POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER, Foundation for Biodiversity Research
Salary: Starting from 2822 € gross per month (according to the FRB salary scale), social security and paid leave according to French legislation
Contract: 24 months fixed term, full time, possibility of 1 year extension
Starting date: April 2026
Job information
Projecting the future trajectories of marine social-ecological systems is highly challenging, with many sources of uncertainty. Mirroring the approach of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) for climate research, the international Fisheries and Marine Ecosystem Model Intercomparison Project (FishMIP; www.fishmip.org) produces multi-model ensemble projections of climate change impacts on marine ecosystems at global and regional scales. Since its inception in 2013, FishMIP has made substantial contributions to major science-policy processes, including the IPCC, the IPBES, and policy-oriented analyses for the FAO. FishMIP is now launching the Ocean System Pathways (OSPs, see Maury et al., 2025, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EF004851), a new scenario framework that extends the IPCC’s Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) into the domains of fisheries, marine biodiversity conservation, and aquaculture. The OSPs include qualitative storylines, quantitative model driver pathways, and a “plug-inmodel” framework that allow diverse marine ecosystem models to simulate future fisheries dynamics in a standardized way. They will enable the heterogeneous and international suite of ecosystem models willing to contribute to FishMIP to simulate fisheries dynamics in a standardised way.
We are looking for a talented 24-month postdoctoral researcher (that can be extended to 36 months) to drive the analysis and publication of social-ecological simulation results from the FishMIP-OSP project, to evaluate the future of marine ecosystems and fisheries under various climate and socioeconomic changes along these new socio-economic scenarios.
Specifically, the successful candidate will contribute to the FishMIP–OSP project by:
● Contributing to the analyses of the ensemble ecosystem model simulations to explore how
ecosystems and fisheries might change in the future, focusing on key issues such as climate justice,
food security, equitable fisheries management, and biodiversity conservation.
● Analysing and publishing collective simulation results to inform ongoing policy processes within
the FAO and developing contributions with the goal of informing the synthesis work of the IPCC,
IPBES, and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
● Helping to develop targeted scenarios and simulation protocols and working with marine
ecosystem modellers to coordinate model runs of those scenarios.
● Participate in all FishMIP OSP meetings and workshops, and be involved in the collaborative
teamwork and environment of the project.
● Contribute to the assessment of the historical simulations, including harmonising historical data
to evaluate ecosystem models against observations using appropriate statistical methods.
The successful candidate will play a fundamental role in the project. He/she will have the opportunity to
collaborate with an international network of marine ecosystem researchers and modellers across the
FishMIP community, engage in high-impact, policy-relevant science at the science–policy interface, in a
scientific field whose purpose and societal impact will give meaning to his/her efforts. He/she will work in
at the CESAB, an international hub for biodiversity and climate research located in the beautiful city center
of Montpellier.
- Posted: December 2, 2025
- Job Type: Post-doc
- Application deadline: 12/31/2025
- Organization: Foundation for Biodiversity Research and Centre for Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity
- Qualifications: Qualifications We are looking for an independent and motivated researcher with expertise in one or more relevant disciplines, such as marine ecosystem modelling, fisheries science, economics, social-ecological systems, biodiversity science, and data analysis. Required skills and experience: ● PhD in Fisheries Science/Ecology, Oceanography, Numerical Modelling, Economy, Statistics, Mathematics, Marine Ecology/Biology, or related scientific fields. ● Strong quantitative skills and proficiency in R and/or Python for data analysis and visualization of large data sets. ● Proven ability to write and lead peer-reviewed publications. ● Strong communication, collaboration, and project management skills. Desirable skills and experience: ● Experience with modelling approaches and/or the use of ecosystem/ocean models. ● Familiarity with large-scale collaborative science projects. ● Interest in interdisciplinary and policy-relevant research, and/or experience in multiple relevant disciplines
- How to apply: Applications must be sent as soon as possible and no later than 31 December to: Olivier Maury (olivier.maury@ird.fr) and Derek Tittensor (Derek.Tittensor@Dal.Ca). They must include ● A cover letter motivating your interest for this position (nor more than 500 words) ● Your curriculum vitae with publication record ● The contact details of 2 references. ● University transcripts
- Location: Montpellier, France
- Web address: https://www.fondationbiodiversite.fr/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Postdoctoral_position_CESAB_FishMIP-OSP-1.pdf
Contact Information
Olivier Maury
olivier.maury@ird.fr