Postdoctoral Fellow within Climate Modelling – University of Bergen

There is a vacancy for a postdoctoral position at the Geophysical Institute in the field of Climate Modelling. The position is for a period of 4 years and is associated with externally funded projects.

About the project/work tasks

Research Council of Norway funds the postdoctoral position in the Nansen Legacy project, which aims to make an integrated assessment of climate and ecosystem change in the Barents Seas. The position will be within the Bjerknes Climate Prediction Unit that focuses on predicting climate in the Atlantic-to-Arctic sector from a season and beyond. There will be synergies with the European Union H2020 project Blue Action: Arctic Impact on Weather and Climate (http://blue-action.eu/); and the NordForsk Nordic Centre of Excellence ARCPATH (http://www.ncoe-arcpath.org). Both multi-disciplinary projects aim to provide insights into future changes in the Artic, both climatic and societal.

The main focus of the postdoctoral position will be to develop a higher resolution version of the Norwegian Earth System Model that is more suitable for representing the interaction between the North Atlantic, Nordic Seas, and Arctic and to better capture ocean-atmosphere interaction over mid-latitude sea surface temperature fronts. The applicant will use the model to study variability and predictability of climate in the Arctic-to-Atlantic sector. There will be close collaboration with the developers of the Norwegian Earth System and Climate Prediction Models, and specifically with those working on mechanistic assessment, data assimilation, and biogeochemistry.

Qualifications and personal qualities:

• Applicants must hold a Norwegian PhD or an equivalent degree in mathematics, physics, meteorology, oceanography, climate dynamics, or another relevant discipline, or must have submitted his/her doctoral thesis for assessment prior to the application deadline. It is a condition of employment that the PhD has been awarded.
• A strong background in applied mathematics is required.
• Experience with numerical modelling, and high-performance computing is required. Strongly desired are experience in ocean and atmospheric models.
• Very good programming skills in Fortran, Matlab or Python.
• Understanding of climate dynamics and predictability. Additional knowledge about ocean biogeochemistry and data assimilation would be beneficial.
• Adequate proficiency in both written and oral English for publishing results and communicating with other scientists is necessary.
• Special requirements for the position are the willingness and ability to work across disciplinary boundaries in an interdisciplinary team as well as to work independently on your tasks.

Personal and relational qualities will be emphasized. Research experience, ambitions and potential will also count when evaluating the candidates.

About the position of postdoctoral research fellow:

The postdoctoral position is a fixed term position with the primary objective of qualifying the appointee for work in top academic positions. Individuals may not be hired for more than one fixed-term period as a postdoctoral research fellow at the same institution.

For postdoctoral research fellow positions associated with externally financed projects, the completion of the project proposal for the qualifying work, as well as a progress plan, will be developed in cooperation with the supervisor and head of department.

It is a requirement that the project is completed in the course of the period of employment.

We can offer:

• A good and professionally challenging working environment
• Salary at pay grade 59 (code 1352 / pay range 24, alternative 3) according to the state salary scale upon appointment. This constitutes a gross annual salary of NOK 515 200. Further promotions are made according to length of service. For particularly highly qualified applicants, a higher salary may be considered.
• Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• A position in an inclusive workplace (IW)
• Good welfare benefits

Your application must include:

• A brief account of the applicant’s research interests and motivation for applying for the position.
• The names and contact information for two referees. One of these should be the main advisor from the PhD programme.
• CV
• Transcripts and diplomas and official confirmation that the doctoral thesis has been submitted
• Relevant certificates/references
• List of any works of a scientific nature (publication list)
• Publications (as applicable)

The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at JobbNorge

General information:

For further details about the position, please contact: Professor Noel Keenlyside, email: Noel.Keenlyside@uib.no or Professor Helge Drange, email: Helge.Drange@uib.no, Geophysical Institute.

The state labour force shall reflect the diversity of Norwegian society to the greatest extent possible. Age and gender balance among employees is therefore a goal. People with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.

Upon the expiry of the closing date for applications, an evaluation committee will be appointed. As an applicant, you have a right of access to the committee’s description of your formal and professional qualifications. If you wish to take advantage of this right of access, please contact the executive officer in charge after receiving information about the appointment of the evaluation committee.

The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions.

Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.

Further information about our employment process can be found here.