Lecturer: Agroecology themes within the BSc of Plant Sciences

Your job

Are you passionate about fostering the shift towards sustainable food and farming systems? Do you aspire to guide the next generation of professionals on the transition to sustainable food and farming systems?

If so, we have an opportunity for you at the Farming Systems Ecology group (FSE) of Wageningen University & Research. We're currently looking for a Lecturer(0.5-1.0 FTE) with a focus on Agroecology within the BSc of Plant Sciences. In our group, we focus on the radical redesign of farming systems and foodscapes.

Our research is guided towards a vision of a world in which all actors are inspired, knowledgeable, and skilled to proactively and jointly develop foodscapes that are abundant and equitable by enhancing and benefitting from the natural capital of our communities and environments.

Within this context, our mission is to equip the actors in the food system with the keys to unlock, redesign and transition farming systems by analyzing, experiencing and learning from outstanding examples of farms and foodscapes around the world.

Our research and education programs are expanding rapidly, and MSc thesis projects and internships have doubled over the last five years and as of the coming academic year we will be expanding to BSc level education.

We now seek to strengthen our teaching team with one lecturer that can develop and teach agroecology modules and courses as well as supervise BSc theses and internships within the Plant Sciences Bachelors program at WUR. 

The successful candidate(s) will be responsible for:

• The development, teaching and coordinating of BSc level agroecology modules and course(s) within the BSC Plant Sciences Program, in close collaboration and alignment with colleagues in FSE and other chair groups;
• Primary supervision of 10-15 BSc students per year;
• Lead BSc thesis student groups;
• Support the wider education portfolio of the group (for example prepared to supervise MSc students and/or contribute to MSc level courses;
• Contribute to other educational tasks as they may arise over time, in discussion with the line manager
• Bringing good vibes and collegiality.

Applicants are invited to provide examples that demonstrate that they have the relevant competencies and experience required to perform these tasks.

You will work here
You will be a part of the chair group Farming Systems Ecology (FSE) which is led by Prof. Rogier Schulte and member of the education team. You will be co-supervised by Blair van Pelt.

Your qualities

You have:

• an MSc and/or PhD degree in one of the following multi-disciplinary, integrative subjects: sustainable food system analysis, landscape ecology, agro-ecology, farm system analysis, natural resource management, or equivalent experience. Other disciplines may be taken into consideration, provided that the candidate demonstrates the relevance of the discipline to the description of the position applied for;
• fluency in English (spoken and written), a minimum of CEFR C2 level. Professional proficiency in Dutch (B2), or other major languages would be an advantage but is not essential;
• knowledge (practical, theoretical and contextual) of either sustainable, agroecological, circular, organic, resilient, regenerative, or climate-smart farming systems, as well as the underlying ecological processes and the over-arching global / socio-economic context, in more than one country and/or agro-climatic zone;
• knowledge of the assessment of transitions towards regenerative food systems, ecosystem services, agro-ecology, planetary boundaries and/or Sustainable Development Goals. Applicants are invited to provide examples of how these concepts have informed and been used in their educational / research / professional experiences;
• experience and affinity with designing, co-developing and teaching BSc level education material, in line with the research portfolio and guidelines of the FSE group;
• experience with guiding and supervising BSc students, with an affinity for connecting with students from a diversity of professional and cultural backgrounds;
• experience with collaborative academic writing and reviewing.

You also possess:

• agility in meeting dynamic timelines and the ability to quickly adapt to evolving circumstances;
• sensitivity  to the requirements of working in  multiple cultural environments;
• affinity for the combination of principles that characterize the FSE group.

We offer you

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

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between € 3.226,- and € 5.090,-  for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the

Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU)

(scale 10). Additionally, a contract for .6 FTE can be discussed. We offer a one year contract, with a possible extension, depending on student numbers in the coming years.

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 19th 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.
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 for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.

Do you want more information?

For more information about this function, please contact Blair van Pelt, education coordinator, +31 6 38 07 30 82  or by e-mail; [email protected] .

For more information about the procedure, please contact Noorien Abbas, Corporate Recruiter, by email: [email protected]

Do you want to apply?
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval. In this first round please only send your resume and motivation letter. Any other documents will not be taken into consideration at this stage.

This vacancy will be listed up to and including 4 March, 2024.
We hope to schedule the first job interviews soon after the closing date.

Procedure
As part of our selection process, an assessment may be incorporated within the procedure

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. A good example of how WUR deals with inclusiveness can be read on the page working at WUR with a functional impairment .

We are

Wageningen University & Research
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, 7,200 employees (6,400 fte) and 13,200 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.. 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.

These are the points our employees list as good reasons to come work at WUR: read the 5 reasons to come work at WUR
We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.