Are you keen to contribute to the sustainable production of flowers and healthy fresh vegetables? We have a vacancy for an Assistant professor on physiology of roots and plant-nutrient relations in hydroponic systems. Do you like to supervise students? Do you want to study root functioning and how this impacts product quality, yield and sustainability? Then this position could be a perfect fit for you!

Hydroponics is gaining importance in growing plants sustainably and improving quality and growth of plants. Examples of exciting research questions may be: what is the optimal root environment? Can we manipulate plant yield and product quality through a 'dynamic' root environment? Can plants be grown with minimal root systems?

The chair group Horticulture and Product Physiology of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is keen to hire an Assistant Professor (0.7-1.0 fte). As an Assistant Professor, you will have the opportunity to establish your own research and education in physiology of root-shoot interactions, root growth and functioning, and plant-nutrient relationships in soilless cultivation in greenhouses and vertical farms.

In this challenging career trajectory:

• You collaborate with colleagues and establish a personal research portfolio that is embedded in the Horticulture and Product Physiology group
• You will perform physiological research on root-shoot interactions, plant-nutrient relations, and root functioning and development in relation to the abiotic environment.
• Your research will be at the tissue, organ, whole-plant as well as crop level.
• Your research will be conducted with horticultural crops (vegetables, cut flowers and/or pot plants) grown in soilless culture in greenhouses and vertical farms.
• You will acquire, lead and implement together with the chair holder and other staff members innovative and creative (inter-)national research projects for our group.
• You will supervise BSc, MSc, and PhD students. You will also develop and teach courses (lectures, practicals) on physiological processes on root-shoot interactions, plant-nutrient relationships and on soilless cultivation in greenhouses and vertical farms.
• You undertake research that leads to high quality research output.
• Your research contributes to improving quality, yield and sustainability of horticultural crop production.

Tenure Track is a career path for scientists who pursue to excel in education and research. We seek to attract scientific talent and to stimulate and support their development.

• You hold a PhD degree in plant science, biological science, or a related field;
• You have experience in physiological and/or molecular research on root-shoot interactions and/or plant-nutrient relations;
• You have published research in high-quality journals and are willing to develop your skills in teaching and grant proposal acquisition;
• You are a strong communicator;
• You have a keen interest in phenotyping and/or simulation modelling, which is considered as a plus.

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement:

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent ABP pension regulations.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will be offered a fixed-term, 7 year contract which, upon positive evaluation based on criteria elaborated in the University's Tenure Track policy, can lead to a permanent employment contract as professor. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive salary of between € 3.637,- and € 4.978,- (assistant professor position) for a full-time working week of 38 hours in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 11). The position can be part-time or fulltime (0.7-1.0 fte).

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the "Best University" in the Netherlands for the 16th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees. Applicants from abroad moving to the Netherlands may qualify for a special tax relief, known as the 30% ruling. Our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling, and other issues.

Wageningen University & Research

Wageningen University & Research
The mission of Wageningen University and Research is "To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life". Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment.

With its roughly 30 branches, 6.800 employees and 12.900 students, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. An integrated approach to problems and the cooperation between various disciplines are at the heart of Wageningen's unique approach. WUR has been named Best Employer in the Education category for 2019-2020.

Read the 5 reasons why your future collaegues enjoy working at WUR and watch this video to get an idea of our green campus!

The chair group Horticulture & Product Physiology
The chair group Horticulture and Product Physiology conducts high impact research and educates students providing the scientific basis required to answer questions that are of utmost importance for sustainable crop production and product quality in horticulture.

The research focus is on how physiological processes in crops, plants and plant organs interact with the abiotic environment and how this affects crop production and product quality. Questions arising from horticultural practice are translated into fundamental research topics, aiming to explain mechanisms. The research and education contribute to sustainably feeding the World with healthy and high-quality products.

The chair group is an international team consisting of 16 permanent staff members, about 25 PhD candidates and postdocs and a number of guest researchers. Each year about 40 MSc students conduct their thesis study (a 6-month research) at our group. We organize and participate in a variety of courses for BSc and MSc students to transfer knowledge on horticulture (pre- and post-harvest), environmental physiology and product quality.
More info about the chair group can be found at www.hpp.wur.nl or watch this video.

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.