Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (One Year, Renewable up to Three Years) (Job ID: 6627) at University of the Free State

Duties and responsibilities:

• Conduct interdisciplinary research and advanced quantitative and qualitative analysis relating to climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, resilience, environmental sustainability, and climate-related development challenges.
• Support the Northern Cape project through data management, literature synthesis, research coordination, and analysis of project data.
• Assist in preparing technical reports, policy briefs, stakeholder reports, and research dissemination materials.
• Participate in DiMTEC research seminars, postgraduate research activities, academic writing initiatives, and capacity-building activities.
• Contribute to research proposals, collaborative projects, funding/grant applications, and tender applications aligned with DiMTEC priorities.
• Develop collaborative research networks and contribute to DiMTEC's national and international research visibility.
• Produce at least two DHET-accredited peer-reviewed journal articles per annum, subject to satisfactory performance.
• Register and reside as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of the Free State and participate in relevant DiMTEC academic and research activities.

Competencies
Eligibility criteria

• Open to South African and foreign nationals for full-time research at the University of the Free State.
• Applicants must hold a PhD in a relevant discipline, awarded within the last five years.
• Relevant fields may include Disaster Management, Environmental Science, Agricultural and Environmental Economics, Climate Change, Sustainability Science, Agricultural Sciences, Development Studies, Geography, Environmental Management, or another closely related interdisciplinary field.
• Applicants should demonstrate strong potential for independent research and scholarly publication.
• Experience in quantitative and/or qualitative research methods, data analysis, policy research, and interdisciplinary research will be advantageous.
• Successful applicants may not hold full-time salaried employment during the fellowship.
• Successful applicants must be able to relocate to the UFS for the duration of the fellowship. This is a residential fellowship, and the successful applicant is required to spend 80% of the postdoctoral period at the UFS.

Value of the fellowship:

• R 270,000 annual fellowship.
• R 30,000 additional research expenses fund.

Application: 

•  23 October 2026