PhD Position NCCR CLIM+

Introduction

UNIL is a leading international teaching and research institution, with over 5,000 employees and 17,000 students split between its Dorigny campus, CHUV and Epalinges. As an employer, UNIL encourages excellence, individual recognition and responsibility.

unil.ch/work

Presentation

The Centre of Public Law at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) is pleased to announce the opening of a fully funded PhD position (100% employment).

The project is funded by NCCR CLIM+ (https://www.nccr-climplus.ch/). NCCR CLIM+ supports Switzerland in the transformation towards a climate-resilient society. Together with stakeholders, the interdisciplinary NCCR CLIM+ research community tackles unexplored solution spaces to the climate crisis and develops a blueprint for actionable climate research worldwide. NCCR CLIM+ broadly communicates and shares knowledge, and trains a new generation of experts with the necessary domain and transdisciplinary knowledge.

Job information

Expected start date in position : 01.09.2026 or to be agreed

Contract length : 1 year, renewable 1 x 3 years, maximum 4 years

Activity rate : 100%, for 4 years. In accordance with UNIL Directive 1.31, 80% of working time is dedicated to doctoral research and 20% to teaching, research or service support, for which a progressive monthly allowance is provided. A reduction to 80% employment is possible; candidates should be aware that, in accordance with the same Directive, this option includes neither teaching or service obligations nor the associated monthly allowance, such that the salary reduction exceeds the proportional difference in employment rate.

Workplace : Lausanne Dorigny

Your responsibilities

The NCCR CLIM+ PhD candidate will address some of the tasks of Work Package 3 "Governance of Climate Extremes and Justice" (WP3). WP3 seeks to develop in-depth knowledge about how changes in climate extremes (heat waves, floods, droughts, or compound events including wildfires and hail, as well as concurrent extremes) are relevant to governance and decision-making in Switzerland, combining organizational, legal, political, and ethical perspectives and considering all decisional levels.

Within WP3, the PhD candidate is tasked to explore the legal dimensions associated with the governance of climate extremes and justice under the header of "Law in Exceptional Circumstances". This PhD will map the structural failures of emergency and catastrophe law when applied to increasingly routine climate extremes, and develop normative proposals for shifting from reactive emergency governance toward anticipatory, rights-compliant regulatory frameworks. The PhD will be supervised by Charlotte Blattner (Professor of Administrative and Environmental Law).

NCCR CLIM+ strives to implement equal opportunity in hiring. At NCCR CLIM+, we believe that diversity of thought, background and experience creates better research.

Your qualifications

•    Master's degree in law (or Master's program to be completed by summer 2026 at the latest).
•    Excellent knowledge of Swiss public law, preferably also of cantonal public law.
•    A strong interest in climate law and its related interdisciplinary fields.
•    Enthusiasm for academic research.
•    Initiative and team spirit: ability to work independently, meet demanding deadlines, and collaborate effectively with diverse project members.
•    Motivation to collaborate with a variety of stakeholders, such as federal, cantonal, and municipal governments and administrations, as well as stakeholders relevant to climate adaptation in other sectors.
•    French or German as mother tongue (or equivalent level); good English skills.
•    A plus: evidenced competency in data management, or strong interest therein.

What the position offers you

•    Fully funded full-time position with a competitive salary in line with Swiss academic standards.
•    A pleasant working environment in a multicultural and diverse academic setting.
•    Continuing education opportunities, a wide range of activities, and other benefits to discover. More information at unil.ch/work.
•    Integration into the Centre de droit public and FDCA, while maintaining a multi- and interdisciplinary research environment.
•    Collaborations with other universities in Switzerland and abroad.
•    Opportunity to develop a network with academics and practitioners.
•    Research and travel allowance.

Contact for further information

Prof. Charlotte Blattner

[email protected]

Additional information

UNIL is committed to:

•    equality, diversity and inclusion within its community;

•    ensuring an open and respectful environment that is conducive to personal development;

•    offering working conditions that facilitate work-life balance;

•    supporting early career researchers.

unil.ch/equality

unil.ch/families

unil.ch/graduatecampus

Your application

Deadline : 07.06.2026

Please send your application — consisting of a cover letter, curriculum vitae, relevant certificates (university transcript and transcript of records from the maturité / end of secondary studies), a written work sample, two reference letters with contact details of the referees, and optionally an initial proposal outlining ideas for the dissertation — in ONE single PDF document 

Only applications through this website will be taken into account.

We thank you for your understanding.