All Things Urban

Metabolic’s mission is to transition the global economy to a fundamentally sustainable State. We advise governments, businesses, and NGOs on how to adapt to a fast-changing global context. Combining systems thinking and data science, we map and understand local and global systems to assess where to intervene and develop solutions that can dramatically shift how the economy functions. We are an international and dynamic team of around 75 people who share an ambition for catalyzing a sustainable future. Based in the Netherlands with an increasingly international reach as a company, we work at the cutting edge of sustainability initiatives for a broad range of clients across the Netherlands, Europe, the US, and Asia.

We are looking for a GIS analyst with experience in sustainability research, ideally in the bioeconomy (agrifood, forestry) and cities to join our Institute team. Within your role, you will be supporting the data analysis aspects on projects across multiple scales, from value chain analysis to global bioregional spatial analysis and from city scale to neighbourhoods. You will support the creation of pioneering insights to research partners, governments, city networks, and NGOs, and regarding how to plan and organize circular supply chains and landscapes in line with planetary boundaries and global sustainability goals. This requires creativity, innovation, and pragmatism.

You’ll be working in a multi-disciplinary research team (industrial ecology, agricultural and forest science, earth systems science, agroecology, material science, sustainable development) in developing effective strategies that deliver high-value results and insights in an efficient and effective manner. Your work will include geospatial data analytics in the broad sense of the definition, ranging from method development, to data collection, processing, analysis, visualisation in static and interactive maps, and to insights. Next to the technical aspects of data analytics, one of your main challenges will be to communicate your data-driven insights in a way that successfully influences action with our partners. The main tools you will use for your analysis are QGIS, Python, and Google Sheet. We are looking for a colleague with strong analytical skills and high attention to detail, but also the ability to zoom out and use your creativity to find new solutions. You should be comfortable working autonomously, and also as part of a close-knit interdisciplinary team. The position is a full-time role and has a flexible starting date. As a team member of the Metabolic Institute you will divide your time over two key research projects; - 1/ CENTRINNO - 2/GMI. - About CENTRINNO CENTRINNO is a European Horizon 2020 funded project that seeks to test and scale alternative urban regeneration strategies for industrial heritage sites that foster inclusivity, sustainability and circularity. In nine diverse European cities, CENTRINNO will establish creative, locally productive and inclusive hubs in former industrial sites which become testbeds for teaching, training and innovation for a new circular urban manufacturing model. Within CENTRINNO, Metabolic Institute is developing an integrated approach that allows pilots to map resources, tools, skills and stakeholders available in their wider urban ecosystem that are key in fostering socially inclusive, circular and productive value chains. Metabolic’s approach is centered around an extended Urban Metabolism concept that will combine material flow analyses with geospatial mapping targeted to each city’s complex urban context. At the center of this approach stands a spatially explicit analysis of each city’s municipal waste system, allowing pilots to gain high-level insights into the potential for locally reusing urban waste streams. This waste-based analysis will be embedded in a process of mapping additional elements of each city’s urban ecosystem, such as geodemographics, environmental conditions and stakeholder networks. - About the GMI The Global Metabolism Initiative maps the impacts of global economic activity in relation to our planet’s resources, guiding business and policy leaders on the levers needed to keep the economy within planetary boundaries. Specifically, the GMI combines large datasets to analyze human activity and its impact on the planet. By using a global spatial analysis of material stocks and flows, alongside sectoral deep dives that map key value chains to context-specific impacts, the GMI identifies Where social and environmental impacts are most felt. The Global Metabolism Initiative (GMI) dashboard combines global and national datasets with academic journals into one public tool. This tool is still under development and communicates the impacts of natural resource consumption, across a range of indicators, with unprecedented scope and spatial granularity. The beta version of the tool already includes global crop cultivation and forestry production to assess impact across biodiversity, climate change, land degradation, water risk and air pollution.

- Experienced data analyst (2-5 years of relevant work experience) - Skilled in spatial data collection and data analysis (QGIS, Python, SQL) - Skilled in visualisation of data analysis results (Python, Google Sheet, QGIS) - Knowledge of sustainability and the circular economy is desirable - Knowledge of Leaflet or similar tools to develop interactive maps is essential - Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English - Educated to Masters level (or equivalent) in one or more of the following (or similar) disciplines: Environmental Sciences,Geospatial information systems, Environmental Management, Earth systems science, Urban planning, Agricultural Science, Landscape Ecology, Data Science. - A foundation of knowledge in urban sustainability, environmental impact analysis, circular economy, and systems thinking - Knowledge of statistics, uncertainty analysis, and error propagation is an advantage - Valid work permit to work as an employee in the Netherlands

The position can be four or five days a week and has a flexible starting date. It requires you to locate to (or close to) the region of Amsterdam.

Unfortunately, it seems like this job is not available for international candidates. Unless you’re eligible for a work visa otherwise, please double-check with the company.