In this position, you will join the NATURESCAPES project, funded by Horizon Europe and led by Professor Harriet Bulkeley at Utrecht University, and work with colleagues at the Utrecht School of Economics (U.S.E.) and in the Copernicus Institute, alongside our partners in universities, NGOs and consultancies (e.g., TNC, WWF), as well as with local stakeholders and communities in case study cities worldwide.

Wat ga je doen?
NATURESCAPES aims to address the pressing challenge of realising the transformative potential of nature-based solutions (NBS) for climate change, biodiversity loss and social justice. Despite progress in the field, our knowledge of the synergies and trade-offs from implementing NBS at scale across diverse and interconnected landscapes is limited. Also, challenges persist in designing effective and just governance arrangements, (co-)finance, and forms of citizen engagement because the value that NBS brings to diverse social actors is increasingly contested - bringing benefits to some and new forms of inequity and exclusion to others.

Advancing the transformative potential of NBS requires that we address these underlying challenges, ensuring that governance and finance arrangements are (1) effective and (2) just. NATURESCAPES will advance our understanding of how NBS across interconnected urban, rural and coastal landscapes generate benefits for diverse communities, particularly in areas of socio-economic disadvantage, inequity and risk. We will analyse the synergies/trade-offs emerging for climate, biodiversity and communities in 30 ‘naturescapes’ across Europe, LAC and the USA, including 12 in-depth case-studies focusing on the dynamics of implementation, and creating new insights and tools. In 7 of these cases we will co-design interventions with local collaborators that test transformative theories and practices of change and identify how these can be replicated.

As postdoctoral researcher, you will lead two main pieces of work within the NATURESCAPES project. Firstly, you will, using a business model perspective, build up a sound understanding regarding how actors that are currently missing and/or marginalized in NBS – ranging from insurance firms to vulnerable citizen groups – can capture and create value from NBS. This work will require several deliverables ranging from a database of actors, the development of strategic ‘value bundles’ for NBS and developing a game to engage specific actors. Secondly, you will lead the analytical work and deliverables on how co-finance and co-governance arrangements can support the transformative potential of NBS, through a cross-case analysis of the case studies that are carried out in the NATURESCAPES project. This will lead to an increased understanding of how to finance, govern and implement NBS in diverse socio-political contexts worldwide so that they lead to just and effective outcomes. For both strands of work, academic papers will be developed during the project alongside other project deliverables.

Working as a postdoctoral researcher in the interdisciplinary Utrecht University team across Economics and Copernicus, you will help to build our understanding of transformative change, focusing on questions of power, agency and systematic/structural change in relation to business models, governance and financing of nature-based solutions across landscapes. Working with other colleagues across our partner institutions, you will help to identify the key dynamics that support transformative change and develop guidance for future practice. You will also support our collaborative and transdisciplinary research process and activities aimed at engaging and communicating with policy-makers and decision-makers at local, regional, national and international levels.

This position also includes the option option to engage in education related to the research topic (e.g., teaching a sustainability-related course and/or thesis supervision) offered in the Utrecht School of Economics education programme during the course of the appointment.

This position may be the right fit for you, if you:

• have a (almost completed) PhD in either finance, marketing, entrepreneurship, management, economics, innovation studies, or a related discipline;
• have evidence of publication experience and the ability to publish research in high quality journals;
• have working knowledge of relevant methods for analysing and interpreting qualitative data;
• are interested in, or have knowledge of, sustainable finance, sustainable business models and/or stakeholder collaborations;
• have demonstrable experience with conducting transdisciplinary and/or team-driven research;
• have demonstrable ability to work both in a team and independently, including towards deadlines;
• have demonstrable ability to produce outputs for non-academic audiences (e.g., policy audience);
• have excellent communication and organisational skills;
• have command of spoken and written English, including the ability to conduct data analysis and present material to international audiences.

Besides these essential qualities, it is an added benefit if you:

• have experience with collaborative ways of working, ability to work as part of a team and competence to liaise with academic, policy and representatives from the corporate sphere;
• are interested in, or have knowledge of, nature-based solutions (or natural capital, ecosystem services, blue-green infrastructure)
• are interested in, or have knowledge of, the theoretical debates concerned with sustainability transitions and related fields, such as political ecology and justice;
• are interested in, or have knowledge of, the key policy developments in the field of urban sustainability and nature-based solutions at national and international levels.

We offer:

• a temporary position for up to 36 months;
• a working week of 28 to 36 hours and a gross salary between €3,226 and €5,090 in the case of full-time employment (scale 10 of the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities (CAO)) if not yet in possession of a PhD;
• a gross salary between €4,332 and €5,929 (scale 11 of the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities (CAO)) if in possession of a PhD;
• 8% holiday bonus and 8.3% end-of-year bonus;
• A pension scheme, partially paid parental leave, and flexible employment conditions based on the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities.

In addition to the employment conditions from the CAO for Dutch Universities, Utrecht University has a number of its own arrangements. These include agreements on professional development, leave arrangements, sports and cultural schemes and you get discounts on software and other IT products. We also give you the opportunity to expand your terms of employment through the Employment Conditions Selection Model. This is how we encourage you to grow. For more information, please visit working at Utrecht University.

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The Utrecht University School of Economics (U.S.E) is part of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance at Utrecht University. U.S.E. aims to contribute to an economy where people flourish by taking a broad view on welfare and its causes. We aspire to be an internationally renowned school of economics with scientifically rigorous and socially relevant research and education. We enrich economics with other disciplines to better solve problems and identify opportunities, from a business as well as government perspective.