PhD Environmental Risks & Societal Benefits of Upscaling Offshore Wind Farms

Over the next decades, the use of the North Sea (our human footprint) will dramatically increase to accommodate large-scale implementation of renewable energy platforms, such as offshore wind farms (OWFs). While providing a sustainable source of energy, OWFs and associated activities will exert pressures on the North Sea that cause ecological changes - some may be unwanted while others may provide societal benefits. You will contribute knowledge needed by decisionmakers to plan the future ecological and economic sustainability of the North Sea in light of i) multiple pressures from different sectors, ii) the need for conservation (marine protected areas) and restoration, and iii) projected impacts of climate change.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Advancing knowledge on the cumulative ecological impacts of pressures on the North Sea, including the upscaling of offshore wind energy.
• Employing natural capital frameworks to translate ecological to socio-economic impacts.
• Evaluating how risk assessments and ecosystem service valuation can contribute to science advice on the sustainable use of the marine environment through ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning.
• Developing ways to make this advice climate-proof and identify climate-ready solutions.
• Contributing to the synthesis of natural and social science products stemming from the NWO NO-REGRETS program.

You will work here
This research is part of the multidisciplinary NO-REGRETS Project, funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). In total, 14 Dutch organizations collaborate within NO-REGRETS including 6 research institutes and 8 universities. The project also includes industry, government, and NGO Cooperation Partners. This is one of 12 PhD positions funded in the program and is a collaboration between Wageningen Marine Research (WMR), the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), and Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

You will be matriculated at WUR as part of the Marine Animal Ecology group with the project Scientific Coordinator Prof. Myron Peck (‪Myron Peck - ‪Google Scholar) but integrated within the group of dr.ir. GJ (Gerjan) Piet at WMR in Den Helder. You will also actively collaborate with Dr. Patrick Bogaart at CBS in The Hague. There is flexibility in the primary location of the position.

About the project:
NO-REGRETS is a 5.5-year, multi-disciplinary research program co-designed with stakeholders to understand the ecological and economic tradeoffs of upscaling offshore wind farms (OWFs) in light of climate change and in relation to the ongoing food and nature transitions in the North Sea. A “whole-ecosystem” approach is used by examining physical and biogeochemical processes, suspended sediments, plankton, fish, seabed composition, seafloor organisms, marine mammals, and sea birds. Oceanographic research cruises, satellite remote sensing and ecosystem modelling will advance knowledge needed for testing of ecological hypotheses, performing bioeconomic analyses, and informing science-based policymaking.

• You have a strong passion for working across disciplines within a broad, diverse, (inter)national network.
• You are able to work independently but enjoy collaborating in groups.
• You have strong written and oral communication skills.

You also possess:

• A successfully completed MSc degree in natural sciences or an interdisciplinary program;
• Knowledge of marine ecosystems, preferably the North Sea or related systems;
• Knowledge of the human pressures impacting marine biodiversity;
• A familiarity with the concepts involving ecosystem services and their contribution to human wellbeing (e.g. IPBES and SEEA);
• Strong quantitative skills and ability to work with large (geospatial) data sets. Experience with GIS software and fluency in Python or R is needed.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognized Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.

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

• Partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• 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 receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.
The gross salary for the first year is € 3.059,- per month rising to € 3.881,- in the fourth year according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

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

You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment.

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.

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.

Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands 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. We can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.