Research: The successful candidate has a proven track record in acquisition and coordination of research and capacity development projects in the Global South and PhD student supervision. He/she is a senior professional with broad expertise and experience in environmental science and environmental technologies as well as applied research to further Circular Economy in (peri-)urban, industrial and agricultural systems. The candidate also has a track record in research into technologies for recovering resources from a broad range of different water streams, but also organic residues:  sludges, solid waste and/or off-gasses. The professor in ETCE will develop technological innovations in cooperation with other disciplines and in transdisciplinary projects with stakeholders for conditions in the Global South.

Education: The successful candidate is passionate about education as demonstrated by a successful record of teaching at the MSc level and student supervision at the MSc and PhD levels in multi-cultural settings. We especially seek candidates with experience in MSc program development and management, preferably with experience in programme quality assurance and accreditation, use of up-to-date teaching techniques (e.g. blended and online courses), and adaptation of programmes to changing needs in the water and environment sectors. Evidence of success in acquiring fellowships and other forms of sponsorship is also an advantage.

Capacity Development: The successful candidate has experience in projects related to institutional strengthening and development and delivery of professional trainings in developing countries. Highly valued experience will include assistance in setting up MSc degrees in partner institutions and design of tailor-made training programs for partners in government and industry. Experience in the Middle East, the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is an advantage.

Professional Engagement: The successful candidate will be an active member of the international water and environment community with a network of partners in practice as well as research related to water resources. Evidence of engagement with stakeholder organisations in the design and development of research topics and activities is an advantage.

The ETCE professor will assume leadership of the PPRR research group, will join other professors in service on the Academic Board of the institution, and will take on other leadership roles in the department, institution, and educational programme based on need and interest. Acquiring new projects, both research and capacity building projects, is a major responsibility, with special importance of acquiring funding for PhD fellows.

As head of the Research Group, the new professor will lead participatory processes to set and renew the vision and academic directions of the group and the content and teaching modalities. The professor will be expected to set an example by stimulating academic ideas in line with relevant international trends in research and education. The professor will lecture in topics of her or his area of expertise. The professor also carries out some administrative tasks including a contribution to the annual departmental plan and together with the Head of Department, conducting task-settings and end-of-year assessments.

The new professor will have a strong link with the Environmental Technology of WUR (WUR-ETE) and will collaborate in joined PhD projects. This symbiotic collaboration is aimed at enriching IHE with novel technology ideas from the research program of ETE, while IHE will enrich ETE with a wider network and collaboration with the Global South. The new professor will give guest lectures at WUR.

• PhD degree in environmental science, environmental technology or related field.
• International research reputation demonstrated through a continuous record of high impact publications, externally funded research grants, and service in the professional community;
• Experience in lecturing at the MSc level, supervision of PhD and MSc thesis research, and development and management of degree programmes;
• Proven competency in project acquisition and management;
• Experience in valorisation of research outputs through engagement and cooperation with partners from civil society, government, and the private sector;
• Well-established international network within the science and donor communities;
• Professional experience in developing countries and countries in transition;
• Excellent command of the English language and preferably one additional international language such as Spanish, Arabic or French;
• Willingness to frequently travel and work abroad for short and medium-term assignments;
• Proven leadership, communication, team and organisational skills;
• Affinity to working in a multidisciplinary and multicultural environment.

The candidate will be employed by IHE Delft Institute for Water Education for 38 hours (1.0 FTE) for an initial period of 18 months, after which an IHE Delft contract for indefinite time will be considered.

The new professor is also expected to acquire a professorial position (zero appointment) at WUR and to be available for the assessment procedure. The new professor will then be appointed at WUR for a period of five years, with the possibility of five-year extensions.

This role requires the candidate to be based in the Netherlands or willing to relocate to the country. The position is in Delft, the Netherlands. This position is in accordance with scale H2 of the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.

IHE Delft offers an attractive, multiple-choice employee benefits scheme, year-end bonus and generous pension scheme. The appointment implies entry into the Netherlands' Civil Service Pension Fund (ABP). We also offer 31 days’ leave based on 38 hours working week.

IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, the world’s largest international graduate water education facility, works to strengthen water sector capacity to contribute to a world free of poverty and injustice, in which people manage their water and environmental resources sustainably and equitably.

