Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Modelling Coastal Nature-based Solutions (INTERNAL ONLY)

We are looking for a highly motivated Post-Doctoral Research Associate (PDRA) to join the Catchments and Coasts Research Group and contribute to the delivery of the NERC project on Co-designing effective Nature-based Solutions in coastal West Africa.

This project involves interdisciplinary work on developing Nature-based Solutions in Coastal West Africa and modelling their efficiency with regards to providing coastal protection benefits. The project runs from February 2024-February 2027 and is a collaboration between four Universities across the UK and Sierra Leone, as well as a number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in West Africa.

You will support the UoL team in leading on the measurement and modelling of sediment dynamics and hydrodynamics of mangrove forests in study sites across coastal West Africa, particularly focussing on assessing how differently designed mangrove restoration sites respond to climate change and sea-level rise, and what their contribution to reduction in coastal flood risks will be. This work will involve the design and completion of local field surveys as well as the development, application, and evaluation of numerical hydrodynamic models of mangrove study sites in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. In doing so, there will be a need to intensely collaborate with researchers from different disciplines, including from ecology, engineering, geography, and social sciences, as well as with local NGOs and coastal communities.

You will need to hold a PhD degree in Physical Geography, Environmental Science, or a related discipline, and have a track record of research in hydrodynamic modelling and coastal environments/ecosystems. You will also need to be fluent in at least one common programming language. Experience in working across different spatial scales and working with Geographic Information System will be highly desired.