You will work on a NWO-NSFC project about urban housing of migrants in the Netherlands and China. This is a collaboration project between Utrecht University, Wageningen University, three Chinese universities and societal partners in the two countries. The main aim of this project is to improve the social integration of migrants in China and the Netherlands by gaining a better understanding of the impact of social housing programmes and market forces on the urban housing of different migrant groups, and by assessing the impact of innovative social housing programmes on the social integration of migrants.
Your main tasks will be to investigate urban housing conditions and problems of different migrant groups in the Netherlands. You will analyze existing datasets to examine the driving forces underlying the housing outcomes. Also, you will analyze housing support programmes and policies for migrants and conduct quantitative and qualitative field research in Dutch cities to understand their practical outcomes. Besides, you will stay a few months in China for knowledge exchange and collaboration with Chinese partner universities of the project. You will have to be proactive in finding and analyzing empirical sources. Moreover, you will write scientific articles, participate in workshops, conferences and attend relevant courses (e.g. on research design, research methods and writing scientific texts in English), and complete a PhD dissertation within four years.

Your tasks include:

• developing the project proposal on the basis of academic literature;
• designing research instruments such as questionnaires and interview guidelines, and gathering information using these instruments;
• analyzing the data you gather yourself (interviews, surveys, policy documents) as well as secondary data;
• writing articles for academic (English) and practical (Dutch) purposes;
• giving presentations at Dutch and international conferences;
• teaching duties within the Department of Human Geography (max. 0.1 FTE/year).

• a (Research) Master's degree (completed or near completion) in human geography, planning, social sciences or a related field;
• knowledge of and affinity with migration and/or housing issues;
• research experience in quantitative (e.g. statistical analysis, regression model) and qualitative methods (e.g. document analysis, in-depth interviews);
• competence in writing academic papers (evident from your individual Bachelor's thesis, Master's thesis and/or other publications);
• an excellent command of written and spoken Dutch and English;
• the ability to make independent decisions, and develop, implement and complete plans satisfactorily within the framework of the project and the given time frame;
• affinity with working in an international setting;
• a proactive attitude;
• strong social and communicative skills.

We offer a temporary position (1.0 FTE), initially for one year, with extension to a total of four years upon successful assessment in the first year, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period. The gross salary ranges between €2,325 in the first year and €2,972 in the fourth year (scale P according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) per month for a full-time employment. Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year. In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including the choice for a good balance between work and private (a good arrangement for leave, among other things), an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). More information about working at Utrecht University can be found here.

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major societal themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Sustainability.

Utrecht University's Faculty of Geosciences studies the Earth: from the Earth's core to its surface, including man's spatial and material utilisation of the Earth - always with a focus on sustainability and innovation. With 3,400 students (BSc and MSc) and 720 staff, the Faculty is a strong and challenging organisation. The Faculty of Geosciences is organised in four Departments: Earth Sciences, Human Geography & Spatial Planning, Physical Geography, and Sustainable Development.

The Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning has its focus on the enhancement of long-term economic developments of cities, how to cope with social inequalities, and how to accelerate sustainability transitions of cities and infrastructures. Research on these topics takes place within our research programme “Urban Futures: Transitions Towards Economic and Social Sustainability for Cities”.

Our research programme is the basis for our Research Master's Human Geography and Geographical Information Management and Applications and Professional Master's in Spatial Planning, Human Geography and International Development Studies. The Department also runs a large and highly appreciated Bachelor's programme and is part of the Netherlands Graduate School of Urban and Regional Research for PhD candidates. Unique characteristics of the department are a special team focusing on innovations within teaching methods, its strong involvement in the transdisciplinary sustainability research theme and professional consultancy for public partners.