The Institute of Forestry of the Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forests and Fisheries, in Hamburg-Bergedorf is looking for the following full-time position (currently 39 hours/week), starting at the earliest possible date, for a fixed term until 30 April,2027 (subject to the final approval of the third-party funding body) as a

Scientist (f/m/d)

(Geoinformatics, Environmental Sciences, or related disciplines such as Agricultural or Forest Sciences)

for the research project “Bridging Technical Feasibility and Stakeholder Perspectives in Large-Scale Monitoring of FLR (TeStaMoni-FLR)”.

The position is linked to the research unit Forestry Worldwide. The unit deals among others with sustainable forest management in a landscape context, the potential of forest management for sustainable development and its influence on livelihoods of rural populations in the tropics. An important prerequisite for this is the reconciliation of land use with climate goals and the conservation of biodiversity.

Large national and regional commitments to forest landscape restoration (FLR), such as the Bonn Challenge and the AFR100 initiative, require credible, comparable information on where restoration is happening and what it achieves. Yet current monitoring efforts rely on heterogeneous definitions, scattered data and uneven capacities. The third-party funded TeStaMoni‑FLR project combines a systematic review of existing large‑scale monitoring methods with targeted stakeholder consultations in selected AFR100 countries. The project will generate a technical overview, prototype approaches to measure key indicators using geospatial data, and a stakeholder‑approved roadmap that outlines feasible options for improved continent‑wide FLR monitoring.

The work package “Technical Perspectives” assesses how FLR is currently monitored at large scales, identifies conceptual and data‑related bottlenecks, and explores prototype remote‑sensing approaches that could be scaled to AFR100 level.

Your tasks:

• Compile and critically analyze existing FLR monitoring methods, portals and datasets; summarize data requirements, indicators used in practice, strengths and limitations
• Assess the potential of state‑of‑the‑art AI‑based remote‑sensing products for large‑scale FLR monitoring, validating estimates with ground plots and high‑resolution imagery
• Design prototype geospatial workflows to estimate key FLR indicators; document code and modelling choices for reproducibility
• Produce illustrative pilot maps and summary statistics of key FLR indicators for AFR100 countries
• Draft policy briefs, technical reports and journal articles on FLR monitoring; contribute to targeted dissemination of project results

Your professional requirements:

• Completed university degree (M.Sc.) in Geoinformatics, Environmental Sciences, Forestry, or related field
• Advanced programming skills in Python; experience with cloud‑based Earth‑observation processing is an asset
• Solid knowledge of time‑series analysis, land‑cover change detection and spatial statistics
• Familiarity with Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) and tropical land-use dynamics is desirable
• Practical experience with development challenges in Africa, ideally demonstrated through overseas assignments
• Willingness to undertake field stays of up to 8 weeks within Africa
• Proven ability to conduct independent scientific work (e.g., thesis, project leadership, publications)
• Very good English (written & spoken); German and French are an asset

Your personal requirements :

• Flexibility, team spirit and capacity for intercultural and interdisciplinary cooperation
• Openness, creativity and high commitment when taking on new tasks
• Strong organizational expertise for coordinating multi‑country fieldwork
• Strong personal engagement and willingness to assume responsibility under field conditions

Our offer:

• Security and benefits: collectively agreed, fixed-term employment with attractive social benefits (e.g., company pension scheme, annual one-off payment, capital-forming benefits) upon fulfilment of the collective agreement and personal requirements according to pay group 13 TVöD
• Responsibility and a sense of purpose: responsible work in a dedicated team, involvement in a dynamic, interdisciplinary research institute and proximity to current policy and practice-relevant topics
• Flexibility and work-life balance: flexible working time models, fundamental possibility of part-time employment as well as mobile working and teleworking, certified employer berufundfamilie audit with a wide range of offers for reconciling work and life phases
• Prospects: further training opportunities for the area of responsibility and individual development
• Health: company health management and preventative healthcare programmes
• Mobility: JobTicket, public transport connections, free parking spaces and the option of using e-charging stations

The Thünen Institute promotes professional equality between women and men and therefore expressly welcomes applications from women.

We live a diverse and cosmopolitan coexistence. The Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute is committed to inclusion. Applications from people with severe disabilities are therefore expressly encouraged. They will be given preferential consideration in the selection process. Please enclose proof of severe disability or equal status with your application.

If you have any technical queries, please contact Dr. Daniel Kübler ( daniel.kuebler@thuenen.de (mailto:daniel.kuebler@thuenen.de) ).

If you have an international degree, please also enclose a certificate evaluation from the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) with your application. If you do not yet have a certificate evaluation, you must apply for one if your application is successful. You can find further information at https://zab.kmk.org/de/zeugnisbewertung (https://zab.kmk.org/de/zeugnisbewertung) .

Please send your electronic application (as a single PDF document), including a letter of motivation, a tabular curriculum vitae (providing an overview of your educational and professional background), and copies of your certificates, quoting the reference 2025-102-WF , by June 5, 2025 , to

wf@thuenen.de (mailto:wf@thuenen.de)

Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut

Thünen-Institut für Waldwirtschaft

Leuschnerstr. 91

21031 Hamburg

Information in accordance with Article 13 DSGVO on the collection of personal data can be found at www.thuenen.de/de/thuenen-institut/karriere.

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