Are you ready for the next step in your academic career? Do you want to become part of an enthusiastic group of colleagues, who seek to push the boundaries of knowledge on sustainability governance and teach in the highest graded educational programs in the Netherlands? Do you have the right skills to do cutting-edge research in an interdisciplinary setting and convey your findings in an inspiring way to our students? Are you looking for the right environment to build up your own research line? Then apply for a position as researcher/lecturer "The EU Governance of Climate-Proof Food Systems" at the Public Administration and Policy Group of Wageningen University.

Background: climate-proofing the EU food system
The European food system is responsible for a third of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions, while also facing numerous vulnerabilities due to the impacts of climate change. While our scientific understanding of the interactions between the food and climate systems is growing, and therefore provides an ever-shifting basis for action, efforts at governing food system transitions towards climate-positive futures have lagged behind. In spite of the European Commission’s ambitious Green Deal and Farm-to-Fork agendas, problem perceptions remain highly divergent, politically charged and hard to reconcile. Moreover, many issues require action across jurisdictional scales from the local to the global. But agreement of who should act, when and at what level, is elusive, and the types of interventions required are hotly contested. In this context, a deeper understanding of whether, when and how the EU can realize the necessary sustainability transformations, within and beyond its borders, is paramount. The Public Administration Group of Wageningen University is a vibrant and enthusiastic group of scholars, seeking to understand how public governance can help achieve such sustainability transformations.

We are looking for you
In the context of our expanding research and teaching portfolio we are looking for a Researcher/Lecturer (50/50) on “the EU Governance of Climate-Proof Food Systems”. We seek a talented academic with a good track record in studying public governance of sustainability challenges. We are looking for someone with expertise in EU policy making, who is able to apply conceptual frameworks from the fields of Public Administration and the Policy Sciences to the analysis of the EU’s sustainability drive (Farm to Fork, Green Deal). We hope to find an enthusiastic team player with a relevant background and academic and societal networks, and who enjoys teaching to students using the latest teaching methods. You will spend half of your time doing research, contributing to the group’s research program "Changing governance, Governing change" and half of your time teaching, for instance by contributing to the new MSc. Program “Governance of Sustainability Transformations”, which is drawing rapidly increasing numbers of students. Reflecting the international life science focus of Wageningen University, our entire research and teaching efforts are located in the realm of issues to do with food, agriculture, climate, biodiversity, or water. You must be able to lecture to students with both a social or natural science background, and must have an interest in attracting funding for your research.

We  seek a candidate who has:

• a PhD-degree in the field of the political sciences (public administration, policy studies, political science, environmental policy, transitions management, etc.), or nearing completion.
• an excellent understanding of relevant conceptual frameworks and theories in Public Administration and the Policy sciences, with a particular focus on EU governance
• affinity with food and/or climate system debates.
• a growing publication record in international refereed scientific journals.
• strong didactic and presentation skills and enthusiasm for teaching and working with (international) students in a broad range of educational programs.
• good organization and management skills
• demonstrated interest in acquiring externally financed projects.
• excellent skills in writing and lecturing in English (ability to speak Dutch is appreciated but not required).

We offer you a three year temporary contract for 0,8 - 1,0 FTE  (your choice) with a one-year trial period. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between € 2960 and € 5439 for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (salary scale 10/11), dependent on expertise and experience. Depending on performance and team needs, growth into an assistant professor position can be discussed at the end of this contract.

Wageningen University & Research offers a great working environment. We encourage 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 The Netherlands, and at a university that has been chosen by students as the "Best University" in the Netherlands for the 18th time in a row now.

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

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially 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 compensation / 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%;
• an excellent pension scheme.

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.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research center 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. 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. For instance under the "30% rule", certain categories of international staff can receive tax exemption on approximately 30% of their gross salary.

Wageningen University & Research

Wageningen University & Research
The mission of Wageningen University & Research is "To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life". Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialized 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 (6,400 fte) and 13,200 students and over 150.000 participants to WUR's Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organizations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

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

You will work here
You will become a member of the Public Administration and Policy Group at Wageningen. The PAP group is an enthusiastic, ambitious and rapidly growing group within the Department of Social Sciences. The PAP group's mission is to study the public governance of sustainability transformations in the interrelated domains of water, climate, food, biodiversity and agriculture under the slogan "Changing governance, Governing change".

In our work, we build on a diverse set of social science concepts and theories and apply a diverse range of methods that we use whenever suitable for the research questions at hand, without being completely wedded to one such perspective or method. We take an active interest in the role of the state in sustainability governance and actively seek to think through innovative governance arrangements. The group is impact oriented and aims to contribute to scientific progress, to societal debates, and to policy practices. More information on the group can be found on www.wageningenur.nl/pap.

The PAP group actively collaborates with neighboring groups in the Wageningen Centre for Sustainability Governance, which employs more than 100 researchers and is at the forefront of global discussions on sustainability transformations. The WCSG was recently assessed and was found to do "excellent, impact-driven and ample research", and to be "in an eminent position to meet the demand for innovation in governance related to sustainability issues".

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