Postdoc position Impact of farm management on soil health at the European scale

Your job

Are you fascinated to work with data from thousands of agricultural fields from all over Europe? Do you want to contribute to finding solutions for how farm management can improve soil health, and understand better how soil health impacts crop yield stability? Are you not afraid of big data and next level statistics? Then Soil Geography and Landscape Group is looking for you!

Recently there has been an enormous increase in the availability of soil data. LUCAS Soil strategically monitors soil properties in three-year intervals at roughly 20’000 locations throughout Europe, and the EU is in the process of passing a directive on soil monitoring and resilience that would further strengthen soil monitoring in Europe. The on-going EU-wide soil monitoring has already greatly improved knowledge of spatial and temporal dynamics of soils, at the continental scale. However, since there is no information on land management in the survey, the data has so far not been able to answer urgent questions on how farm management affects soil properties, and vice versa, how soil health impacts crop yield.

In this postdoc you will work with a unique dataset of farm management data from hundreds of thousands of farms across Europe and link it with European soil monitoring data to answer the following questions:

• Can spatial and temporal patterns in farm management intensity explain observed changes in soil properties, using the example of soil organic carbon stocks?
• In turn, how do indicators of soil health impact crop yield stability in the face of weather extremes?

Your duties and responsibilities include leading data analysis and writing of scientific publications, supervising master thesis students, and communicating results to non-academic stakeholders. You will work in the Soil Geography and Landscape Group, an interdisciplinary team of early and more advanced career scientists, and have the opportunity to develop networks within Wageningen University and Research and internationally.

This position is for 2 years, the intended starting date is from 1 October 2024 (or on agreement).

Your qualities

You have excellent communication skills and can work well in a team, good critical thinking skills, and are motivated to extend your own horizon.

The ideal candidate would:

• have a university degree (MSc) and a PhD degree in soil science, environmental, agricultural sciences or a related discipline;
• demonstrate proven affinity with the application of statistical methods for data analysis of large datasets in the domain of agronomy and environmental sciences using R language for statistical computing;
• demonstrate excellent level of English (CEFR C1 level) and strong academic writing skills;
• demonstrate good understanding of soil science and farming systems across Europe
• be a pleasant and intrinsically motivated colleague who takes initiative.

You can see that there are plenty of challenges ahead of you. These challenges can also be seen as development opportunities. So, if you do not yet meet all of the points outlined above, but are motivated to develop in these directions, we would also like to invite you to apply.

You will work here
The mission of the Soil Geography and Landscape Group is to improve and share understanding of patterns and dynamics of soils, landscapes and earth surface dynamics and their drivers, like climate change and human-landscape interactions. The group uses integrative approaches that combine biophysical and anthropogenic elements to gain insight in past, present and future system dynamics. Through this, we aim to support system-based solutions in land management and spatial planning, sustainable management of soils, landscapes and ecosystems (e.g., sandy, riverine, deltaic and urban), and protection of cultural and geoheritage.

Together with three other chair groups, the Soil Geography and Landscape Group forms the Wageningen Soil Cluster, which has an excellent international reputation in soil science.

We offer you

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

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and 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, 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 of course receive a good salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between €3.226 and €5.090 for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 10. Additionally, a contract for 0.8 FTE can be discussed.

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. 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 19^th 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.

Do you want more information?

For more information about this position, please contact Julian Helfenstein, assistant professor, julian.helfenstein@wur.nl.

For more information about the procedure, please contact Noorien Abbas, Corporate Recruiter, by email: 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 19^th August 2024. We hope to schedule the first job interviews on 28^th and 29^th August 2024.

Procedure
As part of our selection process, an assessment may be incorporated within the procedure

Equal opportunities
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) employs a large number of people with very different backgrounds and qualities, who inspire and motivate each other. We want every talent to feel at home in our organisation and be offered the same career opportunities. We therefore especially welcome applications from people who are underrepresented at WUR. A good example of how WUR deals with inclusiveness can be read on the page working at WUR with a functional impairment.

We are

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.