Are you an enterprising and connecting team leader who wants to work on the most important themes of the moment, such as water and climate resilience? Are you able to continue to grow our team and put it on the map nationally and internationally? Be sure to read on!

The Water & Food (W&F) team develops innovations and strategies to address the challenges of water and food security and climate change worldwide. We provide core expertise to help governments, businesses, and NGOs with solutions in smart water management, freshwater ecology, water- and nutrient-efficient food-production systems, optimising water resources, water conservation methods, and evaluating security risks related to water and food to contribute to regional political stability.

As a team leader you will understand the topic and be externally visible. You will have strong acquisition power, and you and your team will contribute to the strategy (particularly acquisition) of the Environmental Sciences Group (ESG), especially the Sustainable Land Use and Sustainable Water Management programmes. As a team leader you will focus on the sustainable employability of the employees in the team. You will also be responsible for safeguarding the scientific quality, the relevance of the research, and the financial results of the team. You will promote the collaboration of researchers within the team, and you will be focused on collaboration with project leaders, other teams, relevant chair groups of Wageningen University and other groups (national and international). The team leader will take part in the Wageningen Environmental Research team leader meeting and will report to the ESG Director of Operations.

Over the years to come, the W&F team will focus on supplying high-quality products together and further expanding the portfolio on the national and international level within the strategic themes ("Water & nutrient security for food production", "Water & food in urbanising Deltas", and "Ecology of inland waters"). Furthermore, strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration, the further development of personal leadership, working on an optimal and future-proof mix of assignments and clients, strengthening the scientific knowledge base, and expanding the team in a balanced way with new colleagues on strategic themes and disciplines are also important points of attention. The team currently consists of 28 people.

• An inspiring connector with a coaching style of leadership who can connect people and ideas, based on a thorough understanding of the topic;
• Enterprising and customer/result oriented;
• Experience in team- and strategy building with experts from various disciplines;
• Someone with a talent for strategically responding to developments within the professional field and the market, both nationally and internationally;
• Has a clear vision about further expanding the portfolio on the national and international level within the strategic themes;
• Possessing at least five years of relevant experience in managing professionals and extensive research projects;
• Experienced in the integral (content, financial, and staff) management of a team
• Experienced in acquisition and its management;
• Someone with experience and interest in themes such as food security, water management, and sustainable agriculture, as well as the social impact and discussions about this, both from a national and international perspective;
• Someone with a good understanding of potential (inter)national clients within these themes. Having a strong network with clients in these themes would be an advantage;
• Academically trained and with thorough knowledge of a field relevant to this team;
• Able to communicate fluently in both Dutch and English.

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

• 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;
• sabbatical leave, study leave, and paid parental leave;
• 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 3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. We offer, depending on your experience, a competitive gross salary of between €4.369 and €6.602,- for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research (scale 13). Additionally, a contract for 32 hours is possible.

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 a multi-faceted position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

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

Wageningen University & Research
The mission of Wageningen University and 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, 6.800 employees and 12.900 students, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. An integrated approach to problems and the cooperation between various disciplines are at the heart of Wageningen's unique 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: read the 5 reasons to come work at WUR

Wageningen Environmental Research is the research institute for our green living environment. WEnR offers a combination of applied and academic research in a multitude of fields of expertise related to our living environment and its sustainable use, including water, nature, forest, environment, soil, landscape, climate, land use, and recreation. There is a clear focus on the applicability of this knowledge in practice. There are a total of 11 team leaders.

From a strong scientific basis, the Water & Food team works on sustainable solutions for improving food security in the world towards more sustainable agriculture, and healthy freshwater ecosystems. The team provides expertise to governments, non-governmental organisations, and private clients worldwide.

In the W&F team, scientific researchers work independently on joint projects, in the role of project leader or member, or on their own projects. They are responsible for the quality of the results, publish in scientifically referenced journals, acquire new national and international projects, and communicate with clients and fellow researchers from the field.