We are looking for an innovative, dynamic and inspiring scholar and leader in the field of Water Technology to lead the Water Technology Chair Group at Wageningen University & Research (0.8 - 1.0 fte). Research focuses on developing technologies for water treatment that can remove specific emerging and recalcitrant contaminants, pathogens, salt, organic carbon and nutrients from water and organic waste streams in order to produce clean resources that facilitate circular water systems.

Chair of Water Technology
The Water Technology group develops sustainable, robust and fit-for-purpose water systems. Future research should focus on water treatment technologies for the removal of specific emerging and recalcitrant contaminants from water and (organic) waste streams. Fit-for-purpose water requires advanced technologies that selectively remove contaminants to provide water of a specific quality for (industrial) applications. New water technologies are built from fundamental, engineering science, integrating biology, physics, and chemistry, that provides the principles for innovation in water treatment. At the same time, these novel technological innovations must be embedded in industrial, agricultural and metropolitan solutions and therefore be based on a thorough understanding of the urban, industrial and agricultural water systems. The chair in water technology constitutes together with the chair of biorecovery technology, the Environmental Technology Group (ETE), sharing advanced laboratory and technology facilities, and joining efforts and staff in education.

Leadership in Research
As chair Water Technology you will develop together with your scientific staff (currently ten staff members) the research directions, at this moment organised in three subgroups: Micropollutant Biotechnology, Water Process Engineering and Systems Engineering. Opening a new strategic research field under your leadership is an option. You will support the group’s research ambitions by further strengthening its position in scientific, industrial and urban networks, by managing its external relations in a constructive and cooperative way, and by strengthening established research lines and bringing in novel ideas. You will ensure that your chair provides an excellent working environment to academic staff at a range of career levels. Strengthening the acquisition of funding for research, and attracting and supervising PhD candidates are key elements. You and your team are expected to capitalize on the strong potential of research for societal impact, in collaboration with societal stakeholders, like industries, technology providers, water authorities, urban management organisations and spin-offs.

Education
Your chair group is involved in several educational programmes, covering biological water and resource recovery technologies, physical-chemical water treatment and related electrochemistry and system engineering and management. These courses are embedded in several programmes including BSc and MSc in Environmental Sciences, and the MSc’s in Urban Environmental Management, Biotechnology, Biosystems Engineering, and Biobased Sciences (WUR) and Water Technology (Wetsus). An important task is to give new impulses to and develop the contents of ETE’s courses, teaching methods, and the coherence of the curriculum.

Leadership in Management
The chair of Water Technology and the Biorecovery Technology form the Environmental Technology Group. Per July 1st 2023, Prof. dr. ir Annemiek ter Heijne was appointed as the new chair on Biorecovery Technology. Together with her, you will be responsible for the overall management of the group.

• a doctorate (PhD degree) in Environmental Technology, Water Technology, Chemical Engineering or Environmental biotechnology
• an outstanding scientific track record and international research profile in the physical-chemical and/or biological treatment of water to make it fit for different purposes;
• an affinity for or skills in modelling and systems engineering
• the ability to manage professionals and with proven track record in leadership, with an inspiring, collegial, and unifying leadership style characterized by a passion to develop people, to build teams, to create synergy and to initiated new research and education directions;
• an excellent team player;
• an inspiring long-term vision regarding the development of the scientific field, the research agenda and the teaching profile of the ETE group;
• a broad international network in science and industry and associated acquisition potential;
• a keen interest to work in an interdisciplinary environment and to bridge technological and system engineering research;
• a proven record in acquisition of research funds from international and preferably also national agencies;
• an outstanding record in teaching, mentoring and course development, at both undergraduate and graduate levels, with an ability to work with students from a wide range of backgrounds;
• excellent command of English and – for international applicants – willingness to learn Dutch

You will be working for an inspiring international organisation with a large number of interdisciplinary projects all over the world. The scientific quality of Wageningen University is affirmed by the prominent position we occupy in international rankings and citation indexes. We offer you a challenging position as full professor of the Chair of Environmental Technology. Your salary is based on the collective labor agreement of all Dutch Universities (see H2 in this table). Besides a competitive salary, we offer a number of additional benefits, such as an end-of-year extra month’s salary, a holiday allowance and a pension plan with the Dutch pension fund for government and education.

Coming from abroad
We are a globally leading university in the 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. The university’s highly qualified team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family. Finally a specialized organization will assist your partner one on one in finding a job or starting a business in the Netherlands, and besides that WUR offers a dual career program that helps partners through a group based program. Furthermore, we can assist you in finding schools for your kids and offer help with finding accommodation in the region or elsewhere in the Netherlands.

The Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains further practical information about what we do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen.

Equal opportunity employer
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) employs a large number of people with very different backgrounds and qualities, who inspire and motivate each other. We want every talent to feel at home in our organisation and be offered the same career opportunities. We therefore especially welcome applications from people who are underrepresented at WUR. A good example of how WUR deals with inclusiveness can be read on the page working at WUR with a functional impairment.

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 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 (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 organisations 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!

Current ETE group
The present ETE group is a vibrant team of young and mid-career researchers who work in the field of environmental technology (see www.wageningenur.nl/ete). The ETE group currently consists of 20 faculty staff: 2 special professors, 4 associate professor, 8 assistant professors and 6 lecturers / other tenured staff. Each of the chair groups has about 30 PhD candidates (so about 60 PhD candidates for the ETE group) that are supervised by current staff. The ETE staff works closely together with staff of other chair groups on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary topics for which the connection of disciplines is essential. At national level, the close collaboration with the European centre of excellence for sustainable water technology (Wetsus) is important. The ETE group is part of the Biobased Cluster within the Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group. ETE has a unique research infrastructure with the laboratory consisting of Modutech to support research on new technologies and the Analytical laboratory, with 9 supporting staff members (technicians and analysts). The group is efficiently organised and supported by dedicated secretarial, financial and HR advisors. The group and student community is largely international and all courses are taught in English.

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