Research Support Officer CropXR

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute your organisational skills to the success of CropXR and support our research programme. We aim to develop resilient crops through data-driven breeding approaches thereby contributing to sustainable agriculture and food security! As a Research Support Officer you strengthen our scientific programme, explore and realise new funding opportunities, and contribute to the success of the CropXR public-private partnership.

Your job
In this position you will work closely together with the scientific director of CropXR, Professor Guido van den Ackerveken, on a broad range of operational activities. You are motivated by the ambitions of CropXR, and eager to contribute by scouting new research opportunities and realising additional funding.

The range of tasks is diverse and always evolving. Among other things, you will:

• support the scientific director in managing the CropXR scientific programme;
• contribute to and provide feedback on research plans, reports, presentations, and applications;
• provide support with the reporting of the results from the research projects to the funding organisations, which currently entail NWO, National Growth Fund, FFAR, and CropXR stakeholders
• scout the field for new developments in relation to plant research, data-driven approaches, and resilient crops and provide well-structured and insightful advice to the scientific director;
• identify governmental and industrial funding opportunities in the Netherlands, the EU, and beyond, and organise and write grant proposals for new research opportunities;
• advise about suitable collaboration partners, including academia, industry, governmental organisations, and other societal partners (business development).

You will interact and collaborate closely with the Research Support Office (RSO) of the Faculty of Science that provides support throughout the entire grant acquisition process, including funding advice, proposal reviews, budgeting, data management, ethics, and administrative assistance.

We are looking for a committed colleague to strengthen our team both professionally and personally. You bring the following qualities:

• an MSc or PhD in life sciences with a background in plant biology, genetics/breeding and/or data-driven biology, and affinity with sustainable agriculture;
• experience in working with academic and industry researchers;
• a self-motivated, enterprising, and collaborative attitude;
• strong organisational skills with a solution-oriented approach;
• excellent communication and academic writing skills (in English, preferably also in Dutch);
• proven success in acquiring research grants, in setting up research consortia or in research support;
• strong collaboration and teamwork skills, as you will work closely together within the CropXR office team and with researchers from the various universities and companies involved.

• A position for one year (0,8-1 fte), with prospect of extension for another two years on good performance (three years in total);
• a gross monthly salary - depending on previous qualifications and experience - between €4,537 and €6,209 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale 11 under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU)). If your experience does not yet fully match the position, you will start in scale 10, with the possibility of growth;
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. This includes schemes facilitating professional development, leave schemes and schemes for sports and cultural activities, as well as discounts on software and other IT products. We also offer access to additional employee benefits through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage our employees to continue to invest in their growth. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.

Working at the Faculty of Science means bringing together inspiring people across disciplines and with a variety of perspectives and backgrounds. The Faculty has six departments: Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Information & Computing Sciences, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Together, we work on excellent research and inspiring education. We do so, driven by curiosity and supported by outstanding infrastructure. Visit us on LinkedIn and discover how you can become part of our community.

The CropXR programme office is part of the Department of Biology, located at the Utrecht Science Park. With an impressive budget of over 90 million euros, CropXR brings together a broad group of partners including leading universities as well as innovative (international) companies. All activities are coordinated by Utrecht University, from the central CropXR programme office. You will be part of this compact, close collaborative team of seven colleagues.

For more information, please contact Professor Guido van den Ackerveken at g.vandenackerveken@uu.nl.

Do you have a question about the application procedure? Please send an email to science.recruitment@uu.nl.

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht University.