The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), a CGIAR Research Center is seeking a dynamic and innovative researcher to join its office in Lahore, Pakistan, as a Researcher – Hydrologist.

This is an internationally recruited position; therefore, individuals with relevant abilities from diverse locations around the world are encouraged to apply.

The Researcher – Hydrologist is responsible for performing a variety of groundwater modeling, hydrological and hydraulic modeling, and flood management and forecasting studies in the Indus and Non-Indus basins for various donor-funded water resources projects in the IWMI Pakistan portfolio. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing, designing, and implementing groundwater management strategies to achieve sustainable water management through improved practices. The candidate must have advanced knowledge of surface-groundwater hydrological modeling, remote sensing applications in water resources and irrigation, hydraulic modeling, flood management, and forecasting studies, and have good experience in stakeholder engagement processes.

Working with the project leadership and national and international partners, the Researcher will be part of a multinational and multidisciplinary team that is contributing towards developing groundwater and flood forecasting models for the basin by providing state-of-the-art modeling tools, guidelines, training, and facilitation for analysis and research for development. The Researcher will contribute to research activities, including literature reviews, field data collection, analytical work, high-level policy analysis, and coordination with stakeholders and project partners in the water and climate sectors. The Researcher will also organize project-related events, workshops, training, and fieldwork involving various stakeholders and contribute to writing donor reports and research publications.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Demonstrate expertise in modelling (hydrological, hydraulic and river) and/or flood forecasting at the basin and sub-basin scale in rural and urban environments.
• Lead in conducting relevant research and provide expertise in hydrology and hydraulic modeling to national programs in the assessment of climate, surface water, and groundwater resources and their efficient use.
• Lead in developing policies to help improve groundwater recharge and management in areas where groundwater is the prime source of irrigation water. 
• Design and execute three-dimensional groundwater models to understand and quantify spatial and temporal groundwater management, including recharge and discharge mechanisms from field to basin scales.
• Lead technical tasks on groundwater modeling (develop, calibrate, and validate the model, including sensitivity analysis) projects that may include but are not limited to quantifying the volumes of groundwater used and sustainably available under current and future climate and socio-economic conditions, and assessing the impact of current and future water use on the hydrological system.
• Lead in carrying out analytical work for compiling earth land surface datasets, including rainfall, digital elevation model (DEM), watershed characteristics, soil characteristics, and land use and land cover data from various satellite remote sensing archives.
• Parameterize the groundwater and flood forecasting model using the collected data from different data repositories.
• Demonstrate expertise in planning regional investigations, and interpretation of aquifer parameters from aquifer tests; use Geographic Information System (GIS) applications to develop and review model inputs and outputs for the Indus and Non-Indus basin study area.
• Pre/post-process the primary data in different image processing software and analyze the datasets for watershed characteristics to identify potential recharge zones.
• Calibrate and validate the groundwater model for different land use and climate change scenarios.
• Take lead in stakeholder engagements with relevant government departments and partners to ensure that important local, national, and regional demands in the Indus basin for research for development are identified and incorporated into the research activities specific to hydrologic modeling and flood forecasting.
• Facilitate participatory processes, stakeholder engagement and partnerships, co-designing of innovations, and project management.
• Support the IWMI Country Representative in managing other relevant bilateral projects.
• Identify new research trends and niches and develop multi-year, multi-partner proposals for innovative research.
• Lead and contribute to proposal writing and fundraising opportunities for bilateral and multilateral funding sources.
• Provide information on relevant projects and research results and breakthroughs for communication to donors, research users, partners, networks, and policy platforms.
• Disseminate research findings via peer-reviewed publications; convene and attend workshops, conferences, and webinars in a range of international, regional, and national settings.

Requirements

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

Essential,

• A PhD in hydrology, agricultural engineering, water resources, irrigation engineering, or a closely related field, coupled with a minimum of 05 years of relevant post-doctoral experience, OR; Master’s degree in aforementioned fields, or a closely related field, coupled with a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience.
• professional experience, preferably related to research, and with project management experience in Asia.
• Proven skills in developing hydraulic models for flood forecasting of rivers within the basin.
• Prior experience in computing the changes in water storage on different spatio-temporal bases.
• Proven experience in designing and implementing approaches for the development of hydrological and hydraulic models in data-scarce environments.
• Experience in engaging with regional and international professional networks and building strong partnerships with different categories of stakeholders.
• Evidence of scientific publishing, demonstrated by a very good publication record in peer-reviewed journals, research impact, and other acknowledgments.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

Essential,

• Demonstrated evidence of participatory processes; ability to work with a wide range of stakeholders; and excellent project management skills. 
• Strong analytical and numerical skills and the ability to process large temporal and spatial datasets.
• Ability to use advanced spatial analysis, Geographic Information Systems tools, and hydrological modeling approaches for multi-scale assessments.
• Independent and critical scientific thought, including a sound understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of spatial tools for hydrological modeling and flood forecasting studies at different spatial scales.
• Persuasive written and oral communication skills in English, including report development, writing, editing, and strong presentation skills for addressing diverse audiences.  
• Strong ability to explain development challenges and complex interdisciplinary issues in the water, environment, and climate sectors.
• 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.

Benefits

This is an internationally recruited position with a competitive salary, an attractive retirement plan, comprehensive international health insurance, life insurance accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, and long-term disability coverage. Internationally recruited staff who are employed at a duty station outside of their home base/country of nationality will also receive relocation assistance, a housing allowance, home-leave plane tickets for self and eligible dependents and education assistance for eligible dependents. The duration of the contract will initially be for a period of three years.

IWMI strongly values diversity; therefore, qualified women are highly encouraged to apply.

HOW TO APPLY: Apply for the position by following the application instructions at www.iwmi.org/jobs. We will be accepting applications through 24:00 (IST) on July 17, 2024 (applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis). Your application must include a CV, cover letter, and three (3) references, which may be contacted if you are shortlisted. Receipt of all applications will be acknowledged, but only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

IWMI believes that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. We offer a multi-cultural, multi-color, multi-generational and multi-disciplinary working environment. We are consciously creating an inclusive organization that reflects our global character and our commitment to gender equity. We, therefore, encourage applicants from all cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, and gender identities.