impacts across sectors like water, energy, and land systems. The WELCOME (Water-Energy-Land impacts of COMpound weather Events) project integrates insights and approaches from multiple disciplines to identify compound weather events, assess their impacts and explore actionable adaptation strategies and preparedness measures, using The Netherlands as a case study.

Working closely with a postdoc in climate risk assessment, your role in the project is to translate knowledge on compound weather events into actionable insights for society. To do this, you focus on stakeholder engagement, communication, and adaptation strategies. Using insights from key stakeholders, a serious game will be developed and applied to assess public and decision-makers’ preparedness for compound weather events.

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will:

1. identify key stakeholders and conduct interviews and participatory workshops with policymakers, businesses (e.g., energy operators, agencies, government), and communities to understand perceptions of compound events and adaptation needs;
2. collaborate with a team of game design experts and educators to create an interactive analog game that simulates decision-making under compound-event scenarios. The game can be used in stakeholder workshops, MSc courses (e.g., Water Science and Management), and public exhibitions;
3. use mixed-method approaches (e.g., surveys, gameplay data) to evaluate how stakeholders understand and respond to compound-event risks, informing policy and communication strategies.

Your work will directly contribute to the project’s Theory of Change by enhancing societal resilience through co-created knowledge and innovative outreach.

Your qualities

• You have a PhD in social sciences, sustainability sciences, or a related field.
• You have a strong interest in transdisciplinary research and climate adaptation;
• You have experience with qualitative and/or participatory methods (e.g., interviews, workshops).
• You are familiar with stakeholder engagement or science-policy interfaces.
• You are creative in designing communication/educational tools (e.g., games, simulations).
• You have strong teamwork skills and organisational skills.
• You are proficient in English.
• It is an asset if you have knowledge of climate change impacts or risk communication.
• It is an asset if you have experience with game-based learning or interactive storytelling.

Our offer

• A postdoc position for one year;
• a working week of 32-40 hours and a gross monthly salary between €3,378 and €5,331 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale 10 under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.