Are you a talented researcher with experience in supporting private sector clients in policy change processes in low- and middle-income countries? Would you like to support private and public policymakers and NGOs in designing and evaluating interventions for improving smallholder farmer and worker livelihoods?

We are looking for a talented colleague with a market- and customer-oriented attitude and a great affinity for applied scientific research. Experience in designing and implementing impact evaluations of interventions in low- and middle-income countries is a must. You should have the capability and the ambition to further develop your project leading skills in that field. Your most important activities in doing so will be:

• working in project teams that vary in size and complexity. These may vary from about five colleagues at Wageningen Economic Research to larger teams consisting of researchers from different organisations and subcontractors. These could be from other organisational divisions such as Wageningen Plant Research but also international consortia;
• designing, implementing and leading projects in which clients are supported in the design and evaluation of development interventions. In these evaluations, both quantitative and qualitative research methods will be used;
• maintaining regular contact with your clients, whereby you proactively manage the relation to ensure that recommendations are relevant and actionable, whilst being evidence-based. Clients include private sector parties but also NGOs. Public sector clients include the European Commission (for instance Horizon Europe);
• contributing to the acquisition of new applied research projects based on your active network in agricultural development settings.

You will be working in the expertise group International Policy, one of seven expertise groups at Wageningen Economic Research. The International Policy group is committed to contributing to a more sustainable world by doing applied socio-economic research for food business, governments and NGOs. The group comprises a multidisciplinary and multinational team of micro and macro modelling experts and researchers in policy and impact analysis. The group is specialised in conducting impact evaluation research on tropical commodity value chains and supporting clients with recommendations on how to best design effective interventions.

To strengthen our team, we ask you to have:

• a completed academic degree in development, environmental or agricultural economics, development studies, sociology or anthropology. Plus, three to five years of applied research experience;
• highly developed analytical skills, experience with quantitative impact evaluation methods and data analysis, and knowledge of R and preferably survey design;
• experience with leading projects with public and private sector clients and NGOs in agricultural value chains, with project acquisition as a plus;
• excellent spoken and written communication skills in English and Dutch (French or Spanish is an advantage), including experience in presenting and publishing research results in dashboards and reports for private sector and NGOs;
• willingness to travel, within and outside Europe;
• For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. More information about this level can be found in the document Language level.

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;
• a contract for 29 hours per week (0.8FTE). Additionally, a fulltime contract can be discussed.

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 €3.391,- and €5.268,- for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research (scale 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 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

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!

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