post doctoral position M/F action research in environmental Health PC4 PEPR TRANSFORM

Organisation/Company CNRS Department Echanges pour le Climat, les cHANgements Globaux Et les Sociétés Research Field Political sciences Sociology Cultural studies Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Application Deadline 2 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (UTC) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 4 Jan 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

-The TRANS-OBS project constitutes the fourth axis (PC4) of the PEPR TRANSFORM program. Its aim is to support long-term academic observation systems—affiliated with infrastructures such as OZCAR, TRESSE (RZA + OHM), and SOSI—toward the creation of Earth Laboratories (LT): socio-ecological experimentation sites co-constructed with local stakeholders, focused on the question of habitability. Historically, these systems were developed and funded independently by distinct academic communities (Earth sciences, ecology, socio-ecology, sociology), which did not always align on objectives or on the role and practice of academic research in and with society. While their levels of societal engagement vary, all have developed situated research approaches.
TRANS-OBS seeks to leverage this academic foundation to foster innovative research by funding a number of sites or site networks. Earth Laboratories under TRANS-OBS can be seen as pilot experiments paving the way for a new generation of long-term academic observatories: more interdisciplinary (bridging natural and human/social sciences), better aligned with societal challenges of habitability, and more integrated with education and training. Three thematic areas structure the recruitment of LTs: health-environment, rural and remote territories, and cities of the future.
Three postdoctoral contracts are tied to these themes. This job description corresponds to the "Health-Environment" postdoctoral position, recruited by CNRS and assigned to the UAR EXCHANGES (Paris 13). The other two postdoctoral contracts—"Rural and Remote Territories" (Aix-Marseille University, IMBE UMR, Marseille) and "The City" (University of Strasbourg)—are recruited by their respective institutions and have separate job descriptions and procedures. The recruitment of the postdoctoral researcher will coincide with the selection of TRANS-OBS Earth Laboratories. These Laboratories must be centered around controversies, well-identified local usage conflicts, or strong multi-scale issues to articulate local, regional, and national dimensions. As with the broader TRANSFORM project, artistic approaches may be considered as one of TRANS-OBS's levers.

Key challenges

• Disciplinary fragmentation between experimental sciences and SSH (Social Sciences and Humanities), which hinders the societal and political translation of observatory data.
• Disconnection between academic research observatories and the "operational" world (e.g., France's Ministry of Ecological Transition), which more easily informs political decision-making.
• Representation issues and the need for new narratives to open up academic scientific practice and better integrate it with vernacular or artistic dimensions.
• The "tyranny of data", where systems are evaluated solely based on the data they produce, without considering their societal translation.
• Insufficient experimentation as a means of inventing levers for transformation.
• Modeling as a complementary tool to generate evolution and transformation scenarios.
• Links to "generative approaches", illustrating one pathway of the experimental turn in public policies. Beyond politics, legal frameworks are also a major lever for transformation: environmental law must evolve and better align with scientific observations, experiments, and models (e.g., efforts to grant legal personality to non-living entities).
• Analysis of the social conditions for deploying experiments to ensure their scalability and reproducibility through public policies.
• Possible missions to the territories of identified "Health-Environment" LTs.
• Contribution to scientific reporting.
• Contribution to the data management plan.
• Liaison with other TRANSFORM work packages (PCs), including missions.

The recruited researcher will be assigned to the UAR ExCHANGES at the BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France) in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. The role will involve frequent travel to work with systems across France, and occasionally internationally.

Knowledge / Expertise

• PhD obtained (third-cycle thesis). Disciplinary backgrounds can be broad—ranging from experimental sciences to SSH and the arts—candidacy is evaluated based on the research project, not disciplinary origin.
• Expertise in health-environment issues: environmental and occupational exposures, inequalities and environmental justice, localized health controversies.
• Familiarity with interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches, action-research, and investigative methods involving both academic and non-academic actors.
• Appreciated knowledge of France's research institutional landscape (CNRS, ANR, research infrastructures) and long-term observation systems (OZCAR, Zones Ateliers, OHM, SOSI).
• Interest in the intersection of scientific production, public policies, and environmental law.

Technical Skills

• Mastery of inquiry methods suited to situated research (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed), and ability to integrate heterogeneous data.
• Ability to design and conduct autonomous research projects while embedding them in a multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral collective.
• Experience working with non-academic actors and vulnerable populations (e.g., residents near polluted sites, exposed workers), with attention to power dynamics in knowledge co-production.
• Strong track record in valorizing research or action-research projects (publications, presentations, non-academic formats).
• Proficiency in French (reports, syntheses, ANR deliverables); scientific English is a plus.

Soft Skills

• Strong motivation for terrestrial habitability as a boundary object at the intersection of academic disciplines, arts, and society.
• Strong aptitude for collective work and ability to navigate between distinct scientific fields (Earth sciences, ecology, SSH) and between academic and territorial actors.
• Sensitivity to the political and ethical dimensions of research conducted with and within territories.
• Autonomy, rigor, and initiative in an exploratory project environment; willingness to travel frequently.

CNRS Supervision / Coordination Skills

• Core competencies in supervision and coordination.
• Leadership of transdisciplinary research collectives involving academic and non-academic actors.

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