The department of Earth Sciences at Utrecht University (UU) is looking for an enthusiastic and ambitious colleague in the field of Integrated Stratigraphy to further strengthen our Earth Science programme in terms of research and teaching.

Your job
As our new assistant professor you are expected to develop your own, collaborative, research line within our broad research theme on Climate & Life.

This theme focuses primarily on sediments and biological remains both on land and in the oceans to reconstruct past climate and environmental changes. From these, we learn that Earth’s climate shows strong varying conditions with sometimes catastrophic events that impacted on Earth’s life and ecosystems. Special emphasis is on improving geological time scales using an integrated stratigraphic approach, so that we can determine more precisely how fast these global changes occurred. For your research and your contribution to our educational programmes you can make use of state-of-the-art (analytical) facilities, including mass spectrometers, XRF, XRD, SEMs, NanoSIMS, Microprobe, and paleomagnetic laboratories.

You will play an essential role in education by inspiring students and developing innovative courses in the BSc programme and MSc programmes of the department, whereby the ability to contribute to fieldwork teaching, and the supervision of early career scientists such as PhD candidates and postdocs. On average, the department targets at equal contributions to educational activities and research for all its tenured academic staff, ideally resulting in about 40% teaching duties, 40% research and 20% of other activities (management tasks, committee work, etc.).

You have a strong record of original research within the fields of Integrated Stratigraphy, or you apply stratigraphic principles to other areas within the Earth Sciences. You show evidence of academic independence, creativity, and scientific rigor. You have successfully applied for or have a strong potential to generate research funds. Experience of two to three years, or more, as a postdoctoral researcher is desirable, and we specifically encourage early career researchers to apply.

You are an inspiring teacher to BSc and MSc students and hold a basic teaching qualification or will obtain one in the near future. You will participate in teaching in both our undergraduate (e.g. integrated stratigraphy and absolute dating techniques, Geological fieldwork) and our graduate programmes (e.g. Astronomical Climate Forcing and Time Scales, Geological fieldwork).

We are especially looking for a strong team player with good communication and networking skills. You thrive in a dynamic department and enjoy collaborating with people with different (academic) backgrounds. You easily collaborate with other members of the department of Earth Sciences, both in terms of science, teaching, and organisation.

A prerequisite for this position is that you have a PhD degree in the natural sciences, preferably in Earth Sciences or Biogeosciences. Our selection criteria will include:

1. your (teaching) experience in the field of stratigraphy/paleontology/sedimentology;
2. your track record of academic research reflected in the quality of your publications;
3. your success rate in applying for research grants;
4. your communication, presentation, networking and organizational skills;
5. your mentorship experience regarding BSc and MSc students and PhD candidates;
6. your public outreach activities.

These elements will be weighed against the number of years of academic experience, also considering (parental) leave and part-time appointments.
You are expected to have a very good level of English, both spoken and written. We require a qualification English at C1 level (CEFR or comparable to level 3 of the Lecturer Assessment Grid) or to be prepared to obtain this level by training. As a non-Dutch speaker, you are willing to acquire Dutch language skills. We believe that understanding and speaking Dutch makes it easier to connect with colleagues.

We offer:

• free language courses in the Dutch language to obtain a moderate proficiency;
• a position (0.8-1.0 FTE) for 18 months. After a positive evaluation the position will be made permanent;
• a full-time gross salary between €4,332 and €5,929 in scale 11 of the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities (CAO);
• 8% holiday bonus and 8.3% end-of-year bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave, and flexible employment conditions based on the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities.

In addition to the employment conditions from the CAO for Dutch Universities, Utrecht University has a number of its own arrangements. These include agreements on professional development, leave arrangements, sports and cultural schemes and you get discounts on software and other IT products. We also give you the opportunity to expand your terms of employment through the Employment Conditions Selection Model. This is how we encourage you to grow.

For more information, please visit working at Utrecht University.

Universiteit Utrecht

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Shaping science, sharing tomorrow.

Utrecht University’s Faculty of Geosciences studies the Earth: from the Earth’s core to its surface, including man’s spatial and material utilisation of the Earth – always with a focus on sustainability and innovation. With 3,400 students (BSc and MSc) and 720 staff, the faculty is a strong and challenging organisation. The Faculty of Geosciences is organised in four Departments: Earth Sciences, Human Geography & Spatial Planning, Physical Geography, and Sustainable Development.

The Department of Earth Sciences is the largest academic Earth sciences institute in the Netherlands and among the larger ones in Europe. The department conducts education and research across the full range of the solid Earth and environmental Earth sciences. Our profile is rooted in the core disciplines of geochemistry, geology, geophysics, (marine) biogeosciences and hydrogeology. Crossing these boundaries, the department’s main focus is on four major aspects of the natural Earth: Climate & Life, Earth’s Interior, Earth Materials, and Environmental Earth Sciences.

The department hosts an international tenured staff of over 50 scholars and more than 110 PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. We host or have access to advanced laboratory facilities. Utrecht's Geolab houses a wide variety of analytical and experimental facilities, including well-equipped stable isotope and (organic) geochemistry laboratories, and a porous media lab. The micro-analytical facilities include, among others, a nano-SIMS, a laser-ablation ICP-MS system, electron microprobe, micro-XRF, AFM, Raman and IR spectroscopy instruments. The adjacent Earth Simulation Lab houses our High Pressure & Temperature and Tectonics laboratories, as well as several microscope facilities. Moreover, the department also has a world-class Paleomagnetic laboratory, several flume facilities, as well as excellent High-Performance Computing facilities.

The department is located at Utrecht Science Park. Utrecht is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands with a population of nearly 360,000 and forms a hub in the middle of the country. Its historical city centre and its modern central station can easily be reached from the Science Park by public transport or by a 15-minute bicycle ride. Utrecht boasts beautiful canals with extraordinary wharf cellars housing cafés and terraces by the water, as well as a broad variety of shops and boutiques.