You will carry out greenhouse experiments with different organic amendments applied in plants, measure greenhouse gases, extract DNA/RNA from rhizosphere, roots and seeds, determine soil chemical analyses, extract metabolites from plants, run qPCR of Nitrogen cycle genes and prepare libraries of N cycle genes for next generation sequencing.

You should have a strong background in soil science, microbiology, microbial community ecology (fungi and bacteria), qPCR, library preparation, GHG measurements and calculations and nitrogen cycle. Knowledge of bioinformatics and statistics is welcome.

Fixed-term contract: 5.5 months.

What are we offering?

We offer an attractive position in a dynamic and international research team. The position is a temporary appointment for 5.5 months (1.0 FTE). The preferred starting date is 1 October 2024. Please see general information about the salary and benefits in the section below on Terms of employment.

Terms of employment
Depending on education and experience the minimum salary is €2,715.- and the maximum salary is €3,420.- gross per month for a full-time appointment (scale 6 cao Nederlandse Universiteiten/KNAW). This is exclusive of 8% vacation allowance, 8.3% year-end bonus, travel allowance, internet allowance, home working allowance and pension accrual with ABP.

The KNAW offers its staff an excellent package of secondary benefits. A package that meets the different needs of employees depending on their stage of life, lifestyle or career ambitions. For example, by working an extra two hours a week, it is possible to increase the number of days off from 29 to 41 days a year (with full-time employment).

For a complete overview of the terms of employment, please refer to the web page: werken bij de KNAW.

Applying for a Certificate of Good Conduct can be part of the employment procedure.

Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW)

The Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO) is a national research institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). NIOO performs leading ecological research on biodiversity, climate change and sustainable use of land and water, stimulates ecological research of the Netherlands and shares its ecological knowledge with society. Based on our core values, NIOO strives to be a collaborative, inclusive, innovative, impactful, and responsible organization.

Microbial Ecology

You will be appointed at the Department of Microbial Ecology of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) located in Wageningen. For detailed information on the Microbial Ecology Department, please visit our website https://nioo.knaw.nl/en/departments/microbial-ecology.