Postdoctoral researcher in environmental fluid mechanics

Your job

Are you passionate for environmental fluid mechanics in deltas? Are you an openminded  academic who likes to collaborate with other researchers in fieldwork, laboratory experiments and/or modelling? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you!

The Hydrology and Quantitative Water Management Group (HWM) seeks a talented scientist for lecturing courses in environmental fluid mechanics and Postdoctoral research in the Vici project “Deltas out of Shape: regime changes of sediment dynamics in tide-influenced deltas”, funded by the Dutch Research Council NWO.

The lecturing part of the three-year position is concentrated in the first six months, to replace two HWM staff members who are on leave. You will be a lecturer in courses including Environmental Hydraulics and Geophysical Fluid Mechanics. HWM leads the Kraijenhoff van de Leur Laboratory for Water and Sediment Dynamics. The successful candidate will be involved in supervision of PhD and contract research focused on field and laboratory experiments, as well as numerical modelling.

The Deltas out of Shape project aims to understand the physical mechanisms leading to regime changes of sediment dynamics in deltas triggered by the combined effects of land reclamation, channel deepening, sea level rise, and altered discharge regimes. The successful candidate will focus on the Ganges Brahmaputra Meghna Delta to reveal the causes of tidal channel morphodynamics in terms of multiscale bedforms, bank development and channel bed profile change. Laboratory experiments are scheduled to unravel the mechanisms underlying regime changes in bedforms composed of mixed sediments, using a new sediment recirculation flume.

Your qualities

As the successful candidate you:

• hold a PhD in the field of environmental fluid mechanics
• are an enthusiastic, dedicated and engaged academic  who is well capable to work in a project team;
• like to explore fundamental questions in environmental fluid mechanics
• preferably have experience both in numerical modelling and in conducting laboratory or field research
• excellent communication skills.

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

Our postdoc researchers are encouraged to supervise MSc thesis students when such opportunities arise.

We offer you

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

• 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, 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 of course receive a good salary and a three-year contract. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between €2,960 and €4,670 for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (scale 10).

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 18^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.
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 helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling. For instance under the “30% rule”, certain categories of international staff can receive tax exemption on approximately 30% of their gross salary.

Do you want more information?

For more information about this position, please contact Ton Hoitink, professor at the HWM Group, ton.hoitink@wur.nl

For more information about the procedure, please contact Edgar Tijhuis, corporate recruiter, edgar.tijhuis@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 June 6th 2023. We hope to schedule the soon afterwards.

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

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, 7,200 employees (6,400 fte) and 13,200 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 this video 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.