The Assistant Professor hired for this position will join the Department of Environmental Geography (EG) at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM). The successful candidate will have a responsibility to develop and implement innovative research related to sustainable land use at global to local scales. The Assistant Professor will work part-time in a collaborative project on Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in Europe (SIPATH) to identify pathways to operationalize and achieve a more sustainable land use. In addition to research, the successful candidate will be teaching at Bachelor and Master levels within the field of environmental geography as well as supervising Master and Bachelor theses. Teaching and research at IVM are strongly linked, allowing for mutual cross-fertilization. While working closely with colleagues within the department, the candidate is also expected to engage in interdisciplinary research establishing collaborations with researchers from other scientific disciplines, such as economics, environmental governance, ecology, hydrology and climatology, in writing new project proposals. The successful candidate should have excellent empirical and analytical skills, a strong record with quantitative (spatial) research methods and experience working on interdisciplinary research topics. The candidate should show academic leadership, maintain a high publication output, and raise competitive research funding. Teaching, research and management are respectively distributed following a 25%-65%-10% time and effort allocation.

Your duties

• conduct innovative research in the context of the SIPATH project
• contribute to small consultancy tasks of the department
• write research proposals for external funding
• teach  in BSc and MSc programmes
• recruit and co-supervise PhD researchers
• fulfil limited managerial duties at the department and institute level

• have experience in environmental geography or land use research and a related PhD degree
• have a record of publishing research on relevant topics in high quality academic journals
• demonstrate a good understanding of quantitative methods, spatial analysis and modelling in particular
• be familiar with European land use systems
• evidence of prior interdisciplinary research and collaborations
• have experience in acquiring and leading projects in the environmental geography domain
• have experience in academic teaching at bachelor and master levels

Fixed-term contract: 1 year.

A challenging position in a socially involved organization. On full-time basis the remuneration amounts to a minimum gross monthly salary of €3,637 (scale 11) and a maximum €4,978 (scale 11), depending on your education and experience. The job profile: is based on the university job ranking system and is vacant for at least 0.8 FTE.

The desired starting date is 1 October 2019. We offer a temporary position at the level of Assistant Professor, for the duration of 4 years.

Additionally, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam offers excellent fringe benefits and various schemes and regulations to promote a good work/life balance, such as:

• a maximum of 41 days of annual leave based on full-time employment
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• solid pension scheme (ABP) and a wide range of sports facilities which staff may use at a modest charge

The ambition of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is clear: to contribute to a better world through outstanding education and ground-breaking research. And to be a university where personal education and societal involvement play a leading role. Where people from different disciplines and backgrounds work together on innovations and on generating new knowledge. Our teaching and research embrace the whole spectrum of science – from the humanities, the social sciences and the pure sciences through to the life sciences and the medical sciences.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is home to more than 23,000 students. We employ more than 4,500 individuals. The VU campus is easily accessible, located in the heart of Amsterdam’s Zuidas district, a truly inspiring environment for teaching and research.

Diversity
Diversity is one of our university’s core values. We are an inclusive community, and we believe that diversity and international activities enhance the quality of education and research. We are always looking for people who can enhance diversity on our campus thanks to their background and experience.

The Faculty of Science
The Faculty of Science inspires researchers and students to find sustainable solutions for complex societal issues. From forest fires to big data, from obesity to medicines and from molecules to the moon: our teaching and research programmes cover the full spectrum of the natural sciences. We share knowledge and experience with leading research institutes and industries, both here in the Netherlands and abroad.

Working at the Faculty of Science means working with students, PhD candidates and researchers, all with a clear focus on their field and a broad view of the world. We employ more than 1,250 staff members, and we are home to around 6,000 students.
 
About the institute
Established in 1971, IVM is a leading environmental research institute that is internationally recognized for its high quality research output in a range of environmental disciplines, as well as for its interdisciplinary work. The mission of the institute is to contribute to sustainable development and care for the environment through scientific research and teaching. IVM aims to do excellent problem-oriented research that is useful to a wide range of stakeholders in the Netherlands and internationally. A unique strength of our research is to understand sustainability problems in their social and economic context. IVM’s research community works within four departments: Environmental Economics; Environmental Policy Analysis; Environmental Geography; and Water and Climate Risk.

About the department
The department of Environmental Geography is a vibrant international and world-renowned team of about 20 faculty members, postdocs and PhD students within the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM). The group explores the theory and practice of land use and spatial aspects of sustainable development at various levels, with a special interest in foresight studies, spatial analysis and modellling and the analysis of emergent trade-offs in sustainable development, ranging from climate change to food system, recreation and biodiversity. Our aim is to identify options that help society foster transitions to a sustainable future.