Employer: Stanford University
Location: Stanford, CA, United States
Category: Academic
Workplace type: Hybrid
Contract type: Regular
Grade: R99
Posted: 2026-06-22T17:55:04+00:00
This position has been deemed critical by the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Dean's Office and is exempt from the hiring pause.
This position is based on Stanford's main campus with consideration given to the option for a hybrid work schedule (partially onsite and offsite), subject to operational need.
This is a one-year fixed-term position.
Interested candidates must include a resume and cover letter to be considered for this position.
About Us
The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability strives to create a future when humans and nature thrive in concert and in perpetuity. The school is made up of a three-part structure to drive global impact: Our academic departments and programs educate students and create new knowledge across areas of research that are crucial for advancing the long-term prosperity of the planet and people; Institutes bridge scholarship at Stanford and beyond, bringing multiple viewpoints to bear on urgent challenges; The Sustainability Accelerator drives new policy and technology solutions through a worldwide network of partners who work with our teams to develop solutions at a global scale. The school is dedicated to creating and supporting a community with the richness of experience and background needed to create solutions that benefit all people, particularly those most affected by environmental damage and climate change.
For more information on the school, click here.
The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment works to advance global sustainability through new knowledge and practical, fair solutions to pressing environmental challenges. As part of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, the Woods Institute provides an interdisciplinary research hub for scholars from all seven schools at Stanford. Offering targeted research incentives as well as convening, education, and leadership programs, the Woods Institute supports faculty, researchers, and students as they investigate and advance solutions to critical climate, environment, and sustainability challenges. Working on campus and around the globe, the Woods Institute and its hosted centers and programs combine cutting edge scholarship, diverse partnerships, and deep engagement across sectors and disciplines to advance just, practical solutions for people and the planet.
The Natural Capital Alliance (NatCap) operates as a partnership between Stanford University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Minnesota, the Stockholm Resilience Centre, The Nature Conservancy, and the World Wildlife Fund. NatCap's mission is to pioneer science, technology, and partnerships that enable people and nature to thrive. We do this to help make the world a more livable place; to secure human well-being with thriving ecosystems; to harmonize conservation and human development goals, by developing scientific tools and technology to model and map the distribution of biodiversity and to demonstrate the services provided by ecosystems.
For more information on The Natural Capital Alliance, please click here.
The Stanford Natural Capital Alliance seeks candidates with PhDs for up to two positions to support a research program aimed at the implementation and scaling of natural capital approaches within country governments and International Financial Institutions (IFIs). These positions will support a new effort designed to work with scientists, analysts, consultants, and policymakers in 6 focal countries implementing national-scale development plans that lead to nature-positive outcomes using well-established natural capital mechanisms. This effort is in collaboration with IFIs (such as the Inter-American Development Bank and Asian Development Bank). A key goal is to inspire the mainstreaming of development financing approaches in IFIs that integrate natural capital into standard financing offerings among IFIs and drive growth in overall investments and uptake of this approach among IFI member countries.
We are looking for scholars with strong disciplinary expertise who are interested in using their skills to co-create actionable natural capital information for decision makers in complex government and IFI processes. The research and analytical work needed spans core biophysical modeling of how landscape/seascape changes affect the flows of ecosystem benefits to people, including improving explicit linkages between ecosystem service flows to specific socio-economic indicators of impact and specific beneficiaries, through to identifying how/which such indicators are most likely to drive transformation in and document impacts of policy or financial instruments. The successful candidates will work in interdisciplinary teams to co-develop, scope, identify, and conduct natural capital assessments that inform policy and management decisions. In some cases, science advancements will be necessary to meet the needs of partners. In all cases, capacity development (i.e. teaching partners to use natural capital approaches) will be central to the success of the project.
The experts we are looking for can come from a wide range of disciplines and areas of focus/expertise including hydrology/water systems, agriculture and food systems, coastal and marine systems, nature finance, environmental economics, modeling of ecosystem services/nature's contributions to people, and linkages of natural capital indicators to design of effective policy or finance instruments.
Your Responsibilities will include
- Support a new effort designed to work with scientists, analysts, consultants, and policymakers in 6 focal countries implementing national-scale development plans that lead to nature-positive outcomes using well-established natural capital mechanisms
- Co-create actionable natural capital information for decision makers in complex government and International Finance Institution processes
- Conduct analytical work with in-country teams modeling how changes in land- and/or sea-scapes might change the flows of benefits to people and/or help build capacity
- Work in interdisciplinary teams to co-develop, scope, identify, and conduct natural capital assessments that inform policy and management decisions
- Advance science frontiers in ecosystem service modeling, consistent with the scholar's expertise
- Write reports and peer-reviewed publications
- Help lead engagements teams in 1-2 countries
- Work with project leaders to guide postdoctoral scholars and other team members to ensure overall project success
* The job duties listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classification and are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
To be successful in this position, you will need:
- PhD in a relevant field (e.g., ecology, hydrology, environmental economics)
- Ability to collaborate as well as work independently in line with project goals
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English
- Ability to work effectively in a matrix management context and adapt to changing priorities/needs
- Strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills
In addition, our preferred qualifications include:
Note: Having one or more of the following qualifications is an asset, but we do not expect a single candidate to have all the qualifications listed here.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in Spanish or Portuguese
- Experience working in/with MDBs/IFIs
- Strong publication record
- Ability to travel internationally to meet with project collaborators
- Experience working in participatory processes
- Experience in decision analysis and support processes
- Teaching experience
- Experience in geospatial modeling and GIS
- Experience in R, python, or another scientific programming language
- Experience collaborating on and documenting, sharing, and managing code with version control
- Leadership experience
* Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should contact Stanford University Human Resources by submitting a contact form.
The expected pay range for this position is $93,000 to $148,000 per annum.
Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the university reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location, and external market pay for comparable jobs.
At Stanford University, base pay represents only one aspect of the comprehensive rewards package. The Cardinal at Work website (https://cardinalatwork.stanford.edu/benefits-rewards) provides detailed information on Stanford's extensive range of benefits and rewards offered to employees. Specifics about the rewards package for this position may be discussed during the hiring process.
How to Apply
We invite you to apply for this position by clicking on the "Apply for Job" button.
* Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.