Are you an ambitious researcher who wants to investigate how an improved spatial layout of the Dutch countryside can contribute to environmental quality and wellbeing? Do you like to contribute to the debate about how to go about with all the competing claims for space and how to organize our scarce green space in a more sustainable manner? Then this could be the ideal research position for you!

We are hiring a Postdoc to investigate how environmental quality can be improved by a reorganization of the land use pattern of the Netherlands. Can, for example, an alternative spatial arrangement resolve the nitrogen crisis? And can it combat drought problems, mitigate flood risk, free-up space for the energy transition and secure a pleasant countryside at the same time? Next to a semi-quantitative assessment of the response of several ecosystem services to such reorganization, you will also look into the planning dimension of reorganizing land use. Which directions and degrees of reorganization are acceptable, feasible, fair and legitimate?

You will be appointed at the Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning (LSP) group at Wageningen University. This group hosts an interdisciplinary team of postdocs and PhD students, who all work on a range of related topics, including circular agriculture and the energy transition. Next to your research activities you will supervise BSc and MSc theses and contribute on a regular basis to our studio courses. Furthermore, you will be closely collaborating with scientists from Wageningen Environmental Research. Do you want to know more about our work at the Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning (LSP) group? Check out our page with news, recent publications and projects.

• A PhD in a relevant field (e.g. Land Use Change, Spatial Planning, Environmental Economics);
• Affinity with both the governance and the physical dimension of landscapes;
• Demonstrated experience with GIS;
• Very good English communicative and writing skills;
• Experience with spatial simulation models (e.g. agent-based modelling) is a plus;
• Knowledge of the Dutch countryside as well as being able to speak Dutch is considered an asset;
• A collegial attitude and a clear willingness to collaborate in an interdisciplinary team.

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

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• 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 December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, we offer a challenging position for 2 years with, depending on your experience, a competitive salary from a minimum of € 3353 to a maximum of € 5127 based on a full-time appointment in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 10-11).

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering an outstanding position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere. You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the "Best University" in the Netherlands for the 16th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
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. Applicants from abroad moving to the Netherlands may qualify for a special tax relief, known as the 30% ruling. 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. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling, and other issues.

Wageningen University & Research

Our mission is "To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life". Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to find solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 6.500 employees and 12.500 students, WUR is one of the leading organisations in its domain. A coordinated approach to problems and the cooperation between various fields are at the heart of Wageningen's outstanding approach.

WUR has been named Best Employer in the Education category for 2019-2020. These are the points our employees list as good reasons to come work at WUR.