Research Associate (f_m_x) - Political and Social Sciences, Spatial and Planning Sciences - LINK ...

Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres; Deutschland; Vor Ort; EUR 40.000 - 60.000; Teilzeit

Zusammenfassung

A prominent research institute in Potsdam seeks a motivated researcher to contribute to climate adaptation through Urban Digital Twins. The role involves conducting research, stakeholder engagement, and developing digital tools. Candidates with an MA/MSc in relevant fields and expertise in participatory research are encouraged to apply. The position offers part-time hours with a fixed term until 2029.

Leistungen

Ambitious and varied tasks

State-of-the-art equipment

Public service benefits

Flexible working hours

Institute day-care centre on site

Qualifikationen

• Excellent university degree in political or social sciences, sociology, or related disciplines.
• Sound knowledge of participation and engagement research.
• Practical experience in designing and moderating participation formats.
• Proven experience in producing academic publications.
• Fluent German and excellent English.
• High level of initiative and organisational skills.

Aufgaben

• Systematic review of international research on Urban Digital Twins.
• Identification of key stakeholders for collaboration.
• Planning and conducting interviews and analyses.
• Support in developing a digital knowledge platform.
• Writing articles and giving presentations.

Kenntnisse

Participation and engagement research

Qualitative methods

Stakeholder collaboration

Science communication

Transdisciplinary collaboration

Ausbildung

Excellent university degree (MA/MSc) in political or social sciences

PhD in a relevant field

Tools

Digital planning tools

Visualisation tools

Jobbeschreibung

Area of research

Scientific / postdoctoral posts

Job description

The Research Institute for Sustainability at GFZ (RIFS) conducts research with the aim of investigating, identifying, and advancing development pathways for transformation processes towards sustainability in Germany and abroad. The institute was founded in 2009 as the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) and has been affiliated with the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences under its new name since the 1st of January 2023 and is thus part of the Helmholtz Association.

For our research group on Regional Sustainability Transformations, we are looking for a: Reference Number 10876. The successful candidate will contribute to the joint research project LINK Urban Digital Twinning (LINKUDT), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) under the programme Planning Acceleration for Climate Adaptation through Urban Digital Twins (UDT) (Planungsbeschleunigung für die Klimaanpassung mit Urbanen Digitalen Zwillingen, UDZ).

The project develops and tests Urban Digital Twins as tools for climate adaptation and sustainable urban development, with a particular focus on digital sovereignty, interoperable data infrastructures, and participatory and transdisciplinary approaches.

Project partners include, among others, TU Dresden, 52°North, and the nexus Institute.

The RIFS sub-project assumes a central role in accompanying research: it reviews the international state of research, identifies key stakeholders, accompanies living labs through dialogue, organises exchange and networking formats (workshops, discussion fora, working meetings), and prepares outputs for knowledge transfer – including policy recommendations, policy papers, and a publicly accessible results repository.

We are seeking a motivated researcher with expertise in participation and engagement research, particularly in the context of climate adaptation and digital planning tools. The successful candidate will work closely with project partners, support the co-creative development of recommendations and publications, and contribute to the design and implementation of exchange, training, and dissemination activities. In addition to a social science perspective, the project integrates governance, transformation, and data infrastructure approaches; openness to fundamental questions of geoinformation and Urban Digital Twins is desirable.

Your responsibilities

• Systematic review and synthesis of the international research landscape on Urban Digital Twins (UDTs) in the context of climate adaptation – focusing on governance, data sovereignty, data infrastructures, and networking strategies
• Identification of key stakeholders (administration, politics, civil society, science, business) in the project regions and analysis of their roles, needs, and interfaces for future collaboration
• Accompanying research in living labs: planning and conducting interviews, surveys, and, where appropriate, participant observation; deriving success factors and challenges for UDT diffusion
• Contribution to exchange and networking formats: conceptual and methodological support for on-site workshops, discussion fora, and working meetings, including moderation, documentation, and follow-up
• Support in developing and maintaining a digital knowledge and exchange platform, and contributing to training materials for municipal and regional stakeholders
• Independent conception, execution, and analysis of scientific studies; (co-)authoring concept papers and policy briefs with concrete recommendations for action
• Science communication: writing articles and giving presentations; contributing to newsletters, the project website, and other transfer products; representing the consortium at conferences and public events
• Cross-project collaboration: participating in coordination and dissemination tasks across work packages, steering committee meetings, and reporting activities

