Project engineer on Soil Health in Europe

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INRAE presentation

The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) is a major player in research and innovation. It is a community of 12,000 people with 272 research, experimental research, and support units located in 18 regional centres throughout France. Internationally, INRAE is among the top research organisations in the agricultural and food sciences, plant and animal sciences, as well as in ecology and environmental science. It is the world’s leading research organisation specialising in agriculture, food and the environment. INRAE’s goal is to be a key player in the transitions necessary to address major global challenges. Faced with a growing world population, climate change, resource scarcity, and declining biodiversity, the Institute has a major role to play in building solutions and supporting the necessary acceleration of agricultural, food and environmental transitions.

Work environment, missions and activities

You will be welcomed at Laboratoire Sols et Environnement (LSE, UMR 1120 INRAE-Université de Lorraine) based in Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy (France). The engineer position is part of the European project BENCHMARKS (https://soilhealthbenchmarks.eu/) financed under HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-02 to validate and further develop indicators for soil health and functions. BENCHMARKS has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program, licensed as project 101091010. BENCHMARKS supports the European Commission on its mission to reach “75 % of European soils as healthy or significantly improved by 2030” (SH&F mission). The BENCHMARKS’ objective is to build a European network that creates a shared understanding of soil health assessment across a range of land uses (forest, agriculture, urban) and climatic conditions. BENCHMARKS is defining how to measure soil health and provide context and spatial scale relevant measurement techniques from field to European scale. Working with multi-stakeholder partnerships, BENCHMARKS aims to contribute to and empower land-use systems, side-by-side with land managers, that promote soil health. Through a multi-scale and multi-stakeholder process across different land-use types, BENCHMARKS aims to (i) provide a clear, easy-to-use tool for evaluating soil health, that is transparent, harmonized, and cost-effective; (ii) define appropriate indicators that are relevant to the assessment of soil health for a range of land uses and climatic zones across Europe; (iii) develop a soil health dashboard appropriate for use at a range of scales (field to European) for agricultural, forestry, and urban settings; (iv) contribute to improving existing European policies and regulations related to soil health.

BENCHMARKS brings together a robust pan-European consortium (29 partners) that builds upon state-of-the-art scientific advances in the field of soil health and functions in recent years; provides the needed expertise to work with stakeholders across multiple scales, and diverse range of land-use types, within Europe; brings the knowledge and experience to ensure the implementation of BENCHMARKS outcomes in policy, private industry and social decision-making.

Your work will fit in several WPs of BENCHMARKS in which INRAE is involved. You will be in charge of:

1. Setting up research activities in the frame of the 4 French case studies (forest, agriculture, urban)
2. Contributing to the coordination of the various technical and administrative activities that support research activities of the INRAE partner of BENCHMARKS (LSE and BEF, INRAE, Nancy; Info&Sols, INRAE, Orléans; Ecosys, INRAE, Saclay)
3. Co-writing up findings both for EU-reporting as well as scientific publications
4. Collaborating with international consortium partners
5. Organising meetings with project partners and stakeholders (land managers, advisors, policymakers, scientific and educational communities, and the private sector) and presenting your findings at international symposia
6. Promoting and disseminating scientific and technical information

Training and skills

The applicant should have completed a doctoral degree (PhD) from a relevant field, including but not limited to physical geography, soil sciences, agricultural sciences, geoinformatics, or Earth system sciences. The applicant is expected to have a strong drive towards excellence in science and have an ability for innovative thinking both individually and within a team. Excellent skills in spoken and written English are required; French would be appreciated.

INRAE's life quality

By joining our teams, you benefit from (depending on the type of contract and its duration):

- up to 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.

How to apply

Please include the following information with your application:

• Your contact details and personal data
• Your highest degree
• Your language skills
• Contact details for 2–3 references

and, in addition, please include the following documents:

• CV – degrees and other completed courses, work experience and a list of publications
• Motivation letter describing:
  – why you are interested in the field/project described in the advertisement
  – why and how you wish to complete the project
  – what makes you suitable for the project in questionw
• Copy of PhD diploma
• Letters of recommendation (no more than 3 files)
• Possibly publications in support of your application (no more than 3 files)