Water Accounting Analyst / Junior Lecturer (m/f), Delft, The Netherlands

The UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education offers graduate education in Delft, The Netherlands, and carries out research and capacity building projects all over the world. The mission of UNESCO-IHE is to contribute to the education and training of professionals and to build the capacity of sector organizations, knowledge centres and other institutions active in the fields of water, the environment and infrastructure in developing countries and countries in transition.

UNESCO-IHE has a permanent staff of 180, of which 90 are scientific staff, while about 250 guest- lecturers from academia and industry contribute to the educational programme. Each year 750 participants (incl. about 200 new MSc students per year) from all over the world attend the various regular and short courses at UNESCO-IHE. The institute has an international staff & student community with English as working language.

Department info

The Integrated Water Systems & Governance (IWSG) Department covers a broad range of disciplinary knowledge – sociology, law, economics, public administration, political science, information technology, mathematics, hydrological and hydraulic modelling sciences, engineering, knowledge management and innovation studies. With our research we seek to contribute to a better understanding of what makes such systems sustainable, resource efficient, resilient and how they contribute to social and environmental justice, in particular in, but not limited to, the Global South. UNESCO-IHE is developing together with its partners IWMI and FAO an international framework for water accounting. The newly developed framework is referred to as Water Accounting Plus (WA+). An open-access data repository is under continuous development that shares the water accounts of river basins with all professionals involved in decision making processes ( www.wateraccounting.org ).

The Integrated Water Systems and Governance Department is looking for a: Water Accounting Analyst / Junior Lecturer (m/f) – 0.95 FTE

Responsibilities

The candidate will be responsible for implementing the Water Accounting Plus (WA+) system to the major river basins in Africa and the Middle East, including areas in the vicinity of refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. UNESCO-IHE is the main partner for the implementation of the FAO project to assist Member Countries in monitoring water productivity, identifying water productivity gaps, proposing solutions to reduce these gaps and contributing to a sustainable increase of agricultural production, while taking into account ecosystems and the equitable use of water resources, which eventually should lead to an overall reduction of water stress. FAO wishes to utilize the water accounts estimated by the WA+ procedure for refining the assessment of consequences and sustainability of possible increases in water productivity in agriculture.

The candidate will apply the WA+ framework by integrating earth observation satellite measurements (incl. TRMM, GPM, MODIS, VIIRS, PROB-V, ASCAT, LANDSAT) with global hydrological models (e.g. PCR-Globwb, GLOBWAT) for each land use class. Local measurements on rainfall, dam release, water levels, discharges and withdrawals will be assimilated into the modelled data series. All WA+ data should be presented by means of standard sheets, tables and maps on an open access data repository.

The successful candidate is also expected to co-develop the general procedures of water accounting. This includes innovative research solutions and UNESCO-IHE is encouraging young staff members to

develop international publications related to these innovations. It is expected that the candidate assists students and provides lectures in water management related modules.

The successful candidate will be working on

1. Collecting and fusing spatially distributed data layers from earth observation satellites
2. Integrate satellite images with global hydrological models
3. Execute consistency checks and calibrate flows and fluxes with in situ measurement, where feasible
4. Prepare international publications in peer reviewed journals
5. Visit North Africa and the Middle East to explain results and build local capacity
6. Assist with teaching at MSc level on topics related to water accounting
7. Assist with supervision of MSc students on topics related to water accounting

Requirements

UNESCO-IHE is searching for a young academic person with a doctoral degree in either (i) civil engineering or (ii) hydrology/water management. He/she should have proven excellent analytical skills. The candidate should have working experience with remote sensing images and have proficient programming skills in one of the software packages MatLab, Phyton and ArcGIS. Working experience in Africa and/or the Middle East is a strong preference.

Terms of employment

This position is a temporary position for two years. The position is based in Delft, The Netherlands, with short missions to Africa and the Middle East. A competitive salary (grade 10) is offered depending on qualifications and experience in accordance with the conditions of employment for Dutch Universities. The appointment implies entry into the Netherlands' Civil Service Pension Fund (ABP). A Dutch work permit will be required.

Information and application

Additional information can be obtained from Dr. Janez Susnik, Deputy Head of the Integrated Water Systems and Governance Department (+31 (0)15 215 2368) or Prof. Dr. Wim Bastiaanssen (+31 (0)15 215 2321 - w.bastiaanssen@unesco-ihe.org ).

Applications (in English) should respond specifically to the requirements and should be sent before 17 January 2016 (closing date) including curriculum vitae, statement of teaching and research interests, motivation letter and the names and contact details of two contactable referees ( as one PDF file with your family name as the filename), to UNESCO-IHE, attn. Human Resource Management (E: vacancies@unesco-ihe.org ), PO Box 3015, 2601 DA Delft, The Netherlands, stating vacancy-number

16-IWSG-01.

Reactions from staffing agencies and other 3rd parties are not appreciated.