The department of Environmental Sciences is seeking an enthusiastic and ambitious scientist who is experienced in teaching and research in environmental sciences. You have a strong background in natural sciences and (extensive) teaching experience with different working methods (such as interactive learning, blended learning, students’ team supervision). The successful candidate has proven experience in modelling socio-environmental systems and is interested in quantifying environmental system dynamics by scenario analysis, modelling or (open) data analysis. The modelling may relate to a variety of environmental topics, e.g. earth systems dynamics, water-energy-food nexus, SDG metrics analysis, biodiversity, land-use, life cycle assessment or climate change. Good command of modelling techniques is a must, especially spatially explicit modelling and open access data analysis. Affinity with the socio-economic dimensions of environmental issues is desirabl
Tasks
The successful applicant will be joining the Department of Environmental Sciences at the OU.
The following tasks are foreseen:

• Teaching courses on natural sciences embedded in the departments’ BSc and MSc programmes on Environmental Sciences
• Supervise BSc, MSc and PhD-thesis students.
• Contributing to the further development of a research line, fitting within the research programme of the Faculty (Learning and Innovation in Resilient Systems), acquire funding and publish the results in scientific journals.
• Contribute to management activities

• Ph.D.-degree in environmental sciences or a related field.
• A solid background in natural sciences, e.g. in earth sciences, biology, chemistry and/or physics.
• Knowledge of and experience with common program languages such as R, Python, SQL and/or Matlab.
• Affinity with Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
• Experience with and talent for academic technology-enhanced learning;
• You are in the possession of, or are prepared to obtain, the University Teaching Qualification (in Dutch: BKO).
• You have scientific creativity and productivity, evidenced by various publications, demonstrable experience in acquiring external funding and societal impact.
• You have the ability to work in a multidisciplinary team and with stakeholders.
• Excellent command of spoken and written academic-level English, demonstrable with previously published English-language academic materials
• Fluent in speaking and writing Dutch.
• Excellent report writing and presentation skills.
• Good time management and organisational skills.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years with the perspective of a permanent position.

The salary will be determined on the basis of your education, experience and qualifications but will be in accordance with the general salary scales 11/12 of the CLA-NU. An indication of the maximum gross salary is
€ 5.826,= per month based on a full-time tenure.

The OU provides good secondary benefits such as training, mobility, part-time employment and paid parental leave.

The Open Universiteit

Studying anywhere in the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders)
The Open Universiteit (OU) is the university in the Netherlands where students study part-time and follow online and activating education in bachelor and master degree programmes in seven fields of study. Characteristics of the education are openness, flexibility and quality. Enhancing the study success of students is an important point of focus. More than 15.000 students are studying at the OU and it has nearly 700 employees. The OU has a network of regional study centres in the Netherlands and in Belgium (Flanders) (https://www.ou.nl/studiecentra). The head office is situated in Heerlen.
State-of-the-art technologies and educational insights are applied in bachelor and master programmes and courses as well as in projects and programmes with partners. Both nationally and internationally the OU plays a key role in the innovation of higher education. Education and research are closely interrelated which guarantees that the current state of science is applied in education. The OU invests in research in the various academic disciplines, as well as in research in the field of learning, teaching and technology.

Top rankings
For several consecutive years, the OU has achieved top positions in the lists of the fourteen Dutch universities in the National Students’ Survey, the Dutch university guide ‘Keuzegids Universiteiten’ (in which the ratings by students and experts of the bachelor studies of the fourteen universities are compared), and the Dutch university guide ‘Keuzegids Masters’. In addition all studies rank highly in the study-specific rankings of the universities. All ratings are available on the website (https://www.ou.nl/rankings).

Faculty of Science

The faculty of Science is one of the six faculties of the Open University of the Netherlands. Education, research and valorisation are the main tasks of the faculty. The faculty offers academic bachelor and master programmes in the fields of environmental science and computer science. The faculty has a large number of PhD-students who conduct research on various current topics within this research program.
At the faculty of Science students can immediately reflect on what they learn in the light of their work situation. The organisations where they work are often involved and here assignments can be performed and research can be conducted as part of the bachelor or master program they study. As a result of the interdisciplinary focus on education and research, as well as the connection with business, scientific work at this faculty provides innovative and challenging opportunities.