Scientific Coordinator & Project Manager in the AN CƯ Project

The AN CƯ project (“Settling Safely in Hải Phòng”) is a two-year exploratory pilot initiative funded under Pilot Component 5 (PC5) of the French PEPR TRANSFORM program. Centered in Hải Phòng, a major coastal port city in the Red River Delta of Vietnam, the project addresses compound climate change hazards—specifically urban flooding, sea-level rise, extreme heatwaves, and ambient humidity—that threaten long-term territorial habitability.

Operating as an interdisciplinary Living Lab, AN CƯ bridges hard sciences (oceanography, coastal hydrodynamics), digital and computer sciences (Agent-Based Modeling via GAMA, Agentic AI, Digital Twins, Virtual Reality), and social sciences (environmental anthropology, participatory mapping). By combining scientific modeling with community-defined viability thresholds, trilingual risk lexicons, and interactive decision-support tools (CityScope, VR), the project aims to transform science-society-policy dialogues and guide sustainable territorial planning in Southeast Asian deltas.

The Scientific Coordinator & Project Manager will lead the scientific alignment, administrative and financial oversight, institutional liaison, and participatory implementation of the AN CƯ project. Positioned at the intersection of academic research, technological innovation, and municipal governance, the Coordinator will ensure seamless collaboration between IRD International Joint Laboratories (ACROSS and LOTUS), Vietnamese academic partners (TLU, USTH, IMER/IOH), civil society, and the municipal authorities of Hải Phòng. The coordinator will also analyse the processes underpinning the project’s interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach, with particular attention to identifying the key barriers, enabling factors, and conditions for successful knowledge co-production.

● Milestone 1: Participatory Citizen & Municipal Workshop
○ Design, organize, and facilitate participatory workshops engaging representatives from the Hải Phòng Municipality (Sở KH&CN, Sở TN&MT), officials, associations, and local residents.
○ Gather local perceptions, lived experiences, and priority needs regarding urban habitability, thermal comfort, waterlogging, and climate adaptation.
○ Identify viability thresholds and key indicators and scenarios (flooding, heatwave/humidity stress, socio-economic vulnerability) reflecting citizen concerns and municipal planning mandates.
● Milestone 2: Interdisciplinary Working Groups & Technological Integration
○ Establish and animate structured working groups uniting hard sciences (hydrology, oceanography), computer/digital sciences (modeling, 3D GIS, AI), and social sciences (anthropology, geography).
○ Translate community-expressed needs and municipal indicators into concrete scientific parameters for models, digital twin prototypes (CityScope tactile tables), and Virtual Reality (VR) awareness tools (Mobile Metaverse Learning Lab – M2L2).
○ Supervise the co-production and calibration of coupled biophysical-social simulation platforms to ensure they directly answer the socio-political concerns identified in Milestone 1.

● Milestone 3: Technological & Societal Impact Assessment
○ Design, deploy, and analyze an evaluation framework to measure the cognitive and policy impact of interactive technologies (VR, CityScope tables) on residents and municipal decision-makers.
○ Evaluate how immersive digital twins alter risk perception, foster climate literacy, stimulate democratic debate, and inform municipal policy choices for the Hải Phòng 2045 Master Plan.
● Milestone 4: Transdisciplinary Capitalization & Synthesis Report
○ Lead a critical, meta-analytical investigation into the methodological opportunities, epistemological friction, and administrative/financial management bottlenecks encountered during inter- and transdisciplinary research in Vietnam.
○ Author and finalize a comprehensive scientific report and policy brief detailing the benefits, challenges, and best practices for deploying transdisciplinary research and digital twin solutions for urban habitability in Southeast Asia.
○ Coordinate joint scientific publications, conference presentations, and policy outreach targeting national and international sustainability science venues.

• IRD & Academic Coordination: Serve as the operational link between IRD IJL (LOTUS-LEGOS/USTH & ACROSS – UMMISCO/TLU) and Vietnamese partners (TLU, USTH, IOH).
• Municipal Dialogue: Maintain continuous high-level communication with Hải Phòng municipal bodies (Department of Science and Technology – Sở KH&CN, City People’s Committee).
• Financial Management: Prepare, monitor, and update the project budget in compliance with IRD and PEPR TRANSFORM PC5 guidelines; oversee grant allocations, expense claims, and procurement procedures.
• Administrative & Contractual Management: Draft and follow up on institutional agreements, partnership contracts, and consultant procurement; coordinate field mission authorizations, logistics, and periodic progress/financial reporting.

• Education: Ph.D. or Master’s degree with 3+ years of professional experience in Environmental Sociology, Sustainability Science, Geography, Urban Planning, Complex Systems, Science & Technology Studies (STS), or a related interdisciplinary field.
• Administrative & Financial Management: Experience in managing scientific project budgets, financial reporting, procurement, and administrative compliance within French or international funding frameworks.
• Transdisciplinary Facilitation: Proven track record in coordinating multi-stakeholder research projects, facilitating participatory workshops, and bridging academic, administrative, and community dynamics.
• Digital Literacy: Familiarity with participatory simulation tools, digital twins, GIS, Agent-Based Modeling, or VR/interactive media is welcome but not mandatory (coding skills not required, but ability to dialogue with modelers and software developers is essential).
• Languages: Excellent written and oral English (working language). Fluency in Vietnamese is strongly preferred / highly advantageous for field facilitation. Working knowledge of French is a plus.
• Interpersonal Skills: Outstanding negotiation, mediation, and cross-cultural communication abilities; capacity to navigate complex institutional environments in Vietnam.

Please submit your application with a CV and a cover letter to both alexis.drogoul@ird.fr and marine.herrmann@ird.fr before November 15, 2026.