The UFZ
The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) with its 1,100 employees has gained an excellent reputation as an international competence centre for environmental sciences. We are part of the largest scientific organisation in Germany, the Helmholtz association. Our mission: Our research seeks to find a balance between social development and the long-term protection of our natural resources.
The job
In the PhD cohort “In4Nile” – Advancing Water Quality Information in the Nile River Basin, we offer four PhD Positions.
In4NILE addresses the limited availability of water quality information in the Nile basin by developing and applying low-cost sampling techniques, mining of existing open (geo)datasets, exploring the use of unstructured data sources through natural language processing, and by developing basin-scale, multi-pollutant spatially explicit water quality models.
The PhD position (f/m/x) “Multi-pollutant spatially explicit water quality modelling: from historical evolution to future scenario assessments” focuses on developing a scalable modelling framework capable of tracking the fate and transport of multiple pollutants, such as nutrients (N, P), BOD, pharmaceuticals, and other emerging contaminants, across the Nile River Basin. The project will establish an integrated source-to-sink modelling chain to reconstruct historical and present-day water pollution patterns and to analyse how hydro-climatic variability, population growth, agricultural practices, and urbanisation shape multi-pollutant loads across this transboundary river system. Building on this framework, the PhD candidate will assess how pollutant dynamics respond to projected hydro-climatic and socio-economic changes, and explore potential adaptation and mitigation strategies to support sustainable water quality management in the region.
Your tasks
- Develop a scalable water-quality modelling framework for the Nile River Basin by leveraging the existing UFZ water-quantity and water-quality modelling system (mHM–MQM) and extending it to represent source-to-sink dynamics of multiple pollutant classes.
- Reconstruct historical and present-day pollutant dynamics across the Nile River Basin, and analyse spatio-temporal multi-pollutant hotspots and their driving factors.
- Conduct scenario-based assessments of future multi-pollutant dynamics under changing hydro-climatic and socio-economic conditions, and evaluate potential adaptation and mitigation strategies.
- Communicate results through scientific publications, presentations, and collaborative work within an interdisciplinary team
of the In4Nile cohort.
We offer
- Excellent supervision and optimal professional and interdisciplinary qualification through our HIGRADE graduate programme
- The freedom to master even the most demanding challenges between basic research and practical application
- The opportunity to work in interdisciplinary, international teams and benefit from a wide range of perspectives
- Firstclass integration into national and international research networks to work together on global challenges
- Excellent research infrastructure and research data management to optimally support your work
- A wide range of options for balancing care responsibilities and work through our family office
- Competent support and advice for international colleagues arriving at the UFZ from the ‘International Office’
- Special annual payment, capital-forming benefits and subsidised Deutschland-Job-Ticket
- A workplace in a vibrant region with a high life quality and social and cultural diversity
Your profile
- Master’s degree (or equivalent) in hydrology, environmental sciences, environmental engineering, geosciences, water resources, or a closely related field.
- Strong quantitative and analytical skills, with experience in environmental, hydrological, or water-quality modelling.
- Proficiency in scientific programming (e.g., Fortran, Python, R) and in handling large-scale datasets.
- Experience and familiarity in working with hydroclimate and socio-economic databases (CMIP/RCM and SSP-RCP).
- Experience with gridded hydrological or water-quality models (e.g., mHM, VIC-3L, PCRGLOB-WB, SWAT, IMAGE-GNM, HYPE, CE-QUAL-W2, or similar).
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively within an interdisciplinary research environment.
- Good command of written and spoken English.
Place of work
Leipzig
Working time
65%
Contract limitations
limited contract / 36 months
Salary
Remuneration according to the TVöD public-sector up to pay grade 13 including attractive public-sector social security benefits.
Contact
Your contact for any questions you may have about the job:
Rohini Kumar (rohini.kumar@ufz.de)
Your application
Please submit your application via our online portal with your cover letter, CV (please omit your photo, age, or marital status) and relevant attachments.
Diversity and Inclusion
The UFZ has a strong commitment to diversity and actively supports equal opportunities for all employees regardless of their origin, religion, ideology, disability, age or sexual identity.
We look forward to applications from people who are open-minded and enjoy working in diverse teams.
