What is the role of dairy farms on nitrogen deposition on nature areas? Mesdagfonds, the interest group of the Dutch dairy farmers, requested the University of Amsterdam to measure and model N deposition around dairy farms and in nature reserves. For this research project we are seeking a researcher who wants to contribute to the topic of nitrogen deposition that currently sets the Netherlands on hold.

What are you going to do?

You are expected:

• to carry out measurements of nitrogen emissions and deposition around two cattle farms;
• to compare existing methods of measuring N deposition;
• to carry out nitrogen deposition measurements in various nature areas;
• to assist in reporting to the stakeholders of this research project;
• to guide a technician involved in this project and MSc students carrying out their thesis in this project;
• to take part in the organization of a workshop at the end of the project.

The right candidate has experience in a relevant field of research and knows the Dutch agriculture sector. Experience is more relevant than holding a PhD. If applicable it may be an option to obtain a PhD degree based on the current project. Furthermore, we are looking for candidates who:

• hold an MSc or PhD in biology, earth sciences, environmental sciences or atmospheric science;
• have proven experience with research on a related field;
• are sociable and able to deal with non-academic partners;
• have good academic writing skills, proven in a MSc or PhD thesis;
• preferably are available for this job on short notice (preferably 1January 2020);
• willingness to contribute to valorization activities;
• a driver license;
• ability to speak Dutch.

An employment contract for 38 hours a week for 1 year, preferably starting on 1 January 2020. An extension for 2 years subsequently follows if we assess your performance positive. The Job profile Researcher 4 is applicable. The salary, depending on relevant experience before the beginning of the employment contract, will be €2,709 to €4,274 (scale 10) gross per month, based on fulltime (38 hours a week), exclusive 8 % holiday allowance and 8.3 % end-of-year bonus.

A different arrangement is applicable if you are MSc graduated with the ambition that this research leads to a PhD thesis. You will get an employment contract for 38 hours for 18 months. An extension for 30 months subsequently follows if we assess your performance positive. You will get a customized Training and Supervision Plan, that will be evaluated every year. The salary will be €2,325 gross a month in the first year and will rise to €2,972 in the last year, exclusive 8 % holiday allowance and 8.3 % end-of-year bonus.

A favorable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable. 

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Take a look at Working at the Faculty of Science.  

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.

http://www.uva.nl/en/home

Informatics Institute

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 6,500, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The research will be carried out within the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED). This is one of eight research institutes of the Faculty of Science at the University of Amsterdam. The research at IBED aims to unravel how ecosystems function in all their complexity, and how they change due to natural processes and human activities. At its core lies an integrated systems approach to study biodiversity, ecosystems and the environment. IBED adopts this systems approach to ecosystems, addressing abiotic (soil and water quality) and biotic factors (ecology and evolution of plants, animals, and microorganisms), and the interplay between those. The IBED vision includes research encompassing experimental and theoretical approaches at a wide variety of temporal and spatial scales, i.e. from molecules and microorganisms to patterns and processes occurring at the global scale.