PhD candidate in Industrial Ecology

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The Faculty of Science and Institute of Environmental Sciences CML is looking for:

1 PhD candidate in Industrial Ecology
Vacancy number: 14606

Project overview
The successful applicant will work as part of the FORward-looking Explorative modelling framework of WAste water management options for Resilient, sustainable Chinese and Dutch waters (FOREWARD). The project aims to address the challenges posed by wastewater pollution from human and agricultural sources, highlighting issues with the current centralized Waste Water Management (WWM) system. This system relies heavily on energy and chemicals, struggles with urbanization and agriculture intensification, lacks climate change adaptation, and is often unaffordable for emerging urban areas. Existing research primarily focuses on domestic or agricultural perspectives, with limited attention to local priorities due to financial constraints. FOREWARD proposes a comprehensive approach to WWM transition, including the development of a multiscale water quality model, advancements in domestic and livestock WWM technologies, economic and environmental assessments, and a forward-looking model-based WWM transition plan involving societal stakeholders. Ultimately, the project aims to inform policymaking by integrating technological and systemic WWM options, conducting life-cycle assessments, and optimizing trade-offs to achieve a sustainable WWM transition.

We seek a PhD candidate to work on Work Package 5 “Prospective life cycle environmental and economic assessment”, where the PhD candidate will be involved in assessing the life cycle environmental and economic impacts of existing and newly developed WWM options with respect to current systems.

Key responsibilities

• Developing life cycle inventories for newly developed and best-available WWM technologies, through co-creation with consortium’s technology developers and other stakeholders.
• Conducting environmental impact assessments using prospective life cycle assessment, considering critical changes in background systems as specified in shared socioeconomic pathways.
• Conducting life cycle cost analyses to evaluate economic aspects of future WWM options.
• Conducting independent and collaborative research within the project consortium.
• Working on project deliverables, ensuring timely completion and high-quality contributions.
• Attending and actively participate in project meetings, providing updates on research progress and collaborating with partners.
• Be available for international travel as required by project meetings.
• Communicate findings through scientific publications and presentations at national and international conferences.

Selection Criteria
For applicants at the PhD researcher level:

• You hold a master's degree in the field of industrial ecology, environmental sciences or another related field.
• You have documented expertise (e.g. a master thesis) in LCA, MFA, E-IOA or other methods relevant to industrial ecology. Experience in LCA and possibly also LCC of emerging technologies and systems is a strong advantage.
• Programming skills (e.g. Python or other languages) and an ability to handle large datasets are an advantage. Applicants without these skills should have a strong drive to develop them early on in the PhD.
• You have excellent English language skills in writing and speaking,
• You are intellectually curious, possess good analytical skills, are self-propelled, flexible, and quality conscious and have recorded experience in planning and executing research tasks within a given timeframe.
• You have excellent social and communication skills and the ability to interact with other researchers, industry and policy actors.
  

Research at our faculty
Leiden University is situated between Amsterdam (36 km) and Den Haag (15 km) and was founded in 1575, making it the oldest university in the Netherlands. It houses around 35,000 students originating from 112 nationalities, facilitated by approximately 8,000 staff. The Faculty of Science is a world-class faculty where staff and students work together in a dynamic international environment. It is a faculty where personal and academic development are top priorities. Our people are driven by curiosity to expand fundamental knowledge and to look beyond the borders of their own discipline; their aim is to benefit science, and to make a contribution to addressing the major societal challenges of the future.

The research carried out at the Faculty is very diverse, ranging from mathematics, information science, astronomy, physics, chemistry and bio-pharmaceutical sciences to biology and environmental sciences. The research activities are organized in eight institutes. These institutes offer eight bachelor’s and twelve master’s programmes. The faculty has grown strongly in recent years and now has more than 2,800 staff and almost 6,000 students. We are located at the heart of Leiden’s Bio Science Park, one of Europe’s biggest science parks, where university and business life come together.

The environmental science research in CML is organized around two major research areas: ‘Industrial Ecology’ and ‘Environmental Biology’. This makes CML one of the few institutes covering both the circular, sustainable economic use of natural resources and natural capital, as well as assessing the environmental impacts of economic activities on natural resources, biodiversity and natural capital. Presently, over 130 FTE (including postdocs and PhDs) are employed at CML. CML collaborates with the TU Delft and Erasmus University (Rotterdam) in the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Sustainability (LDE-CfS).

For more information, see www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/science and https://workingat.leiden.edu/

Terms and conditions
At Leiden University, a PhD candidate is seen as an employee rather than a student. As such, we offer a 1-year position with the possibility of extension to 4 years based on performance and following the pay scale P in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. Salary ranges from € 2.770.- gross per month in the first year to € 3.539 gross per month in the fourth year based on a full-time position. Leiden University offers an attractive benefits package with additional holiday (8%) and end-of-year bonuses (8.3 %), training and career development. Our individual choices model gives you some freedom to assemble your own set of terms and conditions. For international spouses, we have set up a dual career programme. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break (“30% rule”).

Diversity
At the Faculty of Science we value inclusiveness and strive for a diverse community with equal opportunities for all. We give full support to our staff in achieving their potential to become independent academic researchers and teachers. For more information about our policy on diversity and equality please go to the diversity page on our website. Female researchers are also welcomed to join the Researchers In Science for Equality network of the Faculty if Science (rise.nu).

Information
For inquiries, please contact Dr. Valerio Barbarossa ([email protected] ) and Dr. Stefano Cucurachi ([email protected] ), or [email protected] for general questions.

Applications
Please submit your application via the online recruitment system, via the blue button at the top or bottom of this page. Applications received via e-mail will not be taken into consideration. Please ensure that you upload the following additional documents quoting the vacancy number:

• CV (max 2 pages)
• A motivation letter (max 2 pages)
• The names and contact information of two referees

Only applications received before 31st of March will be considered.

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