The Land and Water Management Department aims to add value to managed land-water systems through monitoring, assessing, understanding and anticipating the impact of intervention and change. The Department covers a broad range of disciplinary knowledge, across the physical domains of water-land-environment, the policy and management domains of linking information to action and decision-making, and the technology and society domains, looking at technological innovations in land and water that can support societal development.
The researcher will map the presence of sand rivers in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is urgent because sand rivers, ephemeral rivers whose beds are filled with sand, can be a reliable and accessible source of water for irrigation development in arid lands. Mapping their occurrence and understanding their water potential, while preserving their riparian vegetation, can help government agencies and development banks to strengthen the resilience of resource-poor households in African drylands.
With remote sensing, best estimates can be made of the presence of sand rivers, their water storage potential, and their sustainable water yield, as well as the associated error margins. The researcher will develop a near continent-wide map of sand rivers, and establish the rural population that can potentially benefit from this sustainable water source in so far as it still is under-utilized.
The researcher will work closely with Pieter van der Zaag, the leader of the A4Life and A4Store projects, with Claire Michailovsky, expert in Remote Sensing for Water Management, and with other experts at IHE Delft and at partner institutions. This research project will also engage an early-career researcher who will collaborate with the researcher.
The employment is for 38 hours per week with a one-year contract.
The position is in accordance with scale 10 of the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. A competitive salary is offered depending on qualifications and experience.
This role requires the candidate to be based in the Netherlands or willing to relocate to the country. The candidate will be stationed at IHE Delft Institute in Delft, The Netherlands.
The appointment implies entry into the Netherlands' Civil Service Pension Fund (ABP). IHE Delft offers an attractive, multiple-choice employee benefits scheme, year-end bonus and generous pension scheme. We also offer 31 days leave based on a 38 hours working week.
Additional information can be obtained from Prof. Pieter van der Zaag (p.vanderzaag@un-ihe.org) or from the Head of Department, Dr. Nora van Cauwenbergh (n.vancauwenbergh@un-ihe.org).
IHE Delft follows an open recruitment procedure that respects diversity and provides equal opportunity to applicants of all backgrounds.
Applications (in English) should respond specifically to the requirements and can be sent before 9 February (closing date) including curriculum vitae and motivation letter in PDF format.
Please use the application form via the ''apply'' button, applications via email will not be taken into consideration.
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