Scientist I, Remote Sensing for Climate Finance (IWMI - Rome, Italy)

• Undertake a literature review to explicitly develop investment-specific KPIs cross-cutting water and climate to assess investments in water, land, energy and food systems on climate bankability, its relevance to national sustainable strategies, and investor’s climate goal. 
  
• Applying earth observation-based models to derive productivity (land and water) indicators at different spatial scales across multiple cropping systems for both pre-investment and post-investment portfolio assessment. 
  
• Conduct high-quality research on the role of climate finance in enhancing sustainable water resource management.
  
• Analyze the effectiveness of various climate finance mechanisms in supporting water projects, including public-private partnerships, green bonds, carbon credits and blended finance.
  
• Develop case studies and policy briefs highlighting successful models and best practices.
  
• Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team to develop, integrate, and implement innovative approaches for mainstreaming water in the climate finance portfolio in the regions where IWMI operates.
  
• Collaborate with team members to design and implement research projects on climate finance and water.
  
• Contribute to the scientific advancement and methodological developments of IWMI's digital water innovation toolsets.
  
• Develop technical guidance and training materials for custom geospatial applications.
  
• Prepare high-quality research reports and journal articles.
  
• Provide technical support to researchers for complex geospatial analysis in various research and management projects at IWMI headquarters.
  
• Assist in training and capacity-building activities related to the tools developed within the Water Productivity/Water Accounting group.
  
• Perform other related assignments as required.
  

Requirements

• PhD in Water Resources Management, Agricultural Science, Environmental Science, hydro-informatics or a related discipline.
  
• At least three years of demonstrated experience in conducting interdisciplinary research, preferably at the intersection of climate and water resources, using earth observation data and modeling tools.
  
• Evidence of scientific publishing, demonstrated by a very good publication record in peer review journals (minimum of 5 articles).
  
• Experience in calculations of water footprint measures across the value chain preferably in the Global South.
  
• Experience in use of soil sensors data/validation/ground-truthing.
  
• Prior experience in using supervised and unsupervised algorithms, including machine learning methods on large spatial datasets in Python, R, or any other programming language.
  
• Experience in using Amazon Web Services, Google Earth Engine or other cloud-based earth observation data processing environments for geospatial tool developments.
  
• Experience designing and implementing approaches for data-scarce environments.
  
• Strong understanding of deriving biophysical indicators on different types of crop systems from remote sensing and model-based approaches. 
  
• Strong data assimilation and image fusion skills to integrate existing and upcoming satellite datasets and their processing methods for crop water use mapping.
  
• Strong understanding of impact assessment frameworks using earth observation data especially when dealing with small land sizes (<1 ha).
  
• Proficiency in Python, R, or other programming languages with experience in numeric and geospatial Python packages like Numpy, Scikit-learn, GDAL, or similar packages.
  
• Familiarity with climate finance mechanisms and their application in water resource projects.
  
• Strong analytical, numerical, and data visualization skills, with the ability to process large temporal and spatial datasets in Python.
  
• Ability to use advanced spatial analysis and geospatial tools for multi-scale assessments of agricultural water use.
  
• Positive attitude, solid work ethic, and a demonstrated capacity and interest in learning new technologies.
  
• Self-motivated, enthusiastic, and able to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
  
• Excellent oral and written language skills in English.
  
• Good interpersonal skills and the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with people in a multicultural and multidisciplinary environment, with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
  

• Experience in soil moisture downscaling approaches. 
  
• Experience in model ensembles geared toward ET estimation.
  
• Fluency in French or Arabic would be an asset.
  

Benefits

• Be Italian nationals holding a valid passport or identity card.
  
• Or be EU citizens holding a valid passport or identity card and confirmation of registration from the Registrar’s Office (Anagrafe)
  
• Or non–EU citizens holding a valid Italian work permit (permesso di soggiorno per lavoro subordinato)