Are you keen to contribute to improving the quality of fresh vegetables, fruits and flowers? Is enhancing the taste and nutritional value of fresh vegetables and fruits an important challenge for you? Do you like to teach students? Do you want to study the quality at harvest and post-harvest of horticultural products grown in controlled environment agriculture? Then this position could be a perfect fit for you!
At the Horticulture and Product Physiology chair group, we study crops in controlled environment agriculture (greenhouses and vertical farms). It is our aim to understand the influence of environmental factors during cultivation that determine growth, yield, and product quality at harvest and postharvest. Especially this quality is essential for the success of horticultural production. We consider the development of quality as a continuous process from pre-harvest to postharvest. We identify the physiological, molecular and genetic processes that contribute to the quality of horticultural products.

The chair group Horticulture and Product Physiology of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is currently seeking an Assistant Professor (0.8-1.0 fte) interested in identifying, studying and engineering the mechanisms controlling quality at harvest and postharvest in crop plant species grown in controlled environment agriculture.

The ideal candidate will be a plant biologist who has expertise in one or more of the following topics:
postharvest, plant physiology, phenotyping, and/or computational biology.
Ideal candidates should be intellectually curious, highly productive, driven to uncover new and impactful biology and, and enjoy working in a committed and diverse team. As an assistant professor, you will join a vibrant group of plant and crops physiologists, postharvest scientists, and simulation modelers in which you will have the opportunity to establish your research and education on quality at harvest and postharvest of plant products grown in controlled environment agriculture.

In this challenging career trajectory:

• You will collaborate with colleagues and establish a personal research portfolio that is embedded in the Horticulture and Product Physiology group
• You will perform physiological research on quality at harvest and postharvest of horticultural products (vegetables, fruits, cut flowers, and/or pot plants) produced in controlled environment agriculture.
• Together with the chair holder and other staff members, you will acquire, lead, and implement innovative and creative (inter-)national research projects for our group.
• You will supervise BSc, MSc, and PhD students. You will also develop and teach courses (lectures, practicals) about the quality of horticultural products.
• You will undertake research that leads to high quality research output.
• Your research contributes to improving the quality and sustainability of horticultural products.

Tenure Track is a career path for scientists who pursue to excel in education and research. We seek to attract scientific talent and to stimulate and support their development.

• You hold a PhD degree in plant physiology, plant science, or a related field
• You have experience in research in one or more of the following topics: plant product quality, postharvest, plant physiology, phenotyping, and/or computational biology
• You have published research in high-quality journals and are willing to develop your skills in teaching and grant proposal acquisition
• You are intellectually curious
• You are good at communication and enjoy connecting and collaborating and enjoy working in a committed and diverse 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 ABP pension regulations.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will be offered a fixed-term, 7 year contract which, upon positive evaluation based on criteria elaborated in the University's Tenure Track policy, can lead to a permanent employment contract as professor. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive salary of between € 3.821,-- and € 5.230,-- (assistant professor position)for a full-time working week of 38 hours in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 11). The position can be part-time or fulltime (0.8-1.0 fte).

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 and for managerial positions actively work towards a specific WUR leadership profile. We are offering a unique 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 17th 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

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.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch this video to get an idea of our green campus!

Chair group Horticulture & Product Physiology
The chair group Horticulture and Product Physiology conducts high impact research and educates students providing the scientific basis required to answer questions that are of utmost importance for sustainable crop production and product quality in horticulture.

The research focus is on how physiological processes in crops, plants and plant organs interact with the abiotic environment and how this affects crop production and product quality of crops grown in controlled environment agriculture. Questions arising from horticultural practice are translated into fundamental research topics, aiming to explain mechanisms. The research and education contribute to sustainably feeding the World with healthy and high-quality products.

The chair group is an international team consisting of 18 permanent staff members, about 25 PhD candidates and postdocs and a number of guest researchers. Each year about 40 MSc students conduct their thesis study (a 6-month research) at our group. We organize and participate in a variety of courses for BSc and MSc students to transfer knowledge on horticulture (pre- and post-harvest), environmental physiology and product quality.

More info about the chair group can be found at www.hpp.wur.nl or see the video

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.