PhD Fellow in Natural Sciences Climate Research

About the position

CICERO Center for International Climate Research invites applications for a PhD position within CICERO's natural science research areas, which include the physical processes of the Earth's climate system, climate impacts, and mitigation. We are looking for an academically strong candidate with an interest aligned with our ongoing research areas. CICERO conducts research with high academic standards and in partnerships with leading international scientists, and we put emphasis on communicating our research to decision-makers and a wider audience. Our methods include global and regional modeling of human and natural systems, the use of observational data, and statistical analyses. 

This is a three-year full-time PhD position that, pending on topic and other project availability, might include up to one additional year of work on relevant CICERO projects (i.e., 75% PhD and 25% other project work). The candidate will have the opportunity to develop their PhD project idea in collaboration with CICERO senior researchers. The successful candidate will have to be accepted into a PhD programme within a natural sciences discipline at a Norwegian university. The candidate will follow normal working conditions at CICERO and will have PhD supervisors at both CICERO and the degree-awarding university. 

Key Tasks

The position will be affiliated with one or several of the following research groups at CICERO, depending on the topic and supervisor: Atmospheric Sciences, Climate System, Climate and Nature risk, Climate and Health, and/or Climate Mitigation. CICERO is at the forefront of understanding the Earth's climate system with respect to atmospheric, land, and land-atmospheric processes, and our research areas include radiative forcing, climate sensitivity to future emissions, the role of gases, aerosols, clouds, land cover and vegetation, and resulting precipitation and extreme weather. We study global and regional climate change and are at the core of international community climate modeling efforts that also involve AI and Machine Learning. We study climate risks and impacts on nature and society, including quantitative analyses of risks to health the economy, agriculture, food system, energy, and transport. Our interest in climate mitigation involves understanding the carbon cycle and what drives current and future emissions and uptake of greenhouse gases. We compare emissions from sectors and regions and study trends and what causes them to change in the short, medium, and long term (e.g., scenarios).

Qualifications

• A solid quantitative natural scientific background is crucial. A master's degree or equivalent is required, where relevant fields of study may be (but are not limited to) climate, statistics, and applied natural sciences. The master's degree must be completed by the application deadline, with a grade of B or better (or equivalent) in both the thesis and the master's degree.
• Expertise in numerical modeling, programming, handling large amounts of data, and experience with AI and machine learning is an advantage.
• Good proficiency in written and oral English is required. Working knowledge of Norwegian or other Scandinavian languages would be advantageous, but not a requirement.  
• Emphasis will be put on the candidate's motivation for the research topic in question, and that the candidate has a great capacity for work and implementation, good collaboration skills, and ability to work purposefully, structured, and  independently.

It is a requirement that the person receiving the position seeks and is granted admission to a PhD program at a relevant university (doctoral degree-giving institution) in Norway. Admission to the PhD program must be applied for within three months of appointment, and the candidate must meet the specific admission requirements. Criteria are stated in the application forms for the relevant programs.

CICERO offers 

• Good working environment with approximately 100 employees with a broad interdisciplinary background, including political science, sociology, human geography, economics, and various disciplines within the natural sciences.
• Opportunity to work with world-leading researchers and in a research area at the forefront of international research. 
• International cooperation through a broad network of contacts.
• Dynamic, pleasant and diverse working environment.
• Modern premises in the Oslo Science Park, and from autumn 2026 in new premises in Campus Ullevål.
• Salary for PhD fellow starts at NOK 550 800.
• CICERO is an IA company and wants its employees to reflect the diversity of the population.
• Pension plan through the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

For more information about CICERO visit www.cicero.oslo.no/en (http://www.cicero.oslo.no/en)

Contact information

• Atmospheric sciences group (https://cicero.oslo.no/en/research-groups/atmospheric-sciences): Research Director Gunnar Myhre, 

        gunnar.myhre@cicero.oslo.no, +47 22 00 47 01

• Climate system group (https://cicero.oslo.no/en/research-groups/climate-system), Research Director Marianne Tronstad Lund,

        m.t.lund@cicero.oslo.no, +47 22 00 47 14

• Climate and nature risk group (https://cicero.oslo.no/en/research-groups/climate-and-nature-risk): Research Director Jana Sillmann,

         jana.sillmann@cicero.oslo.no, + 22 00 47 39

• Climate and health group: Research Director Kristin Aunan, 

        kristin.aunan@cicero.oslo.no, +47 22 00 47 63

• Climate mitigation group, Research Director Benjamin Sanderson,

         benjamin.sanderson@cicero.oslo.no, +47 22 00 47 95

For general inquiries, please contact:

• Department Director Kårstein Måseide, karstein.maseide@cicreo.oslo.no, +47 46 68 00 69
• Department Director Kristin Thorsrud Teien, kristin.thorsrud.teien@cicero.oslo.no, +47 93 00 68 05

Application deadline: 14 January 2026.

How to apply

The application must contain:

• Cover letter in English with description of academic background, research interest, and motivation for the position (maximum one page). The research area of interest must be within one of CICERO's natural science research areas as described above.
• Up to three scientific works (incl. Master thesis)
• CV (including any publications, comprising also popular science works) 
• Copy of diplomas and transcripts
• Applicants with education from abroad must attach an English or Scandinavian translation and explanation of the rating system

Applications with attachments must be submitted electronically in JobbNorge by the application deadline of 14 January 2026. 

Candidates may contact a CICERO senior researcher in advance and name them as a potential internal supervisor in the cover letter, but this is not a requirement at the time of application. 

Relevant candidates will be invited for the first round of interviews.

Next, a subset of candidates will be invited for a second round of interviews, where they will be asked in advance to develop a project proposal in dialogue with a potential supervisor at CICERO. Instructions for how to do that will follow after the first round of interviews. 

All relevant documentation and certificates must be submitted electronically via Jobbnorge. Applications outside the Jobbnorge-portal will not be considered.

No applications will be processed before the application deadline expires.

CICERO Center for International Climate Research is a private foundation that for over 30 years has delivered interdisciplinary research of high scientific quality, including to the IPCC and the Arctic Council. Our research aims to provide knowledge that contributes to decreasing the climate problem and strengthening the international climate collaboration.

In international cooperation, CICERO researchers develop new knowledge about natural and anthropogenic climate change, the impacts of climate change, and how societies can adapt to and counteract the changes. CICERO employees have diverse backgrounds in the social and natural sciences. We have approximately 100 employees and are based at the Oslo Science Park.