More than 120 of IHE Delft’s 200 staff members are academics from all over the world. About 250 guest lecturers from global academia and industry contribute to the Institute’s educational programmes. Each year, 750 international professionals, including about 200 MSc students, attend courses at IHE Delft. Our working language is English, and we promote a healthy work-life balance through measures that include support to staff who want to work part of their time from home.

IHE Delft is a unique knowledge institute in the Dutch research and educational landscape that combines excellence in education and research with work to advance global sustainable development. Partnerships are integral to achieving this mission: The Institute works closely with universities, government agencies, NGOs, and private sector institutions in the Netherlands and around the world. Through research, education and institutional strengthening, Institute staff make a tangible contribution towards all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in which water is key.

Wageningen University & Research (WUR),  founded in 1918, is a collaboration between Wageningen University and the Wageningen Research Foundation. Our mission is ‘To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life’

Over 7,200 employees (6,400 fte) and 13,200 students from more than a hundred countries work everywhere around the world in the domain of healthy food and living environment for society, governments and the business community-at-large.

The fundamental research at Wageningen University & Research is conducted by chair groups. All chair groups share a common research domain: healthy food and living environment. Wageningen University & Research is comprised of one faculty that is divided into five departments.  

Environmental Technology (WUR-ETE) develops and evaluates innovative environmental technologies and concepts based on processes from nature, to recover and reuse essential components and maintain and create a viable environment.

We specialize in several environmental domains, strongly interlinked with each other. In technologies treating residual water, solid and gas streams we focus on open system bioconversions using fermentation, biocrystallisation, anaerobic biogranulation and flocculation, on separation and recovery processes using membranes, porous sorbents and electrochemistry, and on the removal of micropollutants and pathogens. Our system engineering group is oriented on assisting industry and urban-rural communities to transform to circular and climate resilient use of resources by modelling and designing the infrastructure for circular water, nutrient and carbon systems. Herein we also address resource quality and energy. We aim to contribute to such transitions in the Global North and South.

Environmental Technology offers an education and research programme that is focused on sustainable technological solutions for worldwide environmental problems, by combining several disciplines, such as biotechnology, microbiology, surface chemistry, organic chemistry, physico-chemical technology, and advanced mathematics for data driven system modelling and optimisation. We integrate our technologies and system engineering approaches in socio-technical solutions by co-operating with other University groups in Environmental Policy, Law, Economy and Management. Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Animal Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Plant Sciences and Social Sciences.

WUR offers the wide range of programmes and courses in the field of healthy food and living environment. Our university offers 13 Dutch bachelor's, 6 English bachelor's, more than 30 English master's and online master's programmes.

IHE Delft | WSSEE

The Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering Department (WSSEE) aims to contribute to the global goal of providing safe drinking water and sanitation to all in an environmentally sustainable manner, including the recycling and reuse of resources. The department combines cutting-edge, applied research and education to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - in particular SDG6 on universal water and sanitation access. Departmental research is transdisciplinary, holistic and applied, and mainly focuses on urban and peri-urban areas, often in contexts of water scarcity or risks for flooding. The staff also provides integrated, innovative, tailor-made advice and practical solutions to people in cities worldwide.

Technical innovations continuously expand the problem-solving capacity of the water sector, but innovations alone are no guarantee for sustainable provision of safe water and sanitation services. For this reason, the department addresses not only technological and engineering aspects of water supply and sanitation, but also integrates societal, economic and institutional aspects, mostly by cooperating in multi-disciplinary teams.

The WSSEE department of IHE Delft consists of three research groups, namely

1. Water Supply Engineering,
2. City Wide Inclusive Sanitation and
3. Pollution Prevention & Resource Recovery,

each headed by a professor or associate professor. The department further comprises an educational and research laboratory and its staff.

The Pollution Prevention and Resource Recovery (PPRR) research group has 5 staff members working on two themes: “Wastewater reuse and health” and “Circular economy: waste to resources”. Education and research by the group includes Microbiology of wastewater, sludge and natural water bodies; Biomass and waste thermal conversion processes; Bioresource Technology; Industrial resource management; and Wastewater Reuse in Agriculture. The project portfolio includes European H2020 research projects as well as projects on research and institutional strengthening in the Middle East and Africa.