Postdoctoral research position on Nature restoration through nature-inclusive farming systems

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INRAE presentation

L’Institut Agro Rennes-Angers and the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE) are public university and research institution bringing together a unique working environment in joined research laboratories devoted to environment, agricultural and food sciences, plant sciences, and animal sciences. Its research aims to train young scientists and develop solutions for multi-performance agriculture, high-quality food, and sustainable management of resources and ecosystems.

Work environment, missions and activities

You will be welcomed into the Joint Research Lab, Soil Agrohydrosystems, Spatialisation (SAS) in Rennes (France). You will be working at the heart of a highly and friendly unit in the fields of agricultural redesign of farming systems and environmental monitoring, internationally recognized. You will also actively interact with scientists from the joined research lab Biodiversity, Agroecology and Landscape Management (BAGAP), which has long-term collaboration with SAS, and which develops research to understand how to promote biodiversity and the multiple functions it provides in agricultural to urban landscapes. Both SAS and BAGAP are located on same campus with very close buildings providing a unique opportunity for interdisciplinary research collaboration. During your postdoctoral recruitment, you will be enrolled in the Horizon Europe BALANCE project supervised by Judith Westerink (Wageningen University and Research). BALANCE's strategic objective is to support effective implementation of EU Nature Restoration Regulation and EU’s objectives for sustainability and competitiveness by identifying, testing, and promoting nature-positive farming systems and practices that are environmentally effective, economically viable, and socially accepted. In the project, you will be in charge of formalising the interlinkages between nature restoration, ecosystem services (ES) related to agriculture, landscapes, and nature-positive farming systems, with consideration of the social, economic and psychologic dimensions, as well as the governance of these farming systems. 

During your 2-year mission, you will be in charge of:

1. Conducing a systematic literature review on the contribution of nature-positive farming systems to nature restoration and ES delivery and resilience, and on the socioeconomic, psychological/cultural and governance levers or barriers to their implementation. Designing a conceptual model, based on this literature review, to formalize these complex interlinkages
2. Identifying indicator sets allowing the assessment of nature-positive farming systems contribution to nature restoration, such as biodiversity- or landscape-based indicators, as well as indicators of the dynamics and resilience of agroecological systems. 

You will be supervised by Edith Le Cadre (full professor at L’Institut Agro Rennes-Angers, in agroecology) and Stéphanie Aviron (research director at INRAE in landscape ecology) and will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with Matthieu Carof (senior lecturer in agronomy at L’Institut Agro Rennes-Angers, SAS laboratory), and the whole European consortia. If you are interested, you can be enrolled in pedagogical teams of L’Institut Agro Rennes-Angers for mentoring and giving lectures (but not mandatory)

Training and skills

Know How: PhD in agroecology, or in ecology applied to agricultural landscapes  or in agronomy with a strong link with ecological dimensions of agricultural systems and landscapes

Desired experience: realisation of systematic literature reviews; conceptual modelling; data analysis and modelling using R, especially related to quantitative and qualitative analyses of literature corpus; Interdisciplinary and/or transdisciplinary work

Interpersonal skills: Enjoy working in a team; Oral and written communication in English; willingness to bridge the gap between disciplines

Travels: occasional travel within France and possibly abroad (mainly Europe)

By joining L’Institut Agro, you will have a ideal work/life balanceand affiliation to national social security. As an employee of the institution, he or she will have access to all the services offered by the Institut Agro Rennes-Angers. 

France is well known for its parental support, public services (public health care and hospital, schools, transports....), and in general quality of life. The benefits of the position include French family health care provisions, parenting support including generous paid leave of absence policies that allow both parents to care for newborns and toddlers. Additionally, France has a well-established pre-school structure as well as an educational system that provides no-cost education through university studies. 

Rennes is a charming green city, 1,5h from Paris by train and 1h to lovely beaches. Rennes has a vibrant cultural offer and is bike friendly https://www.tourisme-rennes.com/en/

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

I send my CV and my motivation letter