Marine Ecologist

We are looking for a marine ecologist with a general interest in biodiversity, ecosystems and how they are affected by human activities in the context of an ecosystem based approach to management aimed at achieving environmental policy objectives. You are driven by curiosity about the interactions that take place in marine ecosystems and intend to contribute to the protection and sustainable use of the sea and marine wildlife. Supported by your ability to look at the bigger picture you will be operating on the science-policy interface or as part of interdisciplinary science projects. In this role you will connect different sources of information to get meaningful answers. You also naturally connect with others and you recognise the contribution of each team member to the project result.

Good writing skills are equally important. Currently we are looking for extra workforce on projects to do with cumulative impacts of human use on marine ecosystems. In the future this could be expanded to other projects as well. Should you be successful, you would contribute to a wide variety of data analyses and model-based research projects and will report and present research results to clients, at conferences, and publish in the scientific literature.

Your duties and responsibilities as a marine ecologist include:

• working on projects with cumulative effects on marine ecosystems. In the future this could be expanded to other projects as well;
• contribution to a wide variety of data analyses and model-based research projects;
• reporting and presenting research results to clients, attending conferences, and publishing scientific literature.

Team
Within Wageningen Marine Research (WMR) you will become part of a small team surrounded by motivated and driven colleagues with which you will collaborate regularly. Part of your job will be to ensure projects are effectively conducted from start to finish. You will work in a challenging and varied environment with the opportunity to contribute to essential research regarding preservation, protection and sustainability of our seas and marine wildlife. The culture within WMR is professional and engaging with many opportunities for personal development.

This vacancy is for the Den Helder location.

You are results-oriented, constructively critical yet realistic and able to deliver results under time pressure. In addition, you are a team player and have good communication skills, enabling you to achieve the right cooperation with colleagues and stakeholders. The ideal candidate has a PhD in a relevant field, experience in publishing scientific research, experience in project acquisition and project management. We are also open to talented candidates that can develop into the role of experienced researcher.

You also possess:

• a completed education at least at university level in a field relevant to this position and preferably a PhD in a relevant field;
• Preferably 2 years and ideally 5 to 10 years of work experience as an ecologist and project leader. The ideal candidate has experience working in a contract research organisation or other project organisation such as an engineering or consultancy firm;
• Previous experience and expertise in ecological assessments, for instance Environmental Impact Assessments, Passende Beoordelingen or related scientific research;
• affinity with and preferably expertise in biodiversity policy and laws, such as Natura 2000, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and Water Framework Directive;
• experience or education in quantitative spatial analysis (R, GIS). You do not need to be an expert yourself, but you need to be able to understand how these analysis work so you can interact with experts in our team;
• The drive to enjoy working on multiple projects simultaneously independently and as part of a team;
• Ability to attract new projects and funding;
• Willingness and ability to present results to clients, stakeholders and other researchers;
• open to travel for meetings and appointments in the Netherlands and abroad and the ability to begin in March 2026.

In our international working environment there is an increasing amount of communication in English. For this position it is about language level C1. If you do not yet have this level, we will of course help you and you can go to our language center Wageningen in'to Language

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

• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• a fixed year-end bonus of 8,3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. We offer, depending on your experience, a competitive gross salary of between € 3,399.- and € 6,228.- for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research (scale 10/11). Additionally, For this role a contract for 32 hours can be discussed. As for your contract, we initially offer a one-year contract that can be extended - if possible within (company) organizational circumstances - on good performance. Of course, we are happy to have a conversation with you if you have any questions about this.

Wageningen University & Research offers plenty of opportunities for growth and development, with a strong internal recruitment policy and excellent training programmes.

You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment. For 20 consecutive years, we have been voted the "best university" in the Netherlands! A place to be proud of.

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, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 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 the video below 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.