Department information
Description of the project and the role of the PhD candidate:
IHE Delft Institute for Water Education seeks a PhD research candidate to conduct research in “Careful groundwater governance: Combining irrigation with agroecology”, as part of a recently awarded Water and Development Partnership Programme (WDPP) project entitled “Agroecology for Sustainable and Just Groundwater Governance – Careful Irrigation (CI)”.
The PhD candidate will be hosted by the Water Governance Department of IHE Delft.
The PhD candidate will be supervised by Prof. Margreet Zwarteveen (Professor of Water Governance) and Dr. Andres Verzijl and will also be registered at the University of Amsterdam.
In this PhD research, the candidate will work with partners in India, Morocco, Algeria, Palestine and Uganda. These partners are from academic and NGO/CSOs as well as government institutions. Starting in 2023 and ending in 2027, the overall CI project aims to:
- Develop and consolidate new transdisciplinary and international collaborations around sustainable groundwater governance and agricultural food systems including with irrigation.
- Undertake in-depth action-research projects grounded in everyday experiences of people engaging with agroecology in Palestine, India, Morocco, Algeria, and Uganda
- Enhance processes of (South to South) co- and cross-learning within the transdisciplinary team and between teams and the communities to support the process of sustainable and equitable agricultural systems.
- Develop and refine methodologies to better understand the interconnectedness of groundwater/irrigation-agroecology and rainfed agriculture.
- Train and educate young water professionals from low- and medium-income countries in ways to recognize and support inclusive and sustainable groundwater governance and agricultural processes.
The PhD candidate will be expected to:
- Actively participate in the overall CI project, helping realize its objectives;
- Document and do a comparative analysis in India and possibly other project countries, looking at of how people engaging with agroecology use irrigation;
- Help develop methodologies to understand the interconnectedness of groundwater/irrigation and agroecology;
- Lead in re-thinking and re-defining of critical terms (efficiency, sustainability) in both agroecology and irrigation in view of this interconnectedness.
Responsibilities
- Your research will focus on documenting practices of water use and management in regenerative forms of farming in India (and possibly in other project countries);
- You will contribute to the preparation and reporting of a number of deliverables of the CI project;
- You will publish the obtained results in peer-reviewed journals;
- You will actively engage in other ways of disseminating and discussing the project results;
- You will co-mentor MSc theses which are linked to the PhD research;
- You will write and successfully defend a PhD thesis.
Requirements
- Originating from a so-called developing country;
- A Master’s or corresponding degree in the field of social science, anthropology, water/irrigation/agriculture/rural development/livelihoods;
- Willingness to travel and work for extended periods in India and possibly one or more other partner countries
- Proficient in English (written and spoken); demonstrated skill in independently writing academic texts in English;
- Experience in or affinity with ethnographic research methods;
- Enjoys working with multiple project partners (both within and outside academia) and a collaborative attitude;
- Willingness to mentor master theses;
- Values a multi-cultural work environment and has an inclusive and non-hierarchical attitude in a team.
Terms of employment
This is a position for 48 months (4 years), (38 hours per week), with the expectation that the candidate will submit and successfully defend the PhD thesis within this period. The candidate will be stationed in Delft, the Netherlands. Employment at IHE Delft is according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities (scale P). The appointment implies entry into the Netherlands’ Civil Service Pension Fund (ABP).
The initial contract is for 18 months. Within the first year a go/no-go decision will be made based on a detailed PhD research proposal to be developed by the candidate, which will determine whether the contract will be extended.
This role requires the candidate to be based in the Netherlands or willing to relocate to the country. The position is in Delft, the Netherlands.
The expected start date of the position is 1 January 2024.
Information and application
Additional information can be obtained from Professor Margreet Zwarteveen.
Applications (in English) should respond specifically to the requirements and can be sent by 29 October 2023, including curriculum vitae and motivation letter.
IHE Delft follows an open procedure of recruitment, which respects diversity and provides equal opportunity to applicants of all backgrounds.
For more information about the PhD programme and requirements: PhD Programme | IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (un-ihe.org).
Please use the application form via the ”apply” button, applications via email will not be taken into consideration.
Vacancy contact person
Contact person: Margreet Zwarteveen
Work phone no.: +31 15 215 2308
Work e-mail: m.zwarteveen@un-ihe.org
Publication date: 3 october 2023 16:27
