The Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) has a new position for a postdoctoral (PD) researcher in the field of natural hazard risk assessment. The PD will become part of a new interdisciplinary research program (INSUREADAPT) funded by the ERC, which aims to improve multi-hazard climate change risk assessments to aid the design of adaptation strategies as well as insurance arrangements that cover residual risks. Moreover, the PD will build upon, and contribute to, related projects on multi-hazard climate risks, such as MYRIAD-EU and an NWO-Veni project on consecutive disasters and disease outbreaks.

The PD project will closely collaborate and be supervised by Prof. Wouter Botzen, Dr Marleen de Ruiter, and Dr Wiebke Jäger. The PD will also be involved in collaboration with another PD and PhD candidates who will be recruited for this project. Your main tasks are:

1. Use existing disaster risk models and derive new statistical relationships between natural hazard conditions to derive multi-hazard climate risk distributions under climate scenarios, such as for coastal and river floods, and storms. The analysis focuses on a subset of countries as well as the continental EU scale.
2. Adjust the multi-hazard climate risk assessments to account for the effect of various adaptation measures to estimate their potential in reducing risk (e.g., flood-protection infrastructure and building-scale measures).

An important part of the ERC project INSUREADAPT is the integration of the multi-hazard climate risk assessments in an agent-based model of human adaptation processes in collaboration with the project team. An inter- or multidisciplinary background and good communication skills are therefore important assets.

Your duties

• publish research results in international peer-reviewed journals
• teach for 0.1 FTE in Bachelor and/or Master’s educational programmes and supervise Bachelor and Master students
• contribute to project tasks, meetings and activities (e.g., workshop organisation for a Natural Hazards cluster)

• a PhD in natural hazards and climate risk assessment or a related discipline
• demonstrated ability to publish in international scientific journals
• quantitative statistical and/or computational modelling skills
• good communication skills in English
• some experience in teaching and/or MSc/BSc supervision

Nice to haves

• affinity with multi-hazard risk
• affinity with disasters and (waterborne) disease outbreaks

As a university, we strive for equal opportunities for all, recognising that diversity takes many forms. We believe that diversity in all its complexity is invaluable for the quality of our teaching, research and service. We are always looking for talent with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This also means that we are committed to creating an inclusive community so that we can use diversity as an asset.

We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.

Fixed-term contract: 1 year.

An interesting position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

• a salary of minimum €3,226 (Scale 10.0) and maximum €5,090 (Scale 10.12) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Researcher 4. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
• a position for at least 0.8 FTE. Your employment contract will initially last 1 year. After a satisfactory evaluation of the initial appointment, the contract will be extended for a duration of 2 years.

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and regulations. Some examples:

• A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• solid pension scheme (ABP)
• contribution to commuting expenses
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

About the institute
Established in 1971, IVM is a leading environmental research institute that is internationally recognised for its high-quality research output in a range of environmental disciplines, as well as for its interdisciplinary work. The mission of the institute is to contribute to sustainable development and care for the environment through scientific research and teaching. IVM aims to do excellent problem-oriented research that is useful to a wide range of stakeholders in the Netherlands and internationally. A unique strength of our research is to understand sustainability problems in their social and economic context. IVM’s research community works within four departments: Environmental Economics; Environmental Geography,

Environmental Policy Analysis; and Water and Climate Risk. Since 2001 IVM has been part of the Faculty of Science at VU Amsterdam (legal name Stichting VU).

The PD position is situated in the department of Water and Climate Risk (WCR), and will strongly collaborate with the department of Environmental Economics (EE). The WCR department studies hydrological and climate processes, and how these processes lead to risks and opportunities for society, the economy, and the environment. A defining characteristic of the department is a multi-disciplinary approach that combines expertise from natural sciences with knowledge from the fields of economics, e-Science and geography. This approach has led to a unique research portfolio of water and climate risk projects, and the department is a global leading institute in flood and drought risk assessment, and risk management research. The EE department leads the institute’s efforts in improving insights into the interaction between the environment and the economy. The department is one of the main groups of environmental economists in Europe. Important fields of application in climate change research include natural disaster insurance, cost-benefit analysis of climate change adaptation policies, and individual behaviour under climate risk.

Faculty of Science
Researchers and students at VU Amsterdam’s Faculty of Science tackle fundamental and complex scientific problems to help pave the way for a sustainable and healthy future. From forest fires to big data, from obesity to malnutrition, and from molecules to the moon: we cover the full spectrum of the natural sciences. Our teaching and research have a strong experimentally technical, computational and interdisciplinary nature.

We work on new solutions guided by value-driven, interdisciplinary methodologies. We are committed to research, valorisation and training socially engaged citizens of the world who will make valuable contributions to a sustainable, healthy future.

Are you interested in joining the Faculty of Science? You will join undergraduate students, PhD candidates and researchers at the biggest sciences faculty in the Netherlands. You will combine a professional focus with a broad view of the world. We are proud of our collegial working climate, characterised by committed staff, a pragmatic attitude and engagement in the larger whole. The faculty is home to over 11,000 students enrolled in 40 study programmes. It employs over 1,600 professionals spread across 10 academic departments.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely – a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research. Learn more about our codes of conduct

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility. Over 5,500 staff work at the VU and over 30,000 students attend academic education.

Diversity
Diversity is the driving force of the VU. The VU wants to be accessible and receptive to diversity in disciplines, cultures, ideas, nationalities, beliefs, preferences and worldviews. We believe that trust, respect, interest and differences lead to new insights and innovation, to sharpness and clarity, to excellence and a broader understanding.

We stand for an inclusive community and believe that diversity and internationalisation contribute to the quality of education, research and our services.

Therefore, we are always searching for people whose backgrounds and experience contribute to the diversity of the VU community.