Senior Advisor Sustainable and Inclusive Landscapes

Updated: 11 months ago
Deadline: The position may have been removed or expired!

Your job

Are you intrigued by the increasing global competition on land, water and other natural resources? Are you passionate for finding the balance between production, consumption and protection? Do you believe that the best level for finding such balance is the landscape level, where socio-economic and ecological systems meet? This position as a Senior Advisor at Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation might be  something for you.

We are looking for a food systems expert who is able to operate at the landscape or watershed level, which is the level where multiple systems intersect.

  • Someone who is able to understand spatial processes in landscapes or watersheds, and connect these to food security, biodiversity and climate change.
  • Someone who can broker collaboration between a landscape’s stakeholders, putting the aspirations of local stakeholders first.
  • Someone who can contribute to policy agendas in local, regional and international arenas, and contribute to a wider system transformation for agriculture, food and nature. Someone who is operating at the interface of science and practice, who is well embedded in strategic national and international networks, and who can increase our visibility in international debates on sustainability and justice.
  • Someone who is able to facilitate workshops and learning trajectories, and develop offline/online learning methodologies and materials on landscape management/governance, sustainable sourcing and landscape finance.

The selected candidate will work at Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation  (WCDI). Our work focuses on sustainable and inclusive food- and ecosystem transformation in Africa, Asia and to a lesser extend Latin America. As Senior Advisor, the candidate will have the opportunity to get involved in projects and build strategic partnerships between knowledge institutes, government organisations, civil society organisations, and private companies. WCDI is  knowledge partner in the consortia in which we operate. You will be asked to apply relevant knowledge in projects, and to co-create knowledge with our partners. In addition, facilitating learning of professional partners, individuals as well as organisations, is part of the job. As a senior advisor you will also be requested to help build our international portfolio of work in landscape- and watershed. Embeddedness in the global landscape community, and knowledge of the work of major global conventions like CBD, UNFCCC, UNCCD, Global Landscapes Forum is an advantage.


Your qualities
  • A MSc or PhD degree in geography, landscape management, landscape governance, land use planning, ecosystem services, or any other social or environmental domain that relates to the above;
  • A minimum of 15 years of working experience, preferably international, with proven experience with landscape approaches, integrated watershed management, socio-ecological systems analysis or nature-based solutions;
  • A systems thinker with the ability of convening stakeholder processes for better management and governance of space;
  • Affinity with offline, online and blended learning trajectories and able to design learning packages for clients;
  • Affinity with academic research, and a track record of academic publications;
  • Thriving in an entrepreneurial and dynamic working environment;
  • A result oriented team player, who is also client oriented and stress resistant;
  • Excellent communication and facilitation skills with a strong ability to work and communicate across boundaries/cultures;
  • Willingness to travel extensively (short missions);
  • Excellent English; other language skills, preferably French (or Spanish), will be an asset.

We offer you

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

  • 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 hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
  • sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
  • 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 4%;
  • excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. We offer, depending on your experience, a competitive gross salary of between € 3.527,- and €5.479,- for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the 

CLA Wageningen Research

. Additionally, a contract for 0,8 FTE can be discussed.

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 multi-faceted 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 the Netherlands, and at an university that has been chosen by students 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.


Do you want more information?

For more information about this position, please contact Frank van Weert, senior advisor Climate and Water management, telephone ++31 (0)6 28520940 or by e-mail [email protected]

For more information about the terms of employment, please contact Nicole de Vries via e-mail [email protected].

For more information about the procedure, please contact Jeanine van 't Veer-Drost by mail:  [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 the 23th of April 2023. In the meantime we will review the applicants and we might shedule an interview. This means that, if we found an interessting candidate the vacancy will be closed before end date. 

As part of the recruitment process you may also be asked to develop a presentation or complete a writing assignment. 

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 .


We are

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!

Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation 
At Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation  (WCDI), our work portfolio contains short-term and longer-term assignments and projects, focusing on action learning for capturing good programming practice and the development of operational and policy guidelines.
WCDI seeks to bring ‘Knowledge into Action’. Our 60 researchers, in close collaboration with our support staff, work with partners worldwide on inclusive, resilient and sustainable food systems transformation. We do this through knowledge co-creation, knowledge application in our projects and multi-annual programmes and through Education for Professionals.
We aim at interconnectivity of these 3 delivery areas at all levels of our organisation.”

For a better understanding of our work, please visit our website  or watch this video .

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.



Similar Positions