We now seek to strengthen our team with additional expertise on soil nutrient management. The successful candidate will focus on the role of soil biota in nutrient mineralisation and the role of soil fertility. The successful candidate will significantly contribute to two important courses in the education portfolio of the Soil Biology Group; 1. Nutrient Management and 2. Functional Agricultural Resource Management. In addition the lecturer will support the education portfolio of the Soil Biology Group by contributing to thesis projects on the topic of nutrient management.

The portfolio for this position will be split into four key areas;

1. Education - the lecturer will contribute 60% of his/her time to teaching with a focus on soil nutrient management.
2. Externally funded research - the post-doc will join existing research projects for 30% of his/her time, focussed on the role of soil nutrient management.
3. Contribute to the Soil Biology Group discussions and activities (10%).

Applicants for this lecturer position should hold a PhD in soil biogeochemistry, soil science, soil ecology and/or agronomy, with a strong soil-related background, experience related to nutrient management, with experience in statistical methods and modelling of nutrient cycles. Applicants should have a strong interest in teaching and educational developments and be able to collaborate at a multi-disciplinary level, within the team as well as internationally. Excellent communication and writing skills in English are considered important assets. For further details on the essential/desired requirements of candidates, please see the table below. Applicants are kindly asked to refer to these requirements in their application.

Applicant requirements Requirement Essential Preferred Academic qualifications PhD in soil biogeochemistry, soil science, soil ecology, agronomy. More than two years experience as a lecturer or equivalent function.

Basic teaching qualification for BSc and MSc level.
Knowledge Show a thorough knowledge (practical, theoretical and contextual) of;
soil nutrient management, soil nutrient stochiometry, and soil ecology. With strong knowledge on soil agronomic management practices and the role of nutrient management in a range of agricultural systems.

Knowledge on soil nutrient models, both mechanistic and flux models.
Skills Demonstrate active, effective, and efficient learning methods for education and provide examples of developed learning materials.

Experience in supervision of students, both individually and in groups.

Experience in modelling of soil nutrient dynamics.

Ability to communicate research outcomes succinctly to a variety of non-scientific audiences; applicants are invited to provide examples;

Proven scientific writing and presentation skills. Applicants are invited to provide examples of their papers;

Assessment of student development and learning outcomes.

Knowledge on education didactics and evaluation criteria.

Showing application of use of mechanistic soil nutrient models.

Laboratory skills
Stable isotope applications, Nitrogen and Phosphorus cycling, soil biological methods.

We offer a challenging position of 5 years with potential to enter tenure track after 5 years. Salary, depending on your experience, from a minimum of € 3.637 to a maximum of € 4.406 for a full working week of 38 hours in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement Dutch Universities.

In addition, we offer:

• 8% holiday allowance;
• a structural year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent training opportunities and secondary employment conditions;
• flexible working hours and holidays can possibly be determined in consultation so that an optimal balance between work and private life is possible;
• excellent pension plan through ABP;
• 232 vacation hours, the option to purchase extra and good supplementary leave schemes;
• a flexible working time: the possibility to work a maximum of 2 hours per week extra and thereby to build up extra leave;
• a choice model to put together part of your employment conditions yourself, such as a bicycle plan;
• a lively workplace where you can easily make contacts and where many activities take place on the Wageningen Campus. A place where education, research and business are represented;

Wageningen University & Research stimulates internal career opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are ample opportunities for own initiative in a learning environment.

We offer a versatile job in an international environment with varied activities in a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

Wageningen University & Research

Wageningen University & Research
The mission of our University is to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life. Within Wageningen University & Research, nine specialised research institutes from the Wageningen Research Foundation and Wageningen University have joined forces to help answer the most important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With approximately 30 locations, 5,000 employees, and 10,000 students, it is one of the leading organisations in its domain worldwide. An integrated approach to problems and the cooperation between various disciplines are at the heart of the unique approach of Wageningen.

The Soil Biology group integrates knowledge on soil biota across a range of scales from the microbe to the globe. Our mission is to use soil processes driven by soil biota to develop and maintain sustainable agro-ecosystems. We have four core themes in which we focus our research:

1. The role of soil biota in nutrient cycling to enhance plant soil interactions and associated ecosystem services;
2. The species richness and community composition of soil biota coupled with soil functions (nutrient provision, carbon management, pest and disease resilience and resistance, water regulation and purification) in (agro)ecosystems;
3. How soil and land management can enhance soil health and the beneficial soil functions provided by soil biota;
4. The effects of climate change on soil life, and the controls that soil life exerts on greenhouse gas emissions from the soil.

Our multi-disciplinary team includes expertise in soil organic matter and nutrient dynamics, soil communities and biological processes, plant-soil interactions and feedbacks, trait-based ecology of soil biota, soil biological indicators and biofunctionality of carbon. The Soil Biology Group is supported by four laboratories, including; a soil biology lab, microscopy lab, microbiology lab and molecular ecology lab. We also work in close collaboration with soil chemistry laboratories and with a soil physics lab.