The Assistant Professor will contribute to teaching and research in the Faculty of Spatial Sciences. The main teaching tasks will be in Bachelor and Master courses related to population geography, migration, population studies and/or research methods and in supervising Master and/or Bachelor theses. Other teaching tasks could be in other geography and/or planning courses, depending on the candidate’s expertise. The research will fit in the faculty research theme Towards Wellbeing, Innovation and Spatial Transformation (tWIST), and more specifically the research programme ‘Population and Well-Being in Context’. Within this programme, the Assistant Professor will develop an own research line, preferably close to the PRC themes of migration, residential mobility, families and households. S/he will also be part of the team working on Clara Mulder’s ERC-funded research project ‘Family ties that bind: A new view of internal migration, immobility and labour-market outcomes’. The Assistant Professor will invest 40% of his/her time in research (including PhD supervision), and another 60% in teaching and management.

- PhD in Population Geography, or: PhD in demography/population studies and training in geography, or: PhD in another field of human geography and training in demography/population studies
- publications in international peer-reviewed academic journals in the field of quantitative research on themes related to population geography. A proven interest in internal and/or international migration and its causes and consequences (e.g. for individual labour-market outcomes, inequality or development) is a plus
- excellent skills in quantitative research using survey and/or administrative databases
- open mind for, and preferably skills in, qualitative research
- ability to write research proposals in order to attract research funding
- network of connections in the field of population geography and willingness to invest in external relations and participating in external projects, events and presentations, representing the Faculty and the Department
- experience in various teaching approaches; awareness of and willingness to use the latest innovations in teaching techniques
- possession of a university teaching qualification or preparedness to acquire this qualification within a reasonable timeframe
- vision on ways to attract students to the Faculty’s Bachelor and Master programs and willingness to work on this
- strong drive to share ideas with, give energy to and invest in colleagues and students
- proven ability to collaborate in a research or teaching team and to take the lead in organizing collaborative work
- fluent in English; Willing to acquire knowledge of Dutch (B2-level).

Competences:
- conceptual capacity
- environment orientation
- presenting
- result orientation.

Fixed-term contract: 24 months.

The University of Groningen offers a salary that will be between € 3,111 (scale 10.4) gross per month and € 5,405 (max. scale 12) gross per month based on the experience of the candidate. The salary will be based on the salary scale for Assistant Professor at Dutch universities and in accordance with the collective agreement regulating employment conditions at Dutch universities. The appointment will initially be for two years for fulltime. Before the end of the temporary appointment, there will be an assessment of performance based on established criteria including research and teaching qualifications. A positive appraisal will lead to a permanent position.

Starting date: 1 September 2017, or as soon as possible thereafter.

The interviews will be held in the week of 24 July 2017.

Application
You may apply for this position until 17 July 23:59 / before 18 July, 2017 Dutch local time by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university website). Applications must include curriculum vitae including list of publications, a recent publication, and a 1-2 page research proposal or note containing a reflection on the research the candidate would wish to carry out. Applications without these documents will not be considered.

Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated.

Faculty of Spatial Sciences

The vacancy is positioned within the Faculty of Spatial Sciences at the University of Groningen (RUG), as part of and in contribution to the University’s program ‘Sustainable Society’. The Faculty focuses on high quality teaching and research in the fields of spatial planning, economic and cultural geography, and demography. The Urban and Regional Studies Institute (URSI) is the Faculty’s research institute, and tWIST (towards Well-being, Innovation and Spatial Transformation) the Faculty’s research agenda. The Faculty consists of 95 members of staff and around a thousand students. The Assistant Professor’s teaching and research will be situated in the Faculty of Spatial Sciences and the Department of Demography / Population Research Centre (PRC). The Faculty is responsible for the Bachelor Geography and Planning. The Department of Demography is responsible for the Master Population Studies. The research of the PRC is carried out within the broad theme ‘Population and Well-Being in Context’.