Assistant Professor Governance of Sustainability Transformations

Wageningen is looking for an Assistant Professor Governance of Sustainability Transformations
Are you ready for the start of your academic career? Do you want to become part of an enthusiastic group of colleagues, who seek to push the boundaries of knowledge on sustainability governance and teach in the highest graded educational programs in the Netherlands? Do you have the right skills to do cutting-edge research in an interdisciplinary setting and convey your findings in an inspiring way to our students? Are you looking for the right environment to build up your own research line? Then apply for an Assistant Professor position “Governance of Sustainability Transformations” at the Public Administration and Policy Group in Wageningen.

Background: complex sustainability challenges
The world is facing multiple interconnected sustainability crises (e.g. climate, energy, food, poverty, etc). It is becoming increasingly clear that our collective efforts to understand and address the problems is not functioning well, creating a “governance crisis”. The challenges that those who govern - be they from the public, private or civil society sectors - face are indeed increasingly daunting. Our understanding of these challenges is growing but reveals ever more complex interactions in social-ecological systems, and therefore provides an ever-changing basis for action, whilst efforts at governance are increasingly under scrutiny and being contested. Problem perceptions are highly divergent, politically charged and increasingly hard to reconcile. Many problems require action across jurisdictional scales (from the local to the global). But agreement of who acts, who acts when and at what level, is elusive, and the types of interventions required hotly contested. In this context, a deeper understanding of whether, when and how governance systems can address the necessary sustainability transformations, is paramount.

We are seeking a talented academic with a proven track record in Sustainability Governance. We are looking for someone who is an enthusiastic team player and has a background and relevant networks in sustainability governance, and who enjoys teaching to students using the latest teaching methods. You will further develop your own research line as part of our research program “Changing governance, Governing change ”.

The program is aimed at developing new insights into the ways actors govern complex sustainability problems across scales, with an emphasis on state actors. Reflecting the international life science focus of Wageningen University, your research and teaching experience should be about issues such as food, agriculture, climate, biodiversity or water. You must be able to lecture to students with both a social or natural science background at Wageningen University, motivated to be involved in the co-supervision of our growing group of PhD students, and have demonstrated the potential to attract funding for instance from the prestigious sources (Dutch Research Council, European Union, or similar).
Tenure Track is a career path for hardworking scientists who pursue to excel in education and research. We seek to attract scientific talent and to stimulate and support their development.

Summarizing, we seek a candidate who has:

• a PhD-degree in the field of the relevant social sciences (for instance public administration, policy studies, organization studies, political science, science and technology studies, transitions management, etc.).
• an excellent understanding of relevant conceptual frameworks and theories around governance of sustainability transformations.  
• affinity and experience with sustainability issues in the domains of Wageningen University (food, agriculture, biodiversity, water and climate).
• a strong publication record in international refereed scientific journals.
• strong didactic and presentation skills and enthusiasm for teaching and working with (international) students in a broad range of educational programmes.
• an international scientific network.
• a demonstrated ability to acquire externally financed projects.
• good organization and management skills. 
• excellent skills in writing and lecturing in English (ability to speak Dutch is appreciated but not required).

Wageningen applies a Tenure Track system, that is both challenging and rewarding and which will eventually allow you to grow towards Associate Professor or Full Professor holding a Personal Chair. Training and coaching are provided, and interdisciplinary and international cooperation is stimulated. Your track record will determine whether you will be permitted into the tenure track system. For more information see here .

We offer you a temporary contract for 0,8 - 1,0 FTE for four years with a one-year trial period and a possibility of extension if/when the tenure track criteria are met. Gross salary for an Assistant Professor: from € 3.974,- to € 6.181,- per month, based on full time employment (38 hours a week) and dependent on expertise and experience.

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.
You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “Best University ” in the Netherlands for the 17th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees. Applicants from abroad moving to the Netherlands may qualify for a special tax relief , known as the 30% ruling. Our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling, and other issues.

For further information please contact Dr Tamara Metze (Research Coordinator, [email protected] ), Dr Robbert Biesbroek (Education Coordinator, [email protected] ), or Prof. Art Dewulf ([email protected] ).

Application
To apply, please upload your letter of motivation and a CV including a list of publications and references online via www.jobsat.wur.nl before September 18, 2022 (midnight CET). After a first screening, short listed candidates will be asked to write an assignment and will be interviewed (online or face-to-face depending on travel distances and the pandemic) at the end of September – beginning of October 2022. The intended starting date for the job is November 2022.

Equal opportunities
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) employs a large number of people with very different backgrounds and qualities, who inspire and motivate each other. We want every talent to feel at home in our organisation and be offered the same career opportunities. We therefore especially welcome applications from people who are underrepresented at WUR. For more information please go to our inclusivity page . A good example of how WUR deals with inclusiveness can be read on the page working at WUR with a functional impairment .

The Public Administration and Policy Group
The Public Administration and Policy Group is an enthusiastic, ambitious and rapidly growing group within the Department of Social Sciences of Wageningen University. We actively collaborate with neighbouring groups in the Wageningen Centre for Sustainability Governance, which employs more than 100 researchers and is at the forefront of global discussions. The WCSG was recently assessed and was found to do “excellent, impact-driven and ample research”, and to be “in an eminent position to meet the demand for innovation in governance related to sustainability issues”. Our group’s mission is to study the governance of wicked problems in the interrelated domains of water, climate, food, biodiversity and agriculture. In our work, we build on a diverse set of social science concepts and theories and apply a diverse range of methods that we use whenever suitable for the research questions at hand, without being completely wedded to one such perspective or method. We take an active interest in the role of the state in sustainability governance and actively seek to think through innovative governance arrangements. The group is impact oriented and aims to contribute to scientific progress, to societal debates, and to policy practices. More information on the group can be found on www.wageningenur.nl/pap .

Wageningen University & Research
The mission of Wageningen University and 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, 7.200 employees and 13.200 students, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. An integrated approach to problems and the cooperation between various disciplines are at the heart of Wageningen’s unique approach. WUR has been named Best Employer in the Education category for 2019-2020.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch this video 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.