Are you interested in the development of agroecology on farms in Europe by bringing together scientific and experiential knowledge? In shaping and scientifically analyzing research-in-action projects that aim to support 'innovation hub' actors in their efforts to overcome barriers and lock-ins? In doing so in a vibrant European network with a focus on addressing climate change, biodiversity, and socio-economic sustainability? We might have an interesting Postdoc position for you at Wageningen University & Research.

Project:
The "Trans-disciplinary approaches for systemic economic, ecological and climate change transitions" (Agroecology-TRANSECT) Horizon Europe research and innovation project aims

• to contribute to releasing the full potential of agroecology for European agriculture by strengthening the knowledge base for farmers and advisors and supporting decision makers
• To deliver robust evidence of the benefits of agroecology on climate change mitigation, biodiversity and farm socio-economic resilience.

To achieve these objectives, Agroecology-TRANSECT supports the transition to agroecology through co-innovation methodology including a transdisciplinary collaboration between researchers (agronomy, animal sciences, ecology, sustainability sciences, socio-economics and political sciences) and stakeholders and mobilization of knowledge and expertise in 11 multi-actor Innovation Hubs which have been engaged in agroecological transitions for several years.

The selected IHs reflect a diverse range of crop, animal and integrated crop-livestock systems, biogeographical areas and socio-economic European landscapes.

The Agroecology-TRANSECT project is funded by the European Union and comprises 19 partner organizations from research, extension and agricultural enterprises in 12 European countries.

The project is structured:

• By a series of 5 co-innovation workshops that provide reflection spaces for the IH teams to reflect on past activities through Learning Histories and plan new activities through Action Plans.
• Learning is further facilitated through three-monthly online meetings and in annual meetings with the entire project.
• You will act as monitor of three clusters of Innovation Hubs, and together with the cluster leaders will support the reflection processes.

You will be:

• observe, document, and analyze the content of the online and project meetings, the Action Plans and the Learning Histories.
• Methodologically, the combination of realist evaluation and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) may be considered. Options based on other approaches (complexity theory, sustainability transition experiments, etc.) may be explored.
• Insights should foster the IH dynamics as well as the governance of the project, and should provide further scientific underpinning for middle range theory on context sensitive project management.
• Strong collaboration is foreseen with the sibling workpackage on IH assessment, as well as with the other workpackages that work on scaling up and out and development of the agroecology conceptual basis.

• A PhD in Knowledge, Technology and Innovation; Science and Technology Studies; Sociology of Innovation or similar.
• Knowledge of / clear interest in agro-ecological systems.
• A proven scientific ambition, proven performance in scientific writing, and strong ambition to publish future work (candidates are invited to provide 1 or 2 examples of their written work).
• An ambition to work in action-oriented settings.
• An interest to supervise MSc thesis students working on the same topic.
• Ability to communicate effectively with different scientific disciplines and actors from different fields of agriculture within Europe.
• Ability to function as a team member, participate in project meetings and discussions.
• This position requires an excellent English language proficiency (a minimum of CEFR C1 level). For more information about this proficiency level, please visit our special language page.
• The position is for 12 months after which extension may be considered.

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

• 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 pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, we offer a competitive salary depending on education and experience of minimum € 2.960,= to maximum € 4.670,= gross for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 10). Additionally, a contract for 0.8 FTE can be discussed. It concerns a contract of one year, with a possible extension.

The project will start 1 September 2022 and will run for 4 years.

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 17th 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, 7.200 employees and 13.200 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 colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch this video to get an idea of our green campus!

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