Closing Date: 28 October 2025
Work as the Head of Climate Risk Analytics (P3) at UNU-EHS in Bonn: Apply Now
Ready to lead innovation in hashtag#ClimateRisk science?
Join UNU-EHS as Head of Climate Risk Analytics (P3) in Bonn and shape data-driven solutions for a resilient future.
About UN University (UNU)
The United Nations University (UNU) is a global think tank and postgraduate teaching organization within the United Nations System. UNU engages in policy-relevant research, capacity development, and knowledge dissemination in furtherance of the purposes and principles of the United Nations. The work of UNU contributes to solving pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations and its Member States.
For the past five decades, UNU has been a source of impartial research on sustainability, human security, and economic development. With hundreds of researchers working at institutes in 12 countries, UNU’s expertise spans the full breadth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, generating policy-relevant knowledge to effect positive global change. UNU collaborates closely with other UN entities and leading research institutions across the globe.
About Institute (UNU-EHS)
The United Nations University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) was established in 2003 in Bonn, Germany. The institute conducts research work focusing on advancing human security and well-being by addressing present and future risks arising from environmental hazards and climate change. Its main areas of work are risk & adaptation and transformation. In addition to its research work, UNU-EHS offers education opportunities at the master’s level and hosts a number of international PhD projects and capacity-development courses on global issues of environmental risks and sustainable development.
The Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII) is hosted at UNU-EHS and is a research-to-policy and practice innovation lab. MCII aims to support and ultimately influence policy making processes that enhance resilience and protect livelihoods of vulnerable communities, through pioneering risk management and risk transfer solutions (e.g. insurance mechanisms) in combination with other approaches to manage climate related risks.
Climate Risk Analytics: The Risk analytics team entails a portfolio of projects by MCII, relying on quantitative methods to better understand and inform on climate risk. The main goals for strategic impact are i) to establish analytics to support decisions in adaptation and risk management, ii) to define the “smart mix” of climate response options, including climate risk insurance and to iii) further operational concepts of improved climate risk management also through academic collaborations.
Responsibilities
Under the authority of the Director of UNU-EHS, the guidance of the Chief Climate Risk Strategist, the Head of Climate Risk Analytics (P3) will be entrusted with the following tasks:
1. Manage the Team on Climate Risk Analytics
- Manage the overall budget and financial resources with integrity and ensure the effective utilization for research and policy objectives in line with UNU regulations.
- Provide leadership, mentorship and oversight to a large team of UNU experts, fostering a high-performing, collaborative, and academically vibrant environment conducive to rigorous research enquiry, method development, and scientific growth.
- Oversee the strategic implementation of the climate risk analytics research agenda, leading strategic engagement and fostering interdisciplinary cooperation with other divisions and partners to enhance UNU’s scientific profile
- Enable fruitful collaborations with other thematic divisions and integrate its work across the institute.
2. Lead Research and Knowledge Management in Climate Risk Analytics
- Develop and steer the strategic research agenda for climate risk analytics at UNU-EHS, driving research enquiry and enhancing the Institute’s scientific profile.
- Lead and drive the development, application, and promotion of advanced and innovative quantitative methods, modelling techniques, and tools (including AI, machine learning, hazard/risk models, ecosystem service models) to advance research enquiry into climate risk, fostering interdisciplinary use and contributing significantly to scientific output and method development.
- Lead and contribute to the publication of research findings resulting from rigorous research enquiry in high-impact international peer-reviewed journals and other relevant scientific outlets, further enhancing the scientific profile of UNU-EHS.
- Promote open-data and open-source climate risk approaches and contribute substantively to the evolution of key global modelling frameworks like CLIMADA.
- Represent UNU-EHS in relevant international research consortia and groups.
- Scope and facilitate discussions to potentially constitute a Competence Centre on Risk Analytics within UNU-EHS.
- Lead and develop new collaborative research initiatives on participatory modeling, together with UNU Macau and other respective UNU institutes.
3. Lead Resource Mobilization
- Lead the development of compelling proposals and secure funding to mobilize resources for new projects, focusing on advancing application in climate vulnerable countries, innovative methods development and interdisciplinary cooperation.
4. Contribute to Education and Training
- Contribute to UNU-EHS’s academic programmes, including lecturing on climate risk analytics and supervising MSc and PhD candidates conducting research enquiry in the field, fostering the next generation of researchers.
- Support the development of staff capacities and promote knowledge sharing mechanisms across the institute to enhance scientific output and methodological expertise.
5. Create Policy Impact and Foster Partnerships
- Cultivate and maintain strategic partnerships and networks with other UNU institutes, UN agencies, research institutions, government bodies, private sector, civil society, and other stakeholders.
- Engage in knowledge exchange and collaboration across relevant stakeholders to enhance the policy relevance and practice impact of UNU EHS’ scientific work and foster interdisciplinary cooperation.
- Promote open-source climate risk approaches in relevant partnerships including the contributions of UNU-EHS to the Project Office of the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII e.V.).
Key performance indicators
- Timely and quality development of output related to the modelling and quantitative efforts at UNU-EHS
- Timely and quality delivery on operational goals, including performance of personnel; production of quality knowledge, research and policy outputs;
- High quality and level of engagement with project implementation partners.
- UNU-EHS is seen as a reliable and trustworthy partner by research partners, governments, donors, and civil society.
Qualifications
1) Education and certification
PhD in environmental engineering, economics, geography with a background in remote sensing, climate adaptation and/or hazard modelling;
2) Required skills and experience
Required Qualifications:
- At least five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in the context of risk analytics, climate change adaptation or similar;
- Excellent understanding of the international research and stakeholder landscape in climate risk analytics.
- Documented ability to lead large teams of experts; strong project management skills, including financial management;
- Good understanding of relevant modelling approaches with excellent command of Matlab and/or Python;
- Ability to explain complex processes (modelling, data requirement, scenarios etc…) to non-experts audiences;
- Initiative seeker with an interest to professionally expand into new ways of applying and disseminating quantitative climate risk analysis and insurance;
- Excellent presentation and communication skills.
Desired Qualifications:
- Track record of scientific publications in academic journals;
- A good understanding and/or experience in technical and organizational disaster risk reduction and -management and climate change adaptation;
- Previous experience working with CLIMADA is an asset;
- Extensive experience in project management in coordinating with a broad range of actors is an asset
- Track record of successful funding acquisition and design of methodological frameworks in the context of development cooperation and in coordinating with a broad range of actors is an asset;
- Work experience in developing countries is an asset.
3) Language Requirements
- Fluency in English is required
- Fluency in German is an asset
- Knowledge of another UN official working language is an asset
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