We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with an MSc degree in ecology/biology or physical geography or civil engineering. The candidate should have a passion for combining simple experimental work with the modelling of ecological-physical interactions. A good understanding of statistics and mathematical modelling (differential equations to describe growth, etc) is a prerequisite. Candidates should be capable of planning and organizing their own work independently, to organize and carry out field experiments, and meet deadlines imposed by the project.
Most importantly, the candidate should be open and communicative, and keen on interacting with both users and interdisciplinary project partners. The candidate should be inspired by frontier-applied research, where fundamental knowledge is developed, in order to provide a knowledge base for managers. Excellent communication skills and an open collaborative attitude are essential for the success of the project.
Good English oral and writing skills are demanded, as the candidate must publish the findings in scientific journals and effectively communicate results to users.
The candidate will be positioned at the NIOZ, and work in a research team that involves University of Twente, TU Delft, and many other partners within the SALTI-Solutions program and will actively interact with Dutch industry and governmental partners. The academic core of this project on Natural processes of Nature Based SaltiSolutions within the SaltiSolutions Program will consist of 1 PhD position at NIOZ and a postdoc and two PhD positions at University of Twente. At the NIOZ, the PhD student will be embedded in an active group of experimental and modelling PhD-students and postdocs. Regular research stays of 1 week are foreseen at the Water Engineering and Management group of the University of Twente.
Fixed-term contract: 4 years.
Employment of this position at Royal NIOZ is by NWO (The Netherlands Organization of Scientific Research). We offer a position for a period of 1 year (fulltime). At the end of this first year, the employment will be extended to a fixed-term of a maximum of 4 years, if the first year evaluation held with the employee is positive. The salary is compliant to the CAO-OI (Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Research Institutes), a pension scheme, a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, a year-end bonus, and flexible work arrangements.
You may expect attractive secondary employment conditions. We offer generous relocation expenses for employees coming from abroad and support with finding accommodation.
The position will be based at the NIOZ-Yerseke, which is at commuting distance of cities like Antwerpen, Breda, Middelburg and Vlissingen.