Chemicals are essential for human well-being, high living standards and comfort of modern society. However, the production and use of chemicals can harm the environment. As a PhD Candidate, your research will focus on the development, support, and implementation of a methodology to determine the sustainability profile of chemicals.

The EU's Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability calls for a Safe and Sustainable by Design approach (SSbD) for chemicals. The SSbD concept is expected to facilitate the industrial transition towards a safe, zero pollution, climate-neutral and resource-efficient economy. Overall sustainability should be ensured by minimising the environmental footprint of chemicals. This requires a methodology that allows us to determine the sustainability of chemical production and use processes. The proposed methodology (i) must be applicable during the design phase of substances, materials, processes and products, (ii) must be applicable to existing chemicals and proposed substitutes; and (iii) should support the integration of life cycle assessment and risk assessment. The education task for this position may be up to 10% of your appointment.

• You hold an MSc in one of the environmental, natural or engineering sciences, in which you preferably also have acquired knowledge of life cycle assessment and chemical risk assessment.
• You have analytical modelling skills, motivation, and good communication skills. You especially have a good command of oral and written English.
• Experience with environmental modelling is preferred.

Fixed-term contract: you will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract).

• Employment for 1.0 FTE.
• The gross starting salary amounts to €2,443 per month based on a 38-hour working week, and will increase to €3,122 in the fourth year (salary scale P).
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and  8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will be employed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract).
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services. Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment  and help your family settle in Nijmegen.

Additional employment conditions
Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

Due to the joint nature of this project you will spend equal parts of your PhD at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands (first and fourth years) and the EU Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, Italy (second and third years)

The main focus of the Environmental Science Group at the Faculty of Science is on quantifying, understanding and predicting human impacts on the environment. In our research we cover multiple pressures, species and spatial scales, searching for overarching principles that can ultimately be applied to better underpin environmental management and biodiversity conservation.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission's Science and Knowledge service which employs scientists to carry out research in order to provide independent scientific advice and support to EU policy. The focus of the Sustainable Resources, Bio-Economy Unit (located in Ispra, Italy), is to provide scientific support to EU policies related to the bio-economy such as the sustainable production and use of biological resources and the conversion to value added products, such as food, feed, bioenergy and bio-based products, including life cycle assessment and environmental footprint.

Additional information: During your second and third years you will work at - and be employed by - JRC. Please note that during this period JRC's employment conditions will apply. At JRC, you will be offered a contract as a Grant Holder 20, which is the grant for PhD students working for the European Commission.