Assistant/Associate professor Consumer Science of Food Products

The Food Quality and Design (FQD) group, part of the Food Technology cluster at Wageningen University and Research (WUR), is looking for an ambitious Assistant/Associate Professor with expertise in qualitative consumer research methods to strengthen our research and teaching portfolio. Research and education in our team evolve around understanding the consumer and user when interacting with food products and services in the context of daily life household practices. The aim is to facilitate user representation in interdisciplinary teams working on development, quality and use of consumer products by gaining in-depth consumer insights.

The new colleague will set up and conduct research to understand contemporary consumer challenges. This requires research approaches that capture the complexity of consumers’ lived experiences and everyday practices. We therefore value qualitative consumer research using creative and participatory methods, such as visual methods, co-creation, and participatory design, to generate deep insights and develop impactful knowledge for societal challenges.

Moreover, you will teach courses in consumer usage behavior, consumer product interaction, and qualitative research methods at the undergraduate and graduate levels, supervise Bachelor, Master, and PhD students, and contribute to curriculum development.

We are looking for a collaborative candidate with a strong commitment to academic research, innovative teaching, and societal impact, who is eager to engage with colleagues across disciplines, with the research and education being performed in the framework of the food science and quality management research at FQD.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• you are expected to build your own research line within the research area described above;
• you are expected to actively seek research partners in The Netherlands and abroad, and create your own, recognizable field of expertise;
• you will contribute to the educational programme in consumer behavior, qualitative research methods, and related fields at undergraduate and graduate levels.

This position is part of the

at Wageningen University & Research. One of the 3 career paths is the Professor Career Path. The aim of this ACF is to achieve a new balance in recognizing and valuing academics where both team collaboration and the unique talent of individual scientists are seen, by creating more differentiation in career paths, putting the emphasis on the quality of work and less on quantitative results, doing justice to the individual qualities and ambitions of academics as much as to team performance, promoting all aspects of open science and encouraging high-quality leadership in the academy.

You will work here
The position will be at the “Food Quality and Design ” chair group, led by Prof. Vincenzo Fogliano and Prof. Kasper Hettinga . The mission of this chair group is to optimize food quality throughout the food chain by designing better foods to improve health and pleasure of the consumer and focus on the sustainability of food production systems.

In this challenging career trajectory:

• you acquire, lead and implement innovative and creative (inter-)national research projects in the Food Quality and Design group;
• you collaborate with colleagues and supervise PhD students, BSc and MSc theses;
• you (co-)develop and teach courses in the field of consumer research;
• you contribute to the further development of the Food Quality and Design group.