PhD Student in Integrated Economic and Sustainability Modeling for Agroecological Business Models (f/m/d)

Müncheberg

Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF) e.V.

The mission of the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) as a nationally and internationally active research institute is to deliver solutions for an ecologically, economically and socially sustainable agriculture – together with society. ZALF is a member of the Leibniz Association and is located in Müncheberg (approx. 35 minutes by regional train from Berlin-Lichtenberg). It also maintains a research station with further locations in Dedelow and Paulinenaue.

The research group “Farm Economics and Ecosystem Services” is a team of dedicated postdocs and PhD students who want to make a difference through good science, mutual support and exchange with other disciplines and practitioners. We are offering a PhD position within the Horizon Europe-funded GREENCOOP project, which supports the transition of rural communities toward resilient, inclusive and climate-smart business models. The focus of this PhD will be on modelling and assessing the sustainability and macroeconomic implications of agroecological and digital innovations (ADIs) integrated into new Rural Community Business Models (RCBM). The research will support the development of a multi-level Decision Support Tool (BUS-DST) by refining and linking the farm-level bio-economic model MODAM with macroeconomic Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modeling approaches.

We are offering a temporary part-time position (65% of regular weekly working hours) subject to funding for 42 months, with the earliest starting date being November 2025 at our location in Müncheberg, as

PhD Student in Integrated Economic and Sustainability Modeling for Agroecological Business Models (f/m/d)
50-2025

Your tasks:

• Develop and implement an integrated modeling chain combining MODAM and CGE models to assess RCBM strategies at farm and regional levels.
• Conduct ex-ante impact assessments of ADI-based RCBMs on economic viability, environmental outcomes, and social indicators.
• Collaborate closely with other GREENCOOP partners, particularly those managing Living Labs and stakeholder co-creation activities.
• Contribute to data preparation, sustainability indicators development, and multi-criteria decision-making analyses for scaling RCBMs across Europe and China.
• Utilize SWOT method to develop long term, quantitative strategic plans that emphasize sustainable agribusiness enhancement.

This PhD position is carried out in collaboration with the Doctoral Program in Agricultural and Forestry Research at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Spain, under the research line of "Integrated Economic Modelling for Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry Development”.

Your qualifications:

• A master's degree in agricultural or environmental economics, applied mathematics, or a related field
• Good background in bio-economic modelling, CGE modelling, and optimization techniques
• Experience with mathematical programming in GAMS for model development
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with interdisciplinary teams
• Strong interest in scientific writing and excellent command of English

What we offer:

• An interdisciplinary working environment that encourages independence and self-reliance
• A collegial and open-minded working atmosphere in a dynamic research institution
• Institutional commitment to a good work-life balance
• Classification according to the collective agreement of the federal states (TV-L) up to E13 (including special annual payment)

ZALF promotes equality among all employees and welcomes applications regardless of ethnic, cultural, or social background, age, religion, ideology, disability, gender, or sexual identity. The filling of the position in part-time is possible in principle. Please send your application preferably online (see button online application below). For e-mail applications, create a PDF document (one PDF file, max. 5 MB; packed PDF documents, archive files like zip, rar etc. Word documents cannot be processed and therefore cannot be considered!) with the usual documents, in particular CV, proof of qualification and certificates, stating the reference number 50-2025 until September 7th, 2025 to (see button e-mail application below).

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Dr. Seyed-Ali Hosseini-Yekani, Hosseini@zalf.de

Dr. Peter Zander, Peter.Zander@zalf.de

For cost reasons, application documents or extensive publications can only be returned if an adequately stamped envelope is attached.

If you apply, we collect and process your personal data in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of the EU GDPR only for the processing of your application and for purposes that result from possible future employment with the ZALF. Your data will be deleted after six months.