Postdoc on Historical and Future Transition Pathways to a Circular Society

Are you a social scientist or humanities scholar passionate about the transition to a sustainable, circular society? Join us as a postdoc in the NWO-funded project ACT! Accelerating the Circular Transition. A New Paradigm for Society (ACT!). You play a crucial role in synthesising data, creating actionable insights, and translating theoretical concepts into practical applications, combining historical and social sciences expertise.

Your job
ACT! addresses the urgent need to shift from a linear to a circular economy to tackle global challenges like resource scarcity, pollution, and climate change. By developing shared visions, advanced modelling tools, and coordinated pathways, the project integrates insights from science, policy, and practice to foster societal transitions. Structured into five interconnected work packages, it encompasses visioning futures, simulation modeling, pathway development, case studies, and impact integration.

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will identify and evaluate actionable pathways that enable stakeholders to make informed decisions that accelerate systemic change. You will develop and analyse transition pathways towards a circular society, integrating environmental, economic, and social dimensions. This involves using modelling tools, co-designing strategies with stakeholders, and assessing interventions to ensure they align with the project’s goals of sustainability, justice, and fairness. You work in close collaboration with different project areas, collaborating with teams focused on desirable futures, simulation tools, and real-world case studies. This leads to consistency across project outputs.

Your key responsibilities include:

• conducting research on historical and future transition pathways across multiple systems;
• exploring historical pathways and applying historical insights to contemporary challenges;
• co-designing and evaluating strategies for a circular society with stakeholders;
• preparing academic publications and contributing to project deliverables;
• engaging with stakeholders, including policymakers, businesses, and NGOs, to co-create and refine pathway analysis and possible interventions;
• presenting research findings at project meetings, workshops, and conferences;
• mentoring junior researchers and contributing to collaborative ACT! team efforts;
• contributing to Deep Transition Lab activities, and to the Social and Economic History Group within the faculty of Humanities.

• A fulltime position for 12 months, with an extension of up to 48 months in total after positive evaluation;
• a working week of 38 hours and a fulltime gross monthly salary of €4,537 (salary scale 11.0 under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. This includes schemes facilitating professional development, leave schemes and schemes for sports and cultural activities, as well as discounts on software and other IT products. We also offer access to additional employee benefits through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage our employees to continue to invest in their growth. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.

The Faculty of Humanities has around 7,000 students and 1,100 staff members. It comprises four knowledge domains: Philosophy and Religious Studies, History and Art History, Media and Culture Studies, and Languages, Literature and Communication. With its research and education in these fields, the Faculty aims to contribute to a better understanding of the Netherlands and Europe in a rapidly changing social and cultural context. The enthusiastic and committed colleagues and the excellent amenities in the historical city centre of Utrecht, where the faculty is located, contribute to an inspiring working environment.