Science for policy researcher on Developing Soil Monitoring Framework

Environmental science › Natural resources management

Organisation/Company Joint Research Centre Department Sustainable Resources Research Field Environmental science › Natural resources management Agricultural sciences › Soil science Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Established Researcher (R3) Positions Postdoc Positions Application Deadline 11 Aug 2026 - 22:54 (Europe/Madrid) Country Italy Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 40 Offer Starting Date 1 Oct 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Other EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description The successful candidate will join the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) project. More details can be found at: https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/euso . The Joint Research Centre (JRC) provides independent, evidence-based knowledge and science, supporting EU policies to positively impact society. The current vacancy is in the Directorate for Sustainable Resources. Its science, positioned at the crossroads of the environment, economy and society, coupled with scientific networks across the EU and beyond, informs policies to ensure that present and future generations enjoy a sustainable planet. The vacancy is in Land and Climate Unit. Its cross-disciplinary science provides independent evidence in support of EU policies and international conventions on land and climate. It assesses land resources and the terrestrial carbon cycle, while analysing options for the sustainable management of soil and forest ecosystems in view of human and increasingly climate-related pressures, to secure our natural resources and carbon sinks.

The activities will focus on soil monitoring and development of soil health indicators to assess progress on soil health in the EU. The successful candidate will contribute to the development of an integrated EU Soil Monitoring system and support the implementation of the Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”. The successful candidate will conduct scientific research on advancing EU soil monitoring and indicator development by combining the LUCAS Soil Module of the European Commission with national monitoring systems in Member States, future data flows from the Soil Monitoring Law implementation, and new data from Mission Soil projects. This research will not only deepen our scientific understanding of soil health but also underpin EU policies and Commission contributions to assess the sustainable competitiveness of the land sector and inform soil, agricultural, climate and biodiversity policies and debates.

We offer: high-quality working conditions in a dynamic environment and in a multidisciplinary and multicultural team. The JRC encourages a collaborative workplace culture and interactions with policy makers, academics and other leading stakeholders active in the field are foreseen. The job includes participation in (international) conferences and (hybrid) workshops, as well as occasional travel.

We are looking for applicants with a background in soil science, natural sciences, environmental sciences, agricultural sciences who have experience in indicators development and geospatial data processing. The successful candidate should be passionate about advancing soil health assessments and soil monitoring, including the spatial and temporal data analysis of maps. The successful candidate will have:

A PhD in soil sciences, Earth sciences, environmental sciences, biology, ecology, agricultural sciences or related issues. Alternatively, a university degree in those fields and at least 5-years proven job-related experience in a field relevant to the position.

Previous research or professional experience in the field of soil indicators development, soil health assessments, soil monitoring and modelling. The experience should be proven and cover at least 1 year of activity.

Extensive knowledge/experience in geospatial data processing (e.g. ArcGIS or similar open source) / database skills and programming/scripting capacity (e.g. R, Python)

The candidate must have experience in writing policy briefs, science policy reports or technical reports relating to soil science.

Excellent knowledge of oral and written English (C1).

a solid record of research activities, including relevant publications in international peer-reviewed journals.

Desirable assets are:

Machine learning, deep-learning, artificial intelligence, advanced statistical inference;

Experience in distributed or cloud computing;

Experience in developing Dashboards and composite indicators

Languages ENGLISH Level Excellent

Research Field Environmental science › Natural resources management Years of Research Experience 1 - 4

#J-18808-Ljbffr