Senior Research fellow in climate Change Adaptation at UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA

OKAVANGO RESEARCH INSTITUTE (MAUN)

VACANCY NO: ORI 07/2024

The Okavango Research Institute (ORI) of the University of Botswana is inviting applications for the position of Senior Research Fellow in Climate Change Adaptation. The Institute is based in Maun in the north-western part of Botswana and specializes in natural resources management, sustainable natural resource use and conservation in the world-famous Okavango Delta and the Kgalagadi (Kalahari) region.

Duties: The successful candidate will be required to (i) investigate present and past socio-economic adaptation responses to externally forced change in climate to improve our understanding of social resilience in the Okavango River Basin. This will include assessing effects of climate change across the Okavango River Basin and in southern Africa, at both regional and local scales on livelihoods and economy; (ii) assess how adaptation responses may be constrained by land use change and fragmentation of ecosystems; (iii) identify potential response trajectories to climate change in basin subsistence livelihoods and industry (with particular focus on ecotourism, agriculture and mining); (iv) work with other researchers in physical and life sciences, and social sciences, to improve the region’s capacity to understand and accommodate change; (v) develop proposals, conduct research, publish the results in national and international reputable journals; (vi) regularly attend national and international conferences; (vii) participate in ORI’s efforts to develop and facilitate services for climate change adaptation, and develop outreach materials to facilitate the dissemination of climate change information to policy makers and civic society.

Requirements: Applicants should: (i) possess a PhD in Environmental Science, Natural Resources Management, Human Geography, Sociology, Economics and/or related fields with a focus on climate change adaptation; (ii) have a minimum of 10 pieces of research products (e.g., journal articles, book chapters, peer reviewed conference proceedings, etc.) published by recognised publishers; (iii) Seven (7) of the 10 publications above must be articles in refereed/accredited journals indexed in internationally recognized indexing databases; (iv) the remaining 3 publications could be journal articles, book chapters, peer reviewed conference proceedings etc.; (v) the candidate must be first author in at least half of the required journal publications, depending on the disciplinary expectations; (vi) sustained research output, which shall be constituted by a minimum of 5 peer reviewed publications (journal articles, book chapters, peer reviewed conference proceedings, etc.) every two years; (vii) a record of publications (journal articles, book chapters, peer reviewed conference proceedings, etc.) in the field of climate change adaptation; (viii) scholarly presentations at national and/or international conferences; (ix) publications are spread across national and/or international journals; (x) some research impact, including but not limited to citations, the h-index, patents, policy applications, peer reviews, publications that are prescribed texts in other institutions, etc (at least one of these is required); (xi) recognized as being of at least national research standing (e.g. reviewer for refereed/ accredited national and regional publishers; editorial board member of at least a national publisher in a relevant field; and invitation as keynote speaker at national and/or international conferences (at least one of these is required). The following will be considered as added advantages: (a) evidence of research in climate change mitigation, (b) university teaching experience or equivalent, (c) sustained research activity: on-going internally and/or externally supported research (e.g., funded/commissioned); (d) research awards and other forms of research recognition, where appropriate; (e) examiner/ moderator/ assessor for undergraduate and/or postgraduate projects nationally.

NB: The curriculum vitae should contain a detailed list of published works, clearly specifying name/s of author and co-authors if any, dates of publications, titles of publications, names of publishers, volume numbers and DOIs (for journal publications) or ISBN numbers (for books, book chapters and conference proceedings), and number of pages. The works should be categorized into books, book chapters, refereed journals, non-refereed works, consultancies, and practical media projects.

Remuneration: The University of Botswana offers competitive salaries and benefits commensurate with experience and qualifications. For more information on the university, please visit our website, www.ub.bw

How to Apply: Applications are to address the qualifications outlined in the advertisement and provide any other information to assist the university to determine the applicant’s suitability for the position.  The applicant should quote the vacancy number of the post applied for; provide current CVs (including telephone, telex and telefax number and e-mail where possible), certified true copies of educational certificates, transcripts and three references, including names and addresses of three referees. Complete documentation should be sent to: Human Resources Officer, Okavango Research Institute, Private Bag 285 Maun, Botswana. Tel.: +267 6817228; Fax.: +267 6861835: E-mail: ori_recruitment@ub.ac.bw/ basiangy@ub.ac.bw. Applicants should inform their referees to (i) quote the Vacancy Number(s) and Position(s) applied for and (ii) submit their references directly to the above address before the stipulated closing date.  Please note that applications with incomplete information shall not be considered.

Hand delivered applications should be submitted to the HR Office, Admin Porta cabin. 

NB: Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted

Closing Dates: 18 December 2024