Original Beschreibung
# Scientific project assistant postdoc
The Department of Geography and Regional Research, University of Vienna, seeks to appoint a
## Scientific project assistant postdoc
53 Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy
Job vacancy starting: 01/01/2026 | Working hours: 40,00 | Classification CBA: §48 VwGr. B1 lit. b (postdoc)
Limited contract until:
Job ID: **4525**
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UrbanSlide is an ERC Starting Grant project (July 2025–June 2030) hosted at the University of Vienna, investigating the complex drivers of landslide risk in rapidly urbanising tropical cities. The project will develop a hybrid modelling framework combining process-based and statistical methods to examine causal feedbacks among urban growth, the built environment, social vulnerability, and extreme rainfall. A key focus lies on the impact of informal settlement expansion on steep hillslopes and how they influence landslide hazard and risk.
The postdoctoral researcher will support the project by developing a landslide risk model that incorporates urbanisation dynamics and a hazard model. The end product should deliver estimated landslide fatalities considering the qualities and types of urban layers. The postdoctoral researcher will also support developing an integrated hazard model by providing quantitative information about the urban layer, such as the level of hillslope alterations, the quality of the wastewater, and rainfall runoff management. These aspects may change globally in different countries, altering landslide hazard heterogeneously.
This position is ideal for candidates interested in urban processes and in developing an urban risk model and exploring socio-environmental feedbacks in landslide risk assessment in selected cities in Colombia, India, the DR Congo, and Burundi, as well as globally in other tropical urban areas. One central research objective is to identify whether a socioeconomic gradient of landslide risk exists globally. Hence, the person should have a good command of the social and built environment aspects that condition urban landslide risk, as well as an understanding of data and indicators to measure these aspects, particularly in the context of tropical cities. Further, to ensure smooth collaboration with hazard and risk modelers, the person needs to have basic scripting skills to understand, develop, and run a landslide risk model.
To strengthen the social and urban characteristics of the UrbanSlide project, the postdoctoral researcher will closely cooperate with the Urban Research Working Group at the Institute of Geography and Regional Research, in addition to the Geohazards Working Group.
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## Scope of employment:
The position is full-time, 40 hours/week. The preferred starting date is 01.01.2026 - an earlier start is also possible. The contract will be initially for a period of two years, with the possibility of extension for an additional two years, contingent upon a successful internal evaluation and continued satisfactory performance.
## Travel Support:
A travel budget is available to support occasional fieldwork in selected cities, as well as conference participation by team members as part of the project’s dissemination and collaboration activities.
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## Key Responsibilities:
* Develop and run a landslide risk model relying on a global database that impacts urban areas, which also needs to be established.
* Support the hazard model development by supplying information and data on urban feedback that can alter the hazard level
* Contribute to project and group activities, including workshops and internal meetings
* Participate in empirical fieldwork and scientific conferences
* Assist in writing research articles, project proposals, and other research-related outputs
* Support administrative and outreach tasks related to the project
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## Your Profile:
* Background in physical or human geography, or related fields
* Experience in quantitative and qualitative data gathering and analysis
* Basic knowledge of programming (e.g., Python, R, or MATLAB)
* Experience of working in tropical cities
* Experience in systematic literature review is desired
* Interest and/or experience in urban landslide research
* Willingness to conduct fieldwork in: Bujumbura (Burundi), Bukavu (DR Congo), and Medellín (Colombia), Dehradun and Nainital (India). If the field work is not possible due to international unrest, another site may be chosen.
* Excellent written and spoken English
* Additional languages such as French, Spanish, Hindi, Swahili, and German are assets
* Ability to work in an intercultural, international research team
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## What we offer:
**Work-life balance:** Our employees enjoy flexible working hours, and – upon agreement – can partly work from home (within Austria).
**Inspiring working atmosphere:** You are a part of an international academic team in a healthy and fair working environment.
**Good public transport connections:** Your workplace in the center of beautiful Vienna is easily accessible by public transport.
**Internal further training & Coaching:** Opportunity to deepen your skills on an ongoing basis. There are over 600 courses to choose from – free of charge.
**Fixed-term contract and fair salary:** The basic salary of EUR 4,932.90, paid 14 times a year, increases if we can credit professional experience.
**Equal opportunities for all:** We welcome every additional/new personality to the team!
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## If you have any questions, please contact:
Ugur Öztürk
ugur.oeztuerk@univie.ac.at
We look forward to new personalities in our team!
The University of Vienna has an anti-discriminatory employment policy and attaches great importance to equal opportunities, the advancement of women and diversity. We lay special emphasis on increasing the number of women in senior and in academic positions among the academic and general university staff and therefore expressly encourage qualified women to apply. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female candidates.
## University of Vienna. Space for personalities. Since 1365.
**Application deadline:** 08/31/2025