Do you want to contribute to improving the well-being of young people and reducing substance use among youth in the Netherlands? Are you passionate about conducting research with high impact? If so, apply now!

Job Description
The well-being of young people is receiving increasing attention. Youth face significant challenges, which can lead to mental health issues and substance use. The community-based approach 'Opgroeien in een Kansrijke Omgeving (OKO)', also known as the Icelandic Prevention Model, aims to create a healthy environment for an optimal development of youth.

With the OKO approach, municipalities focus on improving the well-being of young people and preventing the use of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco among youth. Over the next few years, the Trimbos Institute will further develop and implement OKO in the Netherlands.

In this PhD-project, you will evaluate the implementation and outcome of OKO. A process evaluation will investigate the functioning and execution of OKO in practice, while an outcome evaluation will examine whether OKO contributes to enhancing well-being and reducing substance use among youth. The research will focus on 1) the implementation process (e.g., quality of collaboration among stakeholders), 2) active mechanisms (e.g., availability of leisure activities), and 3) effects on primary outcomes (e.g., substance use). The results will support the further development and implementation of OKO in the Netherlands.

This research will be conducted by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Utrecht University in collaboration with the Trimbos Institute. We are looking for a PhD candidate who is committed to investigating the implementation and effectiveness of OKO in the Netherlands over a five-year period.

Interested? Here’s what we’re asking you to do:

• Conduct research (literature review, data collection, and analysis, reporting results) leading to international scientific publications and a dissertation
• Present results at national and international scientific conferences
• Collaborate with municipalities and other local stakeholders
• Actively participate in the project’s research group and department
• Aspire to collaborate with (inter)national partners

We are looking for someone with the following qualifications:

• (Almost) a (Research) Master’s degree in Youth Science or a related field such as Developmental Psychology, Pedagogy, or Communication Science
• Preferably, experience collaborating with stakeholders such as municipalities, public health services, parents, and youth
• Preferably, familiarity with (the evaluation of) interventions in the youth field and substance use among youth
• Enjoys teamwork but can work independently
• Effective and efficient with conceptual thinking abilities
• Can meet deadlines and conduct research independently as well as in teams
• Possesses strong social and communication skills (written and verbal) to engage with stakeholders
• Has good statistical skills
• Is verbal and in writing fluent in Dutch and in English
• Some experience with advanced statistical and qualitative methods is a plus

Apply now and be part of a project that makes a real difference in the lives of young people!

Fixed-term contract: 1 year.

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. We offer an employment contract of initially one year. If there is sufficient perspective, this will be extended with another 3 years. Your dissertation at the end of the fourth year forms the end of your employment contract. Your will receive a salary of € 2.770,00 (PhD) and maximum € 3.539,00 (PhD) gross per month in the fourth year, for a full-time employment

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and arrangements. Some examples:

• A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• a wide range of sports facilities which staff may use at a modest charge
• contribution to commuting expenses
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Partner organisations in the OKO project
The OKO study will be carried out by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (dr. Koning) and Universiteit Utrecht (dr. Kleinjan) in collaboration with the Trimbos Institute (dr. Voogt). This means that collaboration with these partner is an important part of the project, as well as visiting these organisations. In the first part of the project, you will spend some time working at the Trimbos Insititute.

Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences
Developing knowledge for an active, healthy and meaningful life: that is our mission at the Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences at VU Amsterdam. We maintain a broad focus on the fields of behaviour and health. Our teaching and research programmes are devoted to current developments in society. From healthy aging to e-health, and from training top athletes to social media as a teaching tool. We combine three academic disciplines: psychology, movement sciences and education. A multidisciplinary approach allows us to arrive at a better understanding of human behaviour and movement. Our aims are to help people live healthier lives, learn better and function better.

Are you interested in joining Behavioural and Movement Sciences? You are the kind of person who feels at home working in an ambitious faculty, with an informal atmosphere and short lines of communication. We offer you all the space you need for personal development. Together with your 630 colleagues, you will take care of about 4,200 students.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely. - a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research. Learn more about our codes of conduct

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility. Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.

Diversity
Diversity is the driving force of the VU. We stand for an inclusive community and believe that diversity and internationalisation contribute to the quality of education, research and our services. Therefore, we are always searching for people whose backgrounds and experience contribute to the diversity of the VU community.