PhD Researcher in PSOL PhD-Cohort (f/m/x): Governing PFAS as a Slow Emergency – Narratives, Ant[...]

PhD Researcher in PSOL PhD-Cohort (f/m/x): Governing PFAS as a Slow Emergency – Narratives, Anticipation and the Politics of Circularity

Place of work

Leipzig

Working time

65 % (25.35 h / week)

Contract limitations

Limited contract / 36 months

Salary

Remuneration according to the TVöD public‑sector up to pay grade 13 including attractive public‑sector social security benefits.

Contact

Your contact for any questions you may have about the job:
Dr. Josef Kaiser, Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology & Department of Environmental Politics (email: )

Your application

Please submit your application via our online portal with your cover letter, CV (please omit your photo, age, or marital status) and relevant attachments.

Diversity and Inclusion

The UFZ has a strong commitment to diversity and actively supports equal opportunities for all employees regardless of their origin, religion, ideology, disability, age or sexual identity.
We look forward to applications from people who are open‑minded and enjoy working in diverse teams.

The UFZ

The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) with its 1,100 employees has gained an excellent reputation as an international competence centre for environmental sciences. We are part of the largest scientific organisation in Germany, the Helmholtz association. Our mission: Our research seeks to find a balance between social development and the long‑term protection of our natural resources.

The job

Per‑and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent a diverse class of ubiquitous, co‑occurring environmental pollutants. While a limited number of well‑known PFAS have been banned from use in the EU, all compartments in the environment remain contaminated and, based on the levels of PFAS detected in rainwater, surface water and soils exceeding proposed regulatory guideline levels, it has been proposed that the planetary boundary for PFAS pollution has been breached. There is a global lack of solutions for the removal of PFAS contamination from the environment, including from highly exposed human populations.

This PhD position is part of the newly funded UFZ PhD College PSOL project “Solutions for exceeded planetary boundaries: Novel technologies to remove PFAS from the environment”. The candidate will join three other PhD students, co‑mentored by an interdisciplinary team of chemists, toxicologists, engineers, and social scientists. The research will investigate how uncertainty, temporality, and environmental justice are addressed in PFAS‑related discourse and policymaking, and contribute to the development of anticipatory governance approaches that adequately account for these dimensions in managing PFAS as a “slow emergency”. Particular focus will be placed on how society anticipates and navigates the trade‑offs between mitigation and circularity.

The PhD project will be supervised by Dr. Josef Kaiser as first UFZ supervisor, Dr. Jessica Stubenrauch as second UFZ supervisor and Prof. Sina Leipold as first university supervisor (University of Jena).

Your Tasks

• Map PFAS‑related policy landscapes including a comprehensive review of regulations from EU to federal state level, focusing on PFAS contamination and removal
• Investigate stakeholder narratives on current and proposed PFAS policies, with particular focus on how uncertainty, temporality, and environmental justice are reflected in these narratives
• Conduct a case study on a German remediation project in close collaboration with the other PhDs of the PSOL college and analyze how stakeholders frame PFAS risks, mitigation strategies, responsibilities, and circular economy practices using narrative policy analysis and interpretive policy research methods
• Conduct a research workshop with stakeholders and PhD college members to critically reflect on identified narratives, identify regulatory gaps, and co‑develop policy options that adequately address uncertainty, temporality, and justice in PFAS management
• Contribute to the theorizing on discourses and narratives in the context of anticipatory governance approaches
• Create peer‑reviewed journal articles in collaboration with the research group and international partners
• Communicate and disseminate research results to diverse audiences, e.g. private sector, public sector, students, civil society

Benefits

• Excellent supervision and optimal professional and interdisciplinary qualification through our HIGRADE graduate programme
• The freedom to master even the most demanding challenges between basic research and practical application
• The opportunity to work in interdisciplinary, international teams and benefit from a wide range of perspectives
• First‑class integration into national and international research networks to work together on global challenges
• Excellent research infrastructure and research data management to optimally support your work
• A wide range of options for balancing care responsibilities and work through our family office
• Competent support and advice for international colleagues arriving at the UFZ from the ‘International Office’
• Special annual payment, capital‑forming benefits and subsidised Deutschland‑Job‑Ticket
• A workplace in a vibrant region with a high life quality and social and cultural diversity

Your profile

• University degree (Master, Diploma) in political/social science, human geography or natural resource management, environmental studies, sustainability science or a comparable field with a strong emphasis on social questions
• English and German language proficiency (CEFR level C1 or higher)
• Prior engagement with theories & concepts from the areas of narratives/discourses/storytelling
• Strong interpersonal skills and a desire to cooperate closely with the other members of the PhD College
• Excellent teamwork capabilities in a multidisciplinary and international team
• Willingness to publish and present research findings in peer-reviewed journals and at scientific conferences
• Experience in one or more of the following research fields is of advantage: governance of environmental pollutants, adaptive governance approaches, uncertainty and temporality in environmental governance, or circular economy

Application instructions

Please submit your application via our online portal including a cover letter with motivation, CV (please omit your photo, age, or marital status), an example of your scientific writing (e.g. your Master’s thesis), copies of relevant certificates and transcripts, and the contact details of two references (no letters required).