Senior Researcher / Acquisition Specialist in Agriculture and Energy

At ACRRES, we are looking for a Senior Researcher / Acquisition Specialist in Sustainable Energy in Agriculture — someone with vision, a strong network, and an entrepreneurial spirit who can help develop future-proof farming systems.

You will work at the intersection of agriculture, energy, and circularity. You understand both the language of farmers and researchers, feel at home in the world of the energy transition, and are able to translate research questions and practical opportunities into innovative research projects.

What will you do?
As a Senior Researcher / Acquisition Specialist , you will contribute to the development and application of smart energy solutions for farms — mainly in open-field cultivation, with some work in livestock and greenhouse farming.
Together with your colleagues, you will explore how farms can produce, store, and use their own energy. You will work on topics such as:

• Production, storage, and use of solar and wind energy, or energy from biomass on farms
• Energy management systems and grid balancing
• Hydrogen production and applications on farms
• Fossil-free feed and machinery

Your role
As a Senior Researcher / Acquisition Specialist, you are the content and connecting figure for sustainable energy in agriculture at ACRRES.

You will:

• Initiate and acquire medium to large research projects (e.g. B2B, EU, PPS, EIP, MOOI)
• Lead multidisciplinary project teams and ensure quality and results
• Build and maintain a strong network of companies, governments, and research partners
• Position ACRRES as a leading centre for sustainable energy in agriculture
• Contribute to team development and act as a cultural ambassador within ACRRES

Depending on your experience and preferences, you may also carry out practical research or supervise pilot projects yourself. Examples of relevant projects can be found under “About ACRRES.”

You are a curious and entrepreneurial researcher with a passion for sustainable farming and energy. You have strong communication skills, vision, and the ability to turn ideas into concrete projects.

You have:

• A background in agronomy, environmental technology, or related fields (for example an MSc or PhD, or equivalent professional experience)
• Solid experience in the agricultural sector or agri-business, and a clear interest in energy production within the agricultural sector
• Proven experience in project acquisition, grant writing, and/or project management
• A relevant network within agriculture and preferably also in the energy sector
• Strong communication skills and the ability to connect people
• A valid driver’s license (B)
• For this position, fluency in Dutch (C1/C2 level) is required. Job interviews will be conducted in Dutch.

About ACRRES
ACRRES is the practice centre for applied research on sustainable energy, biobased resources and circular agriculture. We are a collaboration between Wageningen Plant Research and Wageningen Livestock Research. Our team consists of 5–6 enthusiastic researchers, a technician, a communications officer, a project supporter and a group leader. We work in a hybrid way — from Lelystad, Wageningen Campus or other trial locations (Randwijk, Vredepeel, Valthermond). More about our mission and projects can be found at www.acrres.nl.

In the energy domain, ACRRES works on concrete practical projects with a high level of applicability (TRLs), together with companies, innovators and research institutes.
Examples of ACRRES projects relevant to this vacancy include:

• Switch – a joint facility of ACRRES and TNO in Lelystad, where solar and wind energy are linked to battery and hydrogen storage.
• HyUse (GroenvermogenNL) – ACRRES leads the agricultural use case on hydrogen use at farms, including the deployment of our own hydrogen forklift.
• Hydrogen forklift – project developing hydrogen use on the farm.
• PPS Energy & Agriculture – (completed) project focused on the future of fossil-free farms.

In addition, colleagues work on topics such as Agrivoltaics or anaerobic digestion in relation to the valorisation of grass into Graspapier.

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;
• 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 year-end 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 €4.045,- and €7.068,- for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research (scale 11-12). Scale 12 only applies if you bring an extensive network, proven experience in acquisition, and experience working in a project-based organization.

A secondment or part-time appointment can be discussed. As for your contract, we initially offer a one-year contract that can be extended - if possible within (company) organizational circumstances - on good performance. Of course, we are happy to have a conversation with you if you have any questions about this.

Wageningen University & Research offers plenty of opportunities for growth and development, with a strong internal recruitment policy and excellent training programmes.

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, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 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 the video below to get an idea of our green campus!

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