Your position

Research area and project description:
Soil erosion by water is a major contributor to eutrophication in freshwater systems, acting as an important source of phosphorus from land. While erosion–eutrophication links are widely assumed, quantitative evidence across spatial scales remains limited. Advancing soil and water protection therefore requires improved understanding of how farming systems, land management and erosion processes influence nutrient loading in rivers and lakes, as well as better identification of eutrophication hotspots across the EU.
This PhD project will develop integrated and reproducible approaches to quantify and reduce soil- and sediment-driven nutrient pollution in European catchments. It will assess the role of soil erosion and land management in phosphorus transport and eutrophication, using monitoring data from the EU Water Framework Directive to calibrate and validate advanced sediment routing and modelling approaches. The research will also design a European-scale turbidity and sediment monitoring framework combining in situ observations and satellite remote sensing.
The project directly supports EU policies including the Common Agricultural Policy, Soil Monitoring Law and Nitrates Directive, and contributes to the European Green Transition. It is an international collaboration between the University of Basel and the European Commission's Joint Research Centre under the Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships programme.
For further information and detailed task description please see link below.

Your profile

Qualifications and Specific competences:
You hold, or are close to completing, a Master's degree in ecology, soil science, agricultural, environmental or related sciences. You have a strong interest in soil erosion modelling and phosphorus-driven eutrophication, with experience in soil monitoring and erosion processes. Skills in GIS, spatial analysis of large scale data, modelling, remote sensing, and programming (R or Python) are desirable. You work independently, communicate effectively, are fluent in English, and are highly motivated and results oriented.

Eligibility criteria
Candidates should, prior to the start of the employment contract with the JRC:have the nationality of a Member State of the EU or a country associated to the EU Research Framework Programme in force or being resident in a EU Member State since at least five years.

We offer you

The place of employment is Environmental Geosciences, University of Basel, Switzerland, and the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), Via Enrico Fermi, 2749, 21027 Ispra (VA), Italy.
While employed at the JRC, the salary and benefits are those of a JRC Grantholder Category 20, following the Grantholder Rules. The annual gross salary will be around 45,000 Euro and is subject to national income tax.
While employed at the University of Basel, the salary and benefits are according to the University of Basel rules.

Application / Contact
Please submit your complete application documents, including a letter stating your motivation and a short statement of research and teaching interests, experience and skills, a CV and contact details of at least two references via our online recruiting platform. Applications via Email will not be accepted. Application deadline is 26th March 2026 23:59 CET. Preferred starting date is 1 June 2026.
Applicants seeking further information please see
https://duw.unibas.ch/de/umweltgeowissenschaften/ or contact: Professor Christine Alewell, christine.alewell@unibas.ch.

For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/work-us/collaborative-doctoral-partnership-cdp-programme/cdp-programme-phd-candidates_en