Are you challenged by the role that forests and forest management play on the road to a sustainable future? Would you like to use your knowledge of forests to improve our understanding of climate smart forest management within Europe? Are you interested to find solutions for the challenges in the chain of wood products? Then we might be looking for you!

The Forest Ecology Team, part of Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR), is an enthusiastic team of about 28 colleagues working on options for conservation, restoration, development and sustainable use of trees and forests from an ecological perspective. We focus on the way in which policy, management and climate affect ecological processes and what their consequences are for climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation and restoration, delivery of ecosystem services and other specific policy goals.

An important element of our work is the development and application of European forest simulation models (EFISCEN-Space, https://www.wur.nl/nl/project/european-forest-resource-analysis-tools.htm). Such models help to understand and visualize the role that European forests play for biodiversity, climate, renewable resources and the environment, and how Climate-Smart Forest management can contribute to optimize this role. With these models, we help managers and various authorities (local, regional, national and European) to evaluate and further shape forest and climate policies.

You will be responsible for the implementation of current projects, including the communication with EU project partners. This will be done in consultation with the project leader, and you will replace the project leader when needed in project related matters. You will actively engage in acquisition of new projects and develop yourself into an independent project leader. Together with the team you will further develop the simulation models and apply them in the projects.

Besides this, you will also orientate yourself on developments in related (forest) ecological disciplines. In the team and within projects, you contribute to model development, research, editing and interpreting research results together with other senior researchers and project leaders. You will also contribute to the acquisition of externally funded scientific research on Dutch and European forests in the context of (climate) policy and management studies. Also supervision of junior researchers will be part of your work.

To strengthen our team we are looking for a researcher with a background and interest in forest modelling and management. We prefer at least 5 years of working experience in this field, but will also consider candidates with less working experience but with an excellent track record.

• a PhD degree with specialization in Forest and Nature management or similar
• Demonstrable experience and knowledge in forest and forest management modelling
• Demonstrable understanding of the role forests play in society and for the environment
• Knowledge of ecological processes in forests
• Willingness to engage in further project acquisition along the research lines sketched above
• Experience with leading medium sized project teams
• Strong communication skills; fluency in oral and written English;
• Preferred experience: R, Python or Java
• Key competences: pro-active, collaborative, flexible, result oriented

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

• 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 hours by working more, per week;
• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• 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, you will of course receive a good salary. We offer, depending on your experience, a competitive gross salary of between €3,693,- and €6,522,- for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research (scale 11-12). Additionally, a contract for 0.8 FTE can be discussed. You will initially receive a one-year contract, which will be extended to an open-ended contract upon in mutual enthusiasm.

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 multi-faceted position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

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.
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 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.. 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.

These are the points our employees list as good reasons to come work at WUR: read the 5 reasons to come work at WUR



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