The Department of Geography, Planning and International Development Studies has a vacant position for one Assistant professor. The new assistant professor is currently expected to spend 50 percent of the time on teaching, 40 percent on research, and 10 percent on contributing to the GIS Lab facility within the faculty. Depending on successful acquisition of major research grants the percentage of research time can be extended.

The assistant professor is expected to contribute to the research in one of the Department’s programme groups, and to teach in the Department’s bachelor and (research) master programmes.

The Department is searching for a key resource person having expert knowledge on advanced GIS applications.

The candidate is expected to conduct innovative research in connection to subjects being addressed in one or more of the four programme groups, and to take an interdisciplinary and international research focus. He/she will also be a GIS advisor to researchers in the Department.

The candidate will teach GIS and research methods in the Bsc, Msc and/or Research Master degree programmes of the department. In addition he/she is expected to act as a research methods coordinator between courses within the Bsc programme.

The candidate will sustain academic networks as well as linkages with the professional field. He/she will do acquisition for external funding for research, and will provide a contribution to the development of our discipline(s) through scholarly publications and participation in national and international research networks, and through valorisation of research in society.

• Completed doctoral thesis in human geography, planning, or a related field in the social sciences;
• knowledge of the state-of-the-art in GIS research in relation to Human Geography and/or Planning; familiarity with the field of critical GIS;
• knowledge of, experience with, and an interest in advanced social-scientific research methods (preferably both quantitative and qualitative); experience with the analysis and linking of big datasets; having knowledge of remote sensing and big data analytics is an advantage;
• team player as expressed in collaborative work;
• proven capability to teach and motivate students at both undergraduate and graduate level; 
• in possession of the Basic Teaching Qualification (Dutch BKO or foreign equivalent) or willing to obtain this certificate within two years;
• promising scientific publication record with evidence of advanced GIS expertise;
• commitment to the research agenda of one or more of the programme groups in the Department;
• demonstrated ability or potential to acquire research funding from external sources (e.g. Netherlands’ Organization for Scientific Research, European Research Council, or other national and international funding agencies);
• fluent in English and Dutch, or should be willing to acquire good active and passive knowledge of the Dutch language within two years.

In case of similar assessed qualities we have a preference for a female candidate.

The full-time appointment (38 hours per week) will initially be on a temporary basis for a period of two years, with the opportunity for tenure. Depending on qualifications and experience, the gross monthly full-time salary will range from €3,475 up to €5,405 (scale 11/12). This is in conformity with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. Secondary benefits at Dutch universities are attractive and include 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end of year bonus.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Department of Geography, Planning and International Development Studies

The Department of Geography, Planning and International Development Studies is one of the six Departments in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG). Research and education are carried out by special institutes. The Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) is responsible for research in the social sciences. The College of Social Sciences (CSS) and the Graduate School of Social Sciences (GSSS) are responsible for undergraduate and graduate teaching programmes in the social sciences.

Research and teaching in the Department of Geography, Planning and International Development Studies is organized in four thematic programme groups: Governance and Inclusive Development (GID), Geographies of Globalizations (GOG), Urban Geographies (UG) and Urban Planning (UP).

Depending on the substantive focus of the candidate he/she will be placed in one of the Department’s programme groups.