Are you a talented aspiring researcher with an interest in empowering local communities to prevent and reverse landscape degradation in southern Europe and North Africa? Are you eager to understand the current and future drivers, opportunities, and challenges in collaboration with local partners? Do you thrive in integrative, transdisciplinary research aimed at improving land and water management decisions? Then this may be perfect for you!

In southern Europe and northern Africa, agricultural landscapes face high degradation risks, worsened by climate change and unsustainable practices. With 60–70% of EU soils unhealthy, urgent action is needed to conserve soils and ensure sustainable food production, water retention, carbon storage, and biodiversity. Solutions must consider local conditions and actively engage communities in decision-making, as empowering them is key to preventing and reversing landscape degradation.

You will contribute to the TERRASAFE project that aims to empower local communities in southern Europe and northern Africa to confront the growing threats of desertification, particularly accelerated by climate change. Project work is undertaken through a multi-actor stakeholder approach in 5 pilot areas in Cyprus, Italy, Romania, Spain and Tunisia representing the full range of major desertification types and covering a wide range of land cover and management systems.

In this PhD position you will focus on and cross-link several lines of inquiry, including: 1. assessing and comparing the type and extent of land degradation in selected pilot areas, identifying key drivers, 2. analysing how climate change and other drivers may shape future degradation and sustainability; 3. developing a shared vision and pathways for what is preferable and achievable to prevent and reverse land degradation; and 4. assessing how current local innovations, proposed promising technologies, and other leverage points align with or are necessary to achieve that future vision.

You will conduct field surveys to qualitatively map land degradation status in the pilot areas and conduct participatory scenario building to co-develop local future visions that integrally consider future climatic risks. You will identify with local partners and communities current local innovations and promising technologies to reduce and reverse land degradation accounting for the local conditions. Finally, these activities should enable a spatially integrated approach for resilience building.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the chair Soil Physics and Land Management. You will work under the supervision of Dr. Luuk Fleskens. You will be co-supervised by Dr. Diego Valbuena Vargas at the chair group Land Use Planning.

You are creative, proactive, flexible, and focused on teamwork. You have knowledge of dryland contexts and a keen interest in developing and implementing transdisciplinary approaches.

You also possess:

• A successfully completed MSc degree in Environmental and Natural Resource Management, Landscape and Agricultural studies, Social Sciences with an environmental focus, or similar interdisciplinary fields;
• Skills in engaging with and conducting interviews within local communities;
• Demonstrated experience in managing (spatial) data;
• Competence and commitment to working on an interdisciplinary research project, with motivation to contribute to its overall objectives;
• Proficiency in one of the languages of the TERRASAFE case study areas (i.e. Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Greek or Romanian) is an advantage.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• Partially paid parental leave;
• 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 / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• 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.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.

The gross salary for the first year is € 2.901 ,- per month rising to € 3.707,- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and 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. 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

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.

For more information about this position, please contact Luuk Fleskens, luuk.fleskens@wur.nl.

For more information about the procedure, please contact Noorien Abbas, corporate recruiter, noorien.abbas@wur.nl .

Do you want to apply?
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval.

This vacancy will be listed up to and including 06 January 2025. We hope to schedule the first job interviews on 15 January 2025. The intended starting date for this position is from 1 March 2025.

Welcome, safe, and valued
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) highly values diversity and inclusion because we believe that different insights lead to innovative solutions. We create a work environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, and appreciated, regardless of background, identity, or experience. Together, we are building a culture where everyone's unique contribution adds to the success of our organization.