We are looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate who wishes to conduct a PhD research in the context of a new Horizon Europe project called CUES. The CUES project (Consumers’ Understanding of Eating Sustainably) is awarded with 6.5 million euros from the Horizon Europe programme by the European Commission. It sets out to foster significant changes concerning culture, food value chain, and policy in the food system in a time period of four years. The project will achieve these changes through co-designing scientific methods and approaches to transmit and present sustainability-related information to consumers to guide their knowledge on, for example sustainable labelling and the societal impact of different kinds of food production, transportation, and consumption. But also, to guide their behavior and to determine the persuasive keys to promote sustainable consumer behavior most efficiently. The CUES consortium combines 21 partners from different EU member countries with strong expertise in organizational and persuasive communication, consumer behaviours, food sustainability, and stakeholder management. Erasmus University Rotterdam serves as the coordinator of this project.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and ambitious PhD candidate who will join our CUES project and will conduct research that will contribute to a sustainable food system that benefits the environment, the society, and the economy.

Job description
The successful candidate will be based at the Department of Media and Communication of the ESHCC and will carry out the following tasks:

Research (0.8 fte)
Conducting PhD research.

Publishing and presenting research results in the form of articles in international peer reviewed journals and papers at international conferences.

Writing a dissertation within the appointment duration of four years.

Taking part in meetings, seminars, workshops etc. that are organized by the Erasmus Research Institute for Media, Culture, History and Society (ERMeCHS) and the department of Media and Communication.

Teaching (0.2 fte)
Performing junior teaching tasks in the degree programmes in the field of Media and Communication provided by ESHCC, primarily through tutorial group teaching in the International Bachelor of Communication and Media (IBCoM) and the premaster in Media and Creative Industries in the first years of the appointment.

A Master’s degree in Media Studies, Communication, Business, Management, or the Social Sciences is required, as well as an interest to develop a good knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods and data analysis skills. The candidate must possess skills to do research in cooperation with others and a keen interest in multidisciplinary research approaches is preferred. Proficiency in spoken and written English is a must.

As a PhD Candidate at the Erasmus Research Institute for Media, Culture, History & Society (ERMeCHS), you will have ample opportunity to collaborate with renowned academics with an international and interdisciplinary approach.

Key tasks related to the CUES project
The PhD candidate will work on several Work Packages for the CUES project, which focus on

• developing an in-depth understanding of the most influential factors and barriers (e.g., individual and social factors, factors within physical and digital food environments) to sustainable food consumption behaviour (Work Package 2),
• designing solution-oriented strategies to foster an inclusive process enabling consumers across cultural, demographic, and socio-economic backgrounds to opt for healthy, nutritious, and sustainable food (Work Package 4),
• systematically assessing how the intervention cases and policy dialogues in CUES empower consumers through fostering cultural, food value chain, and policy change (Work Package 6).

In addition, the PhD position entails

• collecting data using quantitative and qualitative research methods and data analysis;
• performing organizational tasks related to the CUES project;
• contributing to the writing of reports as part of the deliverables of the CUES project;
• engaging in and presenting during consortium meetings (note that regular travelling is thus required);
• publishing and presenting research results in the form of academic papers as well as policy reports and presentations for the CUES project;

• A Master’s degree in Media Studies, Communication, Business, Management, or the Social Sciences, preferably a research master's degree
• An interest to further develop your quantitative and qualitative research methods and data analysis skills
• A keen interest in multidisciplinary research approaches
• Experience with food sustainability topics or broader sustainability issues is an advantage
• Pre-existing knowledge on the food industry may be helpful, but is not required
• Outstanding interpersonal skills to work with multiple stakeholders
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Organisational experience and skills
• Didactic potential. Teaching experience is considered an advantage
• A willingness to develop knowledge and skills in various disciplines
• Proficiency in spoken and written English. Non-English speakers have to meet the C1-standards of the Common European Framework (CEF).

We offer you an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

The starting date of this position is 1 March 2024 and you will be based at the Department of Media and Communication in the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC). This position is 1 FTE. The salary is dependent on your experience and knowledge and ranges from a minimum of € 2.770 to a maximum of € 3.539 gross per month (scale PhD) on a fulltime basis (38 hours), in accordance with the CAO-NU. The duration of the initial contract is 18 months and will be extended with another 30 months upon good evaluation and unchanged organizational circumstances.

Everything else we offer you, you can find below!

• Everything you need for a good work-life balance: the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 41 days of paid leave with a 40 hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centre!
• Sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture, where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and to the world around us. Make the most of our bicycle budget, or join networks such as Young@EUR, FAME, QuEUR, or Young Erasmus Academy.
• Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: development days and a personal career budget, foreign exchange opportunities with most costs paid by EUR, and free access to our university library.
• Good pension with ABP that EUR contributes 2/3rds towards, discounts on various collective insurances with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, and Allianz, and compensation for travel, working from home and home internet use.
• Are you currently combining your job with parenthood, or do you want to do so in the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional birth leave for partners, and our campus features a daycare.
• Moving to the Netherlands for your job with EUR? Then you may be eligible for the 30%-ruling if you meet the requirements of the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax agency), and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find the right job for them.

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 3.700 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

Faculty / Institute / Central service
The Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC) is part of Erasmus University Rotterdam. The school has three departments: History, Arts and Culture and Media & Communication. There are approximately 2500 students and 220 employees.

ESHCC offers high quality education, based on scientific research, at the intersection of the Humanities and Social Sciences. We teach our ambitious, Dutch and international students in a stimulating learning environment. After graduation, they will have acquired the knowledge, insight and skills to make an important and inspiring contribution to an increasingly international society in which diversity plays a major role.

The ESHCC also has an ambitious research agenda. We want to strengthen our involvement in multidisciplinary research, expand the share of external funding in our total research funding and increase our social impact. ESHCC is working towards one research institute, the Erasmus Institute for Media, Culture, History and Society (ERMeCHS).

ERMeCHS
(Erasmus Research Institute for Media, Culture, History & Society) is a research centre located within the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication at Erasmus University Rotterdam. The Centre was founded in 2023, as a merger of former research centres ERMeCC and History @ Erasmus, by members of the Departments of Media and Communication, Arts and Culture Studies and History. Researchers at the Centre are dedicated to carrying out interdisciplinary research on media, communication, culture, history, and society.

The Media and Communication Department is a dynamic, internationally oriented department within the ESHCC. The department offers five international degree programmes: the International Bachelor’s programme in Communication and Media (IBCoM), four international Master’s programmes in Media Studies (Media & Business, Media & Creative Industries, Media, Culture & Society, Digitalisation, Surveillance & Society) and the Research master in the Sociology of Culture, Media and the Arts. The department has close ties with ERMeCHS.