Do you have experience with innovative learning environments, such as living labs and workplaces, and are you good at designing hybrid learning environments together with lecturers? Are you at ease in an academic environment, and would you like to be part of a socially engaged team at Wageningen University & Research? If the answer is yes, read on!

About us
The Society Based Education (SBE) team of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) connects societal issues to the University's BSc and MSc programmes. The SBE team supports and inspires WUR lecturers to design their educational offerings in connection with society and in the context of hybrid learning environments.

It is WUR's ambition to allow students to learn in an authentic way as much as possible, so they can apply their academic knowledge in the Netherlands and abroad, and thereby contribute to finding solutions to current societal issues. Examples of these issues include the nitrogen crisis and climate problems in general, developing new breeding techniques in Tanzania, and developing a strategy for more agroforestry in the Netherlands. In these hybrid learning environments, students learn to look beyond the boundaries of their own disciplines, come into contact with their future occupational field, and develop complex social and personal skills, such as entrepreneurship and reflection. In this way, the acquisition of knowledge and skills related to societal problems is integrated as a foundational aspect of WUR study programmes. This requires a strong network of government agencies and public bodies, entrepreneurs, social organisations and educational and research institutions that understand the added value of collaborating with WUR students and lecturers. To this end, SBE maintains good contacts with various knowledge networks, living labs, individual clients and lecturers.

You will be working in a self-organising team working on the basis of agile principles, under the guidance of the manager of the Education Support Centre. The Education Support Centre is subsumed under the WUR Education & Student Affairs department.

What you will be doing
As educational advisor, you will be responsible for designing hybrid learning environments in which students, lecturers and organisations learn together. You are up to date with latest scientific developments in this field, and be able to translate this knowledge into practical tools and training programmes for WUR lecturers. In addition, you will support your colleagues, programme directors and policy staff members in deepening their knowledge of how to integrate real-life and authentic learning in academic educational practice. You will facilitate training programmes, offer advice and build a knowledge dossier on societally engaged academic education.

This position involves, among other things, the following tasks:

• Offering workshops for colleagues, lecturers, programme directors and policy makers
• Advising WUR lecturers
• Investigating opportunities within and beyond WUR for strengthening real-life learning within the University's curriculum
• Translating scientific knowledge in the field of educational innovation and socially engaged education into practical tools and operational knowledge.

An enthusiastic colleague with a passion for education and social developments in the field of life sciences and sustainable living environment. This requires the following characteristics and qualities:

• Professional experience with designing and/or working with living labs, hybrid learning environments and/or authentic learning
• Demonstrable work experience as educational expert or trainer
• An academic background and awareness of the various strategies for embedding socially engaged education, as well as knowledge of how to translate these insights into day-to-day practice
• Experience and affinity with facilitating training programmes
• Experience with project management and writing project proposals is considered an advantage
• Affinity with and interest in WUR themes, such as life sciences, social sciences, sustainable living environment, nutrition or related domains
• Ability to motivate people and excellent communicative and social skills (oral and written)
• A good command of the English language, orally and in writing (C2).

In addition to the above-mentioned characteristics and qualities, we are looking for a colleague for our team who has a proactive attitude, can work independently, and is perseverant when needed. We are looking for someone who can quickly switch gears, and knows how to be a good team player and strengthen the professional collaboration within our team.

Our preference goes to a candidate who is available in the short term.

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

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially 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 compensation / 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 pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary between € 3974,- and € 5439,- for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 11). It considers a contract of 0,8 FTE. Scaling depends on education and experience. In case of mutual agreement a fixed contract is aimed for after one year.

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 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, 7.200 employees and 13.200 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.