Would you like to contribute to the mission of WUR, particularly that of Agrosystems Research, by leading a team of professionals and managing larger, complex research projects? Do you have a keen eye for your colleagues' well-being and enjoy empowering them to perform at their best? Is your passion for impactful applied research still unfulfilled? Then this is the job for you.

As a Team Leader at Agrosystems Research, you will work in a dynamic, multinational environment at the intersection of science and the application of developed knowledge. You will have the opportunity to challenge and coach a diverse group of individuals within the Applied Ecology team. The team consists of approximately 25 people and is one of three teams within the business unit. Your primary location will be Wageningen. Additionally, as a senior researcher, you will also be actively engaged in a relevant area of expertise for both the team and the business unit.

The Applied Ecology team focuses on making various agricultural systems more sustainable, supported by smart combinations of ecological principles and agronomic and technological innovations. As a team leader, you are primarily responsible for the optimal functioning of the team and its members, developing the team’s strategy and vision, creating synergy, and further expanding and strengthening the area of expertise. This encompasses agronomy, ecology, and technology, and their applications ranging from data science to resilient crop perspectives through collaborations with e.g. Plant Breeding on innovative new genome techniques. You ensure that your employees can perform their work well in a pleasant and socially safe working environment. You are responsible for the personal development and well-being of the team members, as well as the overall development of the team in collaboration with colleagues within the business unit and beyond. You are also responsible for the scientific quality and track record of the team.

Your responsibilities as a teamlead and researcher are:

• maintaining intensive contacts with clients from both Dutch and international governments, businesses, and other research institutions;
• coaching project leaders in executing project management and setting up large research projects, including those based on public-private partnerships (PPS);
• being a member of the Management Team of the business unit. In this role, you will be jointly responsible with other MT members for executing the mission, ensuring scientific quality, acquisition, revenue, and financial results of the business unit;
• actively seeking collaboration with relevant research groups both within and outside the WUR organization. Multidisciplinary collaboration is our strength;
• reporting directly to the BU manager and contributing to the long-term strategy of the business unit, strategic personnel planning, and translating this into the research team’s strategy.

You are a team player with vision, courage, entrepreneurship, strong social skills, and team-oriented management qualities. You are attentive to the individual needs and motivations of team members, as well as the interests of the team as a whole, the business unit, and the organization

You also possess:

• proven experience in managing research professionals;
• solid scientific background in a field relevant to the work area (e.g., agronomy, crop protection, precision agriculture);
• proven experience in national and international acquisition and leadership of large scientific projects and programs;
• a broad (inter)national network relevant to the team’s research area;
• well-developed ability and experience to engage with commercial parties from a research organization and to establish new bilateral and cooperative research projects while considering policy and societal interests.

Given the intensive contacts you maintain with Dutch authorities, you must have excellent verbal and written communication skills in Dutch.
In our international working environment, communication is increasingly conducted in English. Therefore, a C1 level of English proficiency is also required for this position. If you do not yet have this level, we will naturally assist you, and you can utilize our language center, Wageningen in'to Language.

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;
• 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 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

This position comes with excellent secondary employment conditions, including a competitive salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a market-conform salary ranging from a minimum of €4.862,- to a maximum of €8.091,- for a full 36-hour workweek in accordance with the CAO Wageningen Research (scale 13-14). Moreover, a 32-hour workweek is negotiable. Initially, we offer you a one-year contract, which will be extended to a permanent contract upon mutual enthusiasm. We are, of course, open to discussing any questions you might have about this.

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal career growth and mobility through its internal recruitment policy. There are ample opportunities for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we offer excellent training opportunities. You will have a versatile job in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You will be working on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, 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.

Wageningen University & Research

You will work here
Our Business Unit, Agrosystems Research, is part of the Plant Sciences Group at Wageningen University & Research. We are a community of researchers dedicated to developing safe and sustainable agricultural systems that are well integrated into society and contribute to the quality of life. We operate in a demand-driven contract research organization.

Our core activity is understanding and quantifying the soil-crop-environment continuum at both the process level and the agrosystem level. We achieve this through experiments and computer modeling, ICT, sensing and robotics, field tests, interviews, conceptual development, action research, and integral analysis and implementation of results in collaboration with stakeholders. Our research and knowledge-intensive advisory systems are based on agronomy, ecology, and information technology as our primary scientific disciplines, increasingly supplemented by social science research. Our vision of agro-ecology involves integrating agronomic, technological, and social research in interaction with stakeholders. This requires an integrated, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary perspective for studying and developing food systems.

Our goal is to sustainably and socially acceptable increase the productivity and quality of agriculture and its products and enhance the resilience of systems to provide food security, livestock feed, fuel, fiber, and other services under current and future climate conditions.

As a guiding principle, we work synergistically in teams, base our opinions on solid science, consciously operate within our networks to make an impact, and from there, attract and serve our clients. We believe in diversity and inclusivity to strengthen our teams, their methods, and their impact.

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.