Scientific Officer in Flood Early Warning Systems

As the science and knowledge service of the Commission, the mission of DG Joint Research Centre is to support EU policies with independent evidence throughout the whole policy cycle.

The JRC is located in 5 Member States (Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain). Further information is available  here.

The current vacancy is with the Disasters Risk Management Unit of the Space, Security and Migration Directorate. This Unit provides scientific and technical support to EU policies addressing global security and crisis management. The unit is also responsible for the Copernicus Emergency Management Service which includes the European and Global Flood Awareness Systems (EFAS and GloFAS).

The successful candidate will perform research and development to improve GloFAS especially through the improvement of the hydrological model LISFLOOD and by taking into account feedback from key end-users such as the Emergency Response Coordination Centre. He/she will be part of the team that is responsible for policy support in the field of flood risk management as well as the management and further evolution of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service.

The successful candidate will perform the following tasks:

• Evaluating how processes and methods (e.g. routing, infiltration, snow melt, reservoirs, etc.) in the open-source hydrological model LISFLOOD can be further improved especially with a view on improving the global hydrological simulations

• Assess whether the integration of additional data (e.g. from earth observation or other relevant sources) can improve the global hydrological LISFLOOD simulations

• Improve the open-source calibration tool and perform a LISFLOOD model calibration for the global set up

• Contribute to the scientific output through peer reviewed publications

• Support the organization of the annual Global Flood Partnership meetings

Qualifications

The ideal candidate must have a degree in a relevant scientific area (atmospheric/geo/hydrologic /natural sciences, environmental engineering) together with a minimum of 3 years of research experience or a Ph.D.

Experience in using and developing large-scale hydrological models; good programming (Python) and statistical / data analytical skills are essential.

Experience in one or more of the following fields is an advantage: remote sensing, GIS, data assimilation and machine learning methods.

S/he should be a team player and be willing to learn and adapt to new tasks. Good communication skills (written and spoken) in English are expected (level C1).

The candidate should have a proven track record of peer reviewed scientific publications.

Directorate Unit

Space, Security and Migration, Disaster Risk Management Unit. Further information see here.