Scientific Coordinator Soil Health

Your job

Are you a passionate scientist in the field of soils, soil fertility and soil management? Are you passionate about improving soil management in the Global South? Do you combine your in-depth scientific knowledge with leadership qualities? Perhaps this position at ISRIC- World Soil Information can be the job for you! 

To strengthen our team at ISRIC , we are hiring a Scientific Coordinator Soil Health. We are looking for a colleague with a solid scientific track record, combined with strong leadership qualities. Because of the increasing demand for our products and services, you will play a key role in the successful development and implementation of methods and tools to provide advice for sustainable land management based on digital soil information.

You will take a leading role in high impact projects that develop spatial information products for various countries in Africa in support of soil fertility management. You will work together with an operational project manager and a team of specialists that develops soil maps, applies soil and crop models, and serves resulting information products to a wide range of users. We expect the focus to broaden to land suitability assessment, land use planning and soil and water conservation.

Do you want to have impact? This job offers possibilities to apply scientific knowledge in development projects.   

The most important tasks in this role are: 

• Contribute to the development of scientifically sound approaches to develop advanced spatial information products for soil fertility management, such as nutrient gap maps at (sub) national level. Lead the integration of digital soil maps with soil and crop models to develop spatial decision support tools. 
• Develop and coordinate large projects and lead project teams from content point of view. Work with specialists from partner institutions in the field of soil fertility and soil and water conservation.
• Coordinate the roll out of the developed products in Africa.
• Publish scientific publications and present in international fora and conferences. 

Your qualities

• PhD degree in soil science or environmental science with a strong focus on soil science. Knowledge of the role of soils in sustainable intensification of agriculture as well as an understanding of main drivers of change.
• Substantial working experience in sustainable soil management with proven field experience in Africa, Asia or Latin America. 
• Familiarity with spatial information products and quantitative soil and crop models for soil fertility assessment and crop production.
• Strong leadership qualities and experience required to lead, coordinate and inspire research teams.
• Good organizational skills: ability to plan, delegate and track activities and report progress.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively collaborate with a diverse team and external partners.
• Strong ownership mentality, with a commitment to delivering high-quality results and seeing projects through to completion.
• Excellent knowledge of the English language (C1 level) and willingness to travel frequently. Good knowledge of the French language (or the willingness to improve basic knowledge of French) is an asset.

We offer you

The successful candidate will be working for the foundation ISRIC – World Soil Information, but will be employed by Wageningen University, hence all Wageningen University employment conditions apply to this position. 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, including working 1 or 2 days a week remotely;
• 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 €5,247, and €6,737,- for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the

Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU)

(scale 12). Additionally, a contract for 0.8 FTE can be discussed. Initially, we offer you a one-year contract, which will then be extended to an open-ended contract if there is mutual enthusiasm. Of course, we would be happy to discuss this with you if you have any questions.

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.

Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands 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 position, please contact Rik van den Bosch, Director ISRIC, tel +31 317 481713 and email: [email protected]

For more information about the procedure, please contact Edgar Tijhuis, corporate recruiter, 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.

This vacancy will be listed up to and including June 10th 2024. We hope to schedule the first job interviews in week 25.

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

ISRIC - World Soil Information
ISRIC — World Soil Information  has the mission to increase the availability and use of quality assessed soil data, information and knowledge to enable sustainable soil and land management. Besides the development of soil information both globally and with our partners at national level, we apply the available information products in support of decision making for sustainable land management globally. And of course, we maintain the World Soil Museum, a beautiful place to admire and learn about the diversity of soils globally.

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, 7,600 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.