Are you interested in how is food provisioning organised and what are the implications for access to affordable and nutritious food? Do you have a PhD in development studies, political science, innovation studies, geography, sociology, or a related field? Then this may be the perfect opportunity for you!

The Knowledge Technology and Innovation group at Wageningen University and Research have an opportunity for an integrative researcher interested to unravel the multiple dimensions of the major societal challenge of ensuring access to nutritious, healthy, and affordable food for low-income groups in contexts plagued by scarcity and inequality. Our research gaze shifts attention to practices connecting production and consumption, in particular the role and performance of small and medium enterprises in this middle terrain. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the middle of agri-food chains perform important functions in arranging food access for vulnerable and low-income groups. They create, maintain, or transform connections between production and consumption, often by using scarce resources. Understanding their modus operandi creates space to explore sustainable and inclusive pathways for food provisioning.

The Knowledge Technology and Innovation group and its partner the International Centre for Frugal Innovation (ICFI) are looking for a post-doctoral researcher for an NWO-funded project titled “SMEs as driving force of inclusion and sustainability in global food provisioning”. The project contributes to the game changer ‘SMEs as accelerators of inclusion and sustainability in global food provisioning’ in the route ‘Sustainable production of safe and healthy food’ of the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA). The project aims to generate, and feed gained insights into forward-looking dialogues co-organized with partners in the Dutch and international policy landscape.

In this agenda-setting and exploratory project, you will collaborate with the co-leads of the game changer. Your task is to synthesize knowledge on multiple dimensions of food provisioning managed by SMEs, such as payments, logistics, governance, food conservation and losses. This synthesis aims to advance an interdisciplinary research agenda focusing on equitable inclusion of food producers and consumers. A second task is to develop case examples based on field work in Kenya and India, which are anchored in proven SME practices. These case examples aim to generate and share bottom-up know-how. The gathered insights will be used as inputs for forward-looking workshops. You will also play an organizational role in co-organizing these workshops together with societal partners.

You will be positioned at the Knowledge Technology and Innovation group and collaborate closely with ICFI.

• A doctorate degree (PhD) in development studies, political science, innovation studies, geography, sociology, or a related field.
• Proven experience with or in-depth knowledge of conducting systemic literature reviews.
• Proven experience conducting research in the Global South, and knowledge of Kenya and/or India is a plus.
• A creative and critical mind towards interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research.
• Ability to build a network within the domain of food and nutrition security and inclusive development.
• Ability to work independently and in a team; capacity to plan towards achieving deliverables.
• Willingness to travel for short periods to conduct field work.
• Demonstrated writing skills, including publications in international peer reviewed journals.
• Fluency in English, both verbal and written is essential.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.

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;
• 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 of between € 2960 and € 4670 for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 10).

We offer you an employment contract for 0.8 -1.0 FTE until the end of 2024. Starting date is as soon as possible.

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 18th 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.

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. For instance under the "30% rule", certain categories of international staff can receive tax exemption on approximately 30% of their gross salary.

Wageningen University & Research

Wageningen University & Research
The mission of Wageningen University & 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 (6,400 fte) and 13,200 students and over 150.000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

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.