Are you and expert in climate systems? Do you have an experience in delivering computational education at a university level? The Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) is looking for an enthusiastic educator and researcher to add expertise on climate dynamics to our multi-disciplinary team. IBED has research expertise in Earth, environmental and ecological sciences, and plays a leading role in several important teaching programmes within the Science Faculty. Our education has a strong Earth-system focus, particularly within the BSc Future Planet Studies and the MSc Earth Sciences.

To strengthen the delivery of computational education, and broaden our scientific expertise, IBED is seeking to recruit an experienced educator and researcher in the field of climate dynamics, linked to Earth system functioning and/or land-surface processes. The position will be tenured, subject to a positive evaluation of your performance during the initial 12-month temporary appointment.

What are you going to do?

The successful candidate will deliver high quality, innovative, climate change and climate systems education to BSc and MSc students including a strong computational component. They will perform cutting edge research related to climate dynamics that integrates both abiotic and biotic components of the Earth-system. Dependent on the expertise of the candidate, the emphasis may lie on different temporal and spatial scales, e.g. on a regional, continental or global scale; or combine across them.

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate an ability, and enthusiasm, to collaborate with experts already within the institute generating empirical data on related subjects. 

You are expected to: 

• contribute to education within the MSc Earth Sciences (ES) and the BSc Future Planet Studies (FPS) programs. Specifically, taking a leading role developing and enhancing the 'Climate Change' (ES) and 'Klimaatverandering en zeespiegelstijging' (Climate change and sea-level rise) (FPS) courses;
• contribute to the cross-disciplinary MSc minor 'Sciences for Sustainability', alongside more social science facing colleagues (Kruger);
• supervise research projects and literature reviews at BSc and MSc levels;
• publish in high level international journals, present at leading conferences, and supervise PhD researchers;
• attract external funding to sustain and expand your research line;
• actively pursue collaborations with relevant stakeholders inside and outside academia;
• the overall balance of the work load for this position will be approximately 50% education, 40% research, and 10% administration.

What do we require?

The successful candidate for this position will have:

• a PhD in climate-vegetation dynamics or climate dynamics, or a closely related field;  
• experience of delivering and coordinating university education on climate science and in computational skills;  
•  experience of supervision BSc, MSc and/or PhD researchers;
• a qualification in university education (equivalent to the Dutch 'University Teaching Qualification' BKO); or willing to obtain the BKO within the first 1-2 years of appointment; 
• fluency in English and in Dutch; or willing to learn Dutch to a level appropriate for teaching (C1) in Bachelor programmes taught in Dutch within the first 1-2 years;
• a track record of publishing in international peer reviewed journals and obtaining external research funding;
• a collaborative outlook on science and be able to demonstrate how they can link with the ELD (IBED) team;
• a driven personality who can serve as a role model for students as well as junior lecturers and junior researchers.

A temporary contract for 30-38  hours a week, preferably starting on 1 April 2022 for the duration of 12 months. The position will be tenured, subject to a positive evaluation of your performance during this initial 12-month temporary appointment.

Your salary, depending on your relevant experience on commencement of the employment contract, ranges between €3.807 to €5.211 gross per month on the basis of a full working week of 38 hours. This sum does not include the 8% holiday allowance and the 8.3% year-end allowance. The Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universitites (CAO NU) is applicable.

University of Amsterdam

With over 6,000 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.

Faculty of Science – Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 7,000, 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 Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) is one of eight research institutes of the Faculty of Science at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). 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.

Want to know more about our organisation? Read more about working at the University of Amsterdam.