European water systems face increasing pressures from climate change, urbanization, ageing infrastructure, and stricter environmental requirements. New hybrid urban water management approaches combining nature-based solutions and conventional gray infrastructure bring opportunities to improve system performance and adaptability. However, significant uncertainties remain regarding the environmental, economic, and societal implications of these innovations.
In this position, you will investigate hybrid urban water innovations, which combine green and gray water infrastructure, seeking to anticipate their potential societal and environmental impacts. For that, you will integrate Value Sensitive Design (VSD) and ex-ante sustainability assessment within a European research project. This position involves two parts:
- Part A focuses on how stakeholders perceive urban water innovations, identifying how values such as sustainability and resilience should be integrated in their design and implementation. For this, you are expected to develop and analyze stakeholder engagement activities (e.g., interviews, participatory workshops), and coordinate partners to conduct them across multiple European pilot sites.
- Part B focuses on an ex-ante Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to assess the environmental impacts of hybrid urban water innovations in selected case studies from the project.
The results from your research will serve as key inputs to decision-support tools developed within the consortium, enabling utilities, planners, and policymakers to evaluate alternative innovations for climate-resilient urban water management. You will be working closely with researchers, utilities, municipalities, regulators, and technology providers across various European countries.
What you do
- Designing and coordinating stakeholder engagement activities, such as stakeholder interviews and focus groups
- Analyzing how values such as resilience and sustainability could be taken into account in technology assessment and decision-making
- Applying ex-ante Life Cycle Assessment methodologies for emerging water infrastructure solutions
- Supporting project partners on the integration of stakeholder insights and sustainability assessment results into broader assessment and decision-support frameworks
- Publishing research findings in leading international journals and presenting results at scientific conferences
- Contributing to project deliverables and collaborating with academic and non-academic partners across Europe
What they ask
- PhD in Industrial Ecology, Sustainability Sciences, Technology Assessment, or a related field
- Proven experience with Life Cycle Assessment
- Proven experience with qualitative data gathering methods, such as interviewing and focus groups
- Interest in Urban Water Systems and Nature Based Solutions
- Ability to analyze both qualitative and quantitative data
- Excellent communication and scientific writing skills
- Ability to work independently while collaborating in interdisciplinary and international teams
- Excellent command of English
Desired.
- Experience with ex-ante or prospective Life Cycle Assessment
- Background or experience with Urban Water Systems and Nature Based Solutions
How to apply
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