The climate needs bright minds. The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) addresses crucial scientific questions in the fields of global change, climate impacts and sustainable development. It is one of the world's leading research institutions in its field and offers natural and social scientists from around the world an inspiring environment for excellent interdisciplinary research. For the project “Ökonomie des Klimawandels – Themenkoordination: Umgang mit Klima­risiken (UmRisk)” PIK is offering a

Postdoc Position (m/f/d)

in the field of Development Economics, starting on 01.10.2019. (Position number: Postdoc Position-33-2019) The candidate will contribute to the “Dialogue on the Economics of Climate Change”, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in the Economics of Climate Change fund­ing measure. The overall aim of the dialogue is to transfer research results to policy stakeholders and intensify the exchange between research and practice. The candidate will specifically focus on commu­nicating research results on the impact of and adaptation to climate change in the context of devel­oping economies. This will be done by organizing events targeting policy stakeholders from the field of international cooperation and communicating research results in outlets and formats accessible to prac­ti­tioners. In addition, there will be seminars and PhD workshops offered to young scientists in the funding measure. Moreover, the candidate will contribute to ongoing research at PIK that investigates how house­holds in rural Mongolia adapt to climate change ( https://www.pik-potsdam.de/research/climate-resilience/projects/project-pages/adapt). The candidate will contribute to conduct rigorous impact evaluations of two adaptation policies that aim at assist Mongolian households adapting to climate change: an index-based weather insurance and localized weather forecasts. Both Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental methods will be used to establish a valid counterfactual. The database is the Coping with Shocks in Mongolia Household Panel Survey with three existing panel waves collected 2012-2015. Two additional panel waves will be implemented in 2019 and 2020, after an extreme weather event occurred. The position is funded for 3 years. Remuneration is in accordance with the German public tariff scheme (TV-L Brandenburg), salary group E13. This is a part-time position with a weekly working time of 20 hours per week. Appointment is conditional on approval by the funding agency. Key responsibilities:

• Contribute to the “Dialogue on the Economics of Climate Change.”; this includes following the policy debate on climate change and adaptation in developing countries, organizing one scientific work­shop, organizing events targeting policy stakeholders, contributing to compiling overview papers on the impact of climate change and adaptation in developing countries, and organizing one PhD workshop
• Conduct research on the effectiveness of adaptation policies in Mongolia; this encompasses analyzing household panel data with micro-econometric methods, presenting results at scientific conferences, and writing scientific papers

Requirements:

• PhD in development economics, economics, econometrics or related field
• Research interest in applied development economics
• Strong background in econometric methods 
• Experience with analyzing household survey data from developing countries would be an advantage
• Very good skills in STATA
• Fluent English; command of German is not mandatory, but welcome

We expect:

• The ability to work independently and on your own initiative,
• Structured and goal-oriented thinking,
• Capacity to familiarise yourself quickly with new topics,
• Creativity and openness to new approaches,
• Reliability, the ability to cope with stress, and a high level of motivation,
• Willingness to travel for work (project meetings, workshops etc.) and take part in further training,
• Capacity for teamwork,
• Organisational talent.

We offer:

• The opportunity to gain first-hand experience in implementing a household panel survey and RCTs on a novel topic,
• The chance to be part of a creative, interdisciplinary team, 
• A stimulating working environment in an internationally recognised research institute on Potsdam's beautiful, historic Telegrafenberg campus, a short commuting distance from Berlin,
• A collective pay scheme and associated benefits.

PIK seeks to increase the share of women in scientific positions and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply. In cases of equal quali­fication and within the given legal scope, women will be given preference. Applications by persons with a migration background are expressly encouraged. Appli­ca­tions of disabled persons with equal quali­fications will be regarded favourably. PIK also encourages applications by parents returning from parental leave.