The Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam invites applications for a postdoctoral researcher in European & Global Climate Governance at the department of Environmental Policy Analysis (EPA). The expected start date for the position is 1 April 2024, ending on 31 July 2026.

This position is supported by the NAVIGATOR project, “The EU Navigating Multilateral Cooperation”, a Horizon Europe project. The project’s main objective is to contribute to a revitalized system of multilateral governance that can strengthen a rules-based international system, thereby advancing the EU’s core values and interests. The project explores institutional variations on six policy issues – climate change, digitalisation, finance/tax, health, migration, and security – to identify what institutional mixes enable the EU to have an optimal impact on a given policy issue.

In the climate change work package (WP3), you will study issues including, but not limited to, the realisation of synergies among various climate-focused instruments and institutions; the accountability of the new complex multilateralism; the implications of the re-emerging geopolitical rivalry with Russia for European climate action, in particular in the energy-climate nexus; and the role of the EU act as an orchestrator of effective, fair and equitable climate action. The IVM lead is Professor Philipp Pattberg, who is responsible for the work package on climate change.

Your duties

• contribute to project tasks, milestones and deliverables, and contribute to project management, meetings and activities (e.g., workshop organisation)
• publish research results in international peer-reviewed journals
• contribute to the educational programmes at IVM, as well as supervision of Bachelor and Master students
• contribute to the administrative responsibilities of the department and to IVM-wide tasks

• a PhD in Political Science, International Relations, European Studies specializing in climate or environmental politics
• proven affiliation with climate, sustainability and the environment
• excellent proficiency and communication skills in English
• interdisciplinary research skills

A challenging position in a socially involved organisation. The starting salary will be in accordance with university regulations for academic personnel and amounts to € 4,036 per month during the first year with increases provisioned, based on a full-time employment. The job profile: is based on the university job ranking system and is vacant for at least 0.8 FTE.

The initial employment contract will affect a period of 1 year. After a satisfactory evaluation of the initial appointment, the contract will be extended to a duration of 16 months in total.
Additionally, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam offers excellent fringe benefits and various schemes and regulations to promote a good work/life balance, such as:

• a maximum of 41 days of annual leave based on full-time employment
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• solid pension scheme (ABP)
• contribution to commuting expenses
• optional model for designing a personalised benefits package

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

The ambition of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is clear: to contribute to a better world through outstanding education and ground-breaking research. We strive to be a university where personal development and commitment to society play a leading role. A university where people from different disciplines and backgrounds collaborate to achieve innovations and to generate new knowledge. Our teaching and research encompass the entire spectrum of academic endeavor – from the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences through to the life sciences and the medical sciences.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is home to more than 31,000 students. We employ over 5,000 individuals. The VU campus is easily accessible and located in the heart of Amsterdam’s Zuidas district, a truly inspiring environment for teaching and research.

Diversity
We are an inclusive university community. Diversity is one of our most important values. We believe that engaging in international activities and welcoming students and staff from a wide variety of backgrounds enhances the quality of our education and research. We are always looking for people who can enrich our world with their own unique perspectives and experiences.

The Faculty of Science
Working at the Faculty of Science means working together with students, PhD candidates and scientists who are focused on their discipline, yet also have a broad view of the world. We are proud of the collegial working environment within the faculty, which is characterised by an ambitious and pragmatic attitude with commitment to the bigger picture. At the Faculty of Science, scientists and students work on fundamental and complex social issues for a sustainable and healthy future. From forest fires to big data, from obesity to malnutrition, from genetics to pharmaceuticals and from molecules to the moon: our teaching and research cover the full breadth of the natural sciences. Scientific teaching and research is highly experimental, technical, computational and interdisciplinary in nature. This is why we collaborate extensively with leading research institutes and industry. The faculty has over 11,000 students studying across 40 educational programmes and employs over 1,600 staff spread over 10 scientific departments, making us the largest science faculty in the Netherlands.

Established in 1971, IVM is a leading environmental research institute that is internationally recognised for its high quality research output in a range of environmental disciplines, as well as for its interdisciplinary work. The mission of the institute is to contribute to sustainable development and care for the environment through scientific research and teaching. IVM aims to do excellent problem-oriented research that is useful to a wide range of stakeholders in the Netherlands and internationally. A unique strength of our research is to understand sustainability problems in their social and economic context. IVM’s research community works within four departments: Environmental Economics; Environmental Geography, Environmental Policy Analysis; and Water and Climate Risk. Since 2001 IVM has been part of the Faculty of Science at VU Amsterdam (legal name Stichting VU).

The department of Environmental Policy Analysis at IVM is a team of more than 25 researchers that was evaluated in the most recent international research quality review as “world leading” and as being “one of the highest profile academic research groups involved with sustainability governance from around the world”. We address questions related to institutional effectiveness and change, governance innovation and complexity as well as learning and adaptation. Empirically, we have a strong focus on water, climate change and biodiversity