Postdoctoral Scholar

The Stanford Natural Capital Project seeks candidates for up to three positions to support a research program aimed at the implementation and scaling of natural capital approaches within country governments and International Financial Institutions (IFIs). Appointments will be made as Postdoctoral Scholars through the Stanford Department of Biology.

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 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.

We will hire postdoctoral scholars for those who are less than 4 years from conferring the PhD.

Position requirements

• Travel internationally to meet with project collaborators
• Collaborative and able to work independently in line with project goals
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English
• Ability to work effectively in matrix management context and adapt to changing priorities/needs
• Strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills
• For appointment at the postdoctoral scholar level
  • PhD in a related field within the last 3 years
  • Relocation to Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA

Desired qualifications 

(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
• 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

This is a one-year appointment, with a second contingent on mutual agreement. Postdoctoral scholars will be co-advised by Dr. Gretchen Daily, Dr. Anne Guerry, and Dr. Lisa Mandle and/or other team members, depending on area of expertise. The expected base pay for postdoctoral positions is the Stanford University required minimum for all postdoctoral scholars appointed through the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. The FY26 minimum is $76,383 beginning 9/01/2025.

How to Apply

For full consideration, please submit a cover letter, CV, and contact information for three references to natcap_admin@stanford.edu with “Natcap postdoc cluster hire” listed in the subject line. We will begin reviewing applications immediately and the positions will remain open until filled.

Please indicate in your cover letter if you would require sponsorship for a visa to work in the United States, as well as any details that would affect the type of visa. Visas must be processed through the consulate in your home country.