Your qualifications

• Excellent university degree (MA/MSc) in political or social sciences, sociology, or related disciplines, especially communication, spatial or planning sciences, geography, or socioinformatics; a PhD is an advantage
• Sound knowledge of participation and engagement research; ideally experience with participatory approaches to climate adaptation/urban development or with digital planning tools
• Practical experience in designing and moderating co-design or participation formats and in stakeholder collaboration; strong command of qualitative methods (e.g. interviews, focus groups, document analysis)
• Proven experience in producing academic publications and transfer outputs (policy briefs, guidelines, recommendations, contributions for practitioners and the public).
• Fluent German and excellent English (spoken and written)
• High level of initiative, creativity, and organisational skills; team-oriented, yet independent and structured working style.
• Strong intercultural sensitivity and diversity competence; ability to communicate effectively with administration, civil society, academia, and business.
• Strong interest in transdisciplinary collaboration and enthusiasm for working across scales – between local and (trans-)national perspectives, and between individual and societal levels
• Desirable: Competence in empowerment and civic participation, basic understanding of municipal data and governance structures (e.g. open data, data ethics/sovereignty), and experience with collaborative working and visualisation tools

What we offer

• Ambitious and varied tasks in a dynamic and international research environment
• State-of-the-art equipment
• Public service benefits
• Extensive training opportunities
• Professional career advice offered by our in-house Career-Centre
• Flexible working hours and conditions
• Support with finding a good work-life balance offered by benefit@work
• Institute day-care centre on site

Employment details

Start date: As soon as possible

Fixed-term: 31st October 2029

Salary: The position is classed as salary group 13 according to “TVöD Bund (Tarifgebiet Ost)”. The salary group is determined on the basis of the Collective Wage Agreement and the respective personal qualifications.

Working hours: Part-time 75% (currently 29.25 h/week)

Place of work: Potsdam

Application

Have we piqued your interest? If so, we look forward to receiving your application by 3rd December 2025.

Requested documents: CV and letter of motivation. Desirable documents: references, certificates/grades. Please use our online application form only.

Diversity and equal opportunities are integral components of our human resources policy. The RIFS actively promotes diversity and explicitly welcomes applications from all qualified individuals, regardless of ethnic and social origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age and physical characteristics. Anyone who has been recognized as severely disabled will be given preferential consideration in the event of equal suitability and qualification in accordance with the provisions of the German Social Code IX. In case of further queries regarding gender equality, please do not hesitate to contact our Equal Opportunities Officer.

‘Diversity in perspectives’ is a high value for us. As an integral part of supporting diversity at our centre, we actively promote women in science and in leadership positions. We among others do this through our gender equality plan and the cascade model measures which we actively implement to enable sustainable equal opportunities in academic career paths. We are thus committedly strives for gender equality in science, including in leadership positions, and strongly encourages women to apply.

Your personal data will be processed for the purpose of conducting the selection procedure on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 b, Art. 88 GDPR in conjunction with Art. 26 of the Data Protection Act for the State of Brandenburg. After completion of the procedure, application documents will be deleted in compliance with data protection regulations. In case of any further queries relating to the field of activity, please contact Dr. Jörg Radtke via email. If you have any general questions about the application process, please contact our recruiting team at our phone number [phone].

This research center is part of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers. With more than 42,000 employees and an annual budget of over € 5 billion, the Helmholtz Association is Germany's largest scientific organisation.