THE NATURAL CAPITAL PROJECT
Position Announcement
HYDROLOGICAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES POST-DOC
The Natural Capital Project seeks a creative and talented hydrologist or
ecologist with strong analytical and modeling skills to advance the
development, testing and application of freshwater ecosystem service models.
We are a partnership among Stanford Universitys Woods Institute for the
Environment, University of Minnesotas Institute on the Environment, The
Nature Conservancy, and World Wildlife Fund developing and testing tools to
model and map the distribution of biodiversity and the flow of multiple
ecosystem services across land- and seascapes.
We are a collaborative group of researchers and practitioners seeking
someone to contribute to the improvement of existing models (such as water
yield for hydropower production, nutrient and sediment retention for
drinking water quality and/or reservoir maintenance, flood mitigation) and
to lead the development of new models (such as water yield for irrigation
and drinking water, groundwater recharge). These models identify where
ecosystem service provision and delivery are most likely to change in
response to land-use change across landscapes, and are simple enough to be
applied in data-poor regions to aid in decision-making. Applicants must
demonstrate diverse experience in the development and practical application
of such models to inform natural resource decisions, and a desire to think
creatively about a broad set of biophysical and social processes. The
successful applicant will have a proven record of seeing projects through to
completion, extensive experience distilling complex processes down to
flexible, simple models through regression analyses and/or sensitivity
analysis, a strong interdisciplinary background to connect biophysical
processes to ecosystem service valuation, and the ability to work
effectively in a team to translate science into user-friendly software
tools. Model development will progress in response to needs in applications
with decision makers including targeting watershed management investments
for improved water-related benefits, accounting for water-related benefit
losses in environmental impact assessments to inform new legislation and
lending requirements, improving management of military bases, and
retargeting of agricultural subsidies to reduce tradeoffs between crop
production and water quality.
Our core team is based in Seattle, Washington, DC and at Stanford, and we
have active partners around the globe. This position is housed at Stanford
University and will be advised by Becky Chaplin-Kramer and Gretchen Daily.
Principal Responsibilities:
Work with our collaborative group to develop simple models for
representing the relationships between land-use/land-cover and the provision
of hydrologic ecosystem services.
o Review literature and identify existing approaches for modeling
individual ecosystem services.
o Adapt available simple models for ecosystem service applications or
use observed data or calibrated dynamic models to derive simple models for
ecosystem services that do not have applicable, published approaches.
o Work through iterative internal peer-review process to ensure
multi-disciplinary perspective and acceptance of approach
o Validate simple models against observed data in several project areas
and as applicable, compare simple models to more complex approaches
Work with software development team to transition models into decision
support tool(s).
Incorporate feedback from stakeholders into model structure.
Present work at academic and practitioner conferences and workshops.
Required Qualifications:
Ph.D. in hydrology, ecology, or related fields.
Expertise in statistical analysis or model development and application,
preferably for both primary research (including graduate work) and practical
settings.
Established publication record in diverse, peer-reviewed journals.
Strong interest in, and commitment to, using science to inform policy.
Expertise in model sensitivity analysis, calibration and validation,
with
synthesis and summary for decision maker audiences
Experience working with collaborators from diverse backgrounds and the
capacity and interest to work with interdisciplinary teams.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills with both technical
and
non-technical audiences.
Ability to produce rigorous analyses under tight deadlines
Preferred familiarity with geographic information systems (ArcGIS,
GRASS,
etc)
Term: January 2013 January 2014, and beyond contingent on funding
Location: The position is a postdoctoral research position located in Palo
Alto, California at Stanford University, will involve extensive interaction
with interdisciplinary teams and will require approximately 10% travel.
How to Apply: Send a cover letter describing your experience and interest,
as well as a CV and contact information for three references in one PDF
document to [email protected] with HYDROLOGICAL ECOSYSTEMS SERVICES
POSTDOC in the subject. We will begin reviewing application January 7, 2013
and the position will remain open until filled.
Stanford University is committed to equal opportunity through affirmative
action in employment and we are eager to identify minority persons and women
with appropriate qualifications.
More information on the project can be found at www.naturalcapitalproject.org
