Postdoctoral Position in Food Science

Your function

The postdoc researcher will conduct research within the project emBrace, help developing effective and efficient coordination of collaborative work in the consortium, and contribute to publishing and disseminate project findings. The work will have a strong interdisciplinary character, combining participatory approaches and social learning dynamics with knowledge synthesis methods. Grounded in the Nature Futures framework, you will contribute to develop shared visions of desirable futures using participatory visioning workshops that foster human-nature connectedness, collaborative and inclusive governance, and interdependent social-ecological benefits in multifunctional protected areas across Europe.

Your duties

• you develop research to identify strategies to adaptively navigate the processes of integrating food systems in multifunctional protected areas, with an emphasis on the synergies and tradeoffs that emerge from the institutional, social, economic, and environmental dimensions of transformative change
• you engage in transdisciplinary empirical research in at least one of emBrace’s case studies, and conduct knowledge synthesis and integration processes
• you collaborate with the project partners towards making the case studies comparable
• you provide day-to-day assistance for the coordination of the project and facilitate collaboration with other researchers of the international emBrace project consortium
• you support project tasks and dissemination (including project meetings, conferences, deliverables)
• you publish high-impact, peer-reviewed research in international scientific journals.

Your profile

• you have a PhD in geography, or a social or environmental related discipline
• you have a track record of peer-reviewed publications as well as the ability to initiate and complete original research
• you have knowledge of the literature and demonstrable expertise in applying state-of-the-art socio-ecological systems analysis methods
• you have the ability to help coordinate teamwork, and conduct transdisciplinary work with local stakeholders.
• you have excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• you have excellent written and oral command of English. Proficiency in Spanish and French would be valuable.
• you are available to start around April 1st, 2025.

We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not fully meet all the requirements.

What do we offer?

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

• a salary of minimum € 3.378,00 (Scale 10) and maximum € 5.331,00 (Scale 10) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Researcher 4. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
• a position for at least 0.8 FTE. Your employment contract will initially last 1 year. Afterwards, the possibility of expansion exists.

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and regulations. Some examples:

• A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• contribution to commuting expenses
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package
• a wide range of sports facilities which staff may use at a modest charge

About us

Faculty of Science
Researchers and students at VU Amsterdam’s Faculty of Science tackle fundamental and complex scientific problems to help pave the way for a sustainable and healthy future. From forest fires to big data, from obesity to malnutrition, and from molecules to the moon: we cover the full spectrum of the natural sciences. Our teaching and research have a strong experimentally technical, computational and interdisciplinary nature.

We work on new solutions guided by value-driven, interdisciplinary methodologies. We are committed to research, valorisation and training socially engaged citizens of the world who will make valuable contributions to a sustainable, healthy future.

Are you interested in joining the Faculty of Science? You will join undergraduate students, PhD candidates and researchers at the biggest sciences faculty in the Netherlands. You will combine a professional focus with a broad view of the world. We are proud of our collegial working climate, characterised by committed staff, a pragmatic attitude and engagement in the larger whole. The faculty is home to over 11,000 students enrolled in 40 study programmes. It employs over 1,600 professionals spread across 10 academic departments.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely - a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research. Learn more about our codes of conduct

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility.  Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.

Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)
IVM is a leading environmental research institute that is internationally recognized 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 research community works within four departments: Environmental Economics; Environmental Policy Analysis; Environmental Geography; and Water and Climate Risk. IVM is part of the Faculty of Science at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (www.vu.nl /ivm ). This position is based within the Environmental Geography department. The Environmental Geography department conducts interdisciplinary research on the spatial aspects of environmental and social challenges and the solutions sustainable land use can provide to these.

Diversity
Diversity is the driving force of VU Amsterdam. VU wants to be accessible and receptive to diversity in disciplines, cultures, ideas, nationalities, beliefs, preferences and worldviews. We believe that trust, respect, interest and differences lead to new insights and innovation, to sharpness and clarity, to excellence and a broader understanding.

We stand for an inclusive community and believe that diversity and internationalisation contribute to the quality of education, research and our services.

Therefore, we are always searching for people whose backgrounds and experience contribute to the diversity of the VU community.

Interested

Are you interested in this position and do you believe that your experience will contribute to the further development of our university? In that case, we encourage you to submit your application.

Please submit a motivation letter and CV. In case you can provide in your motivation letter a link to your PhD thesis or published papers it is greatly appreciated. Submitting a diploma and a reference check are part of the application process; it is however not required to upload your diploma at this stage. Providing contact details of two potential references is required.

Applications received by e-mail will not be considered.

Acquisition in response to this advertisement is not appreciated.

Questions about the vacancy?

Mario Torralba