The UFZ is looking for a PhD student to join the “In4Nile” PhD cohort and investigate chemical pollution in the Nile Basin and working with local authorities to assess risks and develop future monitoring and mitigation strategies

The Job

In the PhD cohort “In4Nile” – Advancing Water Quality Information in the Nile River Basin, we offer four PhD Positions. In4NILE addresses the limited availability of water quality information in the Nile basin by developing and applying low-cost sampling techniques, mining of existing open (geo)datasets, exploring the use of unstructured data sources through natural language processing, and by developing basin-scale, multi-pollutant spatially explicit water quality models.

The PhD Position (f/m/x) “Analysis and assessment of chemical pollution under low-capacity settings” involves conducting a case study in the Nile Basin, which includes sampling activities together with local partners, organic micropollutant analyses using high-resolution mass spectrometry, and advanced data evaluation and interpretation. Our vision for this PhD project is to create extensive data on chemical pollution and related risks in (sub-catchments of) the Nile Basin, and – together with the Nile Basin Initiative and local authorities and agencies – assess possibilities for establishing future monitoring programs and potential mitigation measures.

Your Tasks

• Testing, validation and improvement when needed of available low-budget sampling techniques in the lab under varying environmental conditions.
• Investigating hydrophilic and hydrophobic organic micropollutants in water and silicone passive samplers from the Nile Basin using liquid/gas chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC/GC-HRMS).
• Assessing (eco)toxicological risks using chemical and hydrological information in the context of environmental and public health.

Your profile

Required:

• A master degree in Environmental Sciences, Analytical Chemistry, or any related discipline.
• Commitment to field and laboratory work.
• Experience in chemical analysis/other laboratory work.
• Knowledge of statistical methods and data handling, preferably using R.
• Motivation to work in a multidisciplinary, international team.
• Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English.

Preferred:

• Experience in organic micropollutant analysis in environmental or biological matrices.
• We especially invite candidates from the Nile basin area and other African countries to apply for this position

Place of work & Working time

Leipzig, 65 % (25,35 h / week)

Contract limitations

limited contract / 36 months

Salary

Remuneration according to the TVöD public-sector up to pay grade 13 including attractive public-sector social security benefits.

More information and Contact

More information can be found https://recruitingapp-5128.de.umantis.com/Vacancies/3307/Description/2 and for any questions about the job, kindly contact:
Saskia Finckh (saskia.finckh@ufz.de)

Your application

Please submit your application via our online portal https://recruitingapp-5128.de.umantis.com/Vacancies/3307/Application/New/2 with your cover letter, CV (please omit your photo, age, or marital status) and relevant attachments. Application deadline: 12.01.2026