Postdoc Position: Evaluating the Effectiveness of National Nature Restoration Plans - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

1. Introduction

Are you curious how large-scale nature restoration may help to preserve biodiversity? Do you enjoy working with quantitative ecological models? And do you have a drive for applied research that may contribute to more effective nature policy? Then this postdoctoral researcher position might be exactly what you are looking for!

2. Job description

Large-scale nature restoration is increasingly promoted as a proactive, positive approach to achieve long-term goals for the preservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Designing effective nature restoration plans is however challenging, because species and habitats respond differently to restoration depending on the local context, and climate change may jeopardise restoration success.

In this position, you will have the opportunity to make a contribution to help design effective national nature restoration plans through ecological modelling and data collection. The position is part of a European project focused on understanding ecological responses to nature restoration measures. Your main tasks will be:

1. Establish and analyse a database with species traits, as a foundation to understand species’ responses to restoration measures.
2. Apply a suit of ecological modelling tools to assess the effectiveness of the national restoration plans of a selection of European Member States, with a focus on the national restoration plan of the Netherlands.

In addition to the research, you will contribute to project management, for example by assisting in the organisation and reporting of project meetings, and the supervision of a PhD candidate. Furthermore, you will contribute a maximum of 10% of your working time to teaching activities in the BSc/MSc Biology programmes.

3. Profile

• You hold a PhD degree in ecology.
• You are driven to contribute to a better understanding of broad-scale biodiversity change.
• You have experience with data collection and quantitative analytical methods (e.g. statistical modelling, process-explicit ecological modelling).
• You have a solid basis in at least one common high-level programming language (e.g. R, Python).
• You enjoy collaborative research in international, transdisciplinary teams, and you are happy to contribute to project management tasks.
• You have a good command of written and spoken English. Mastering Dutch is an advantage, but not a requirement.

4. We are

You will be based at the Department of Environmental Science of the Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences (RIBES), which is part of Radboud University (Nijmegen, Netherlands). The mission of our department is to produce scientific knowledge to support sustainable transitions. To achieve this, we aim to understand, project and address the impact of anthropogenic pressures on ecosystems and humans from the landscape to the global scale. This enables us to explore and develop wide-ranging sustainable solutions for the environmental challenges the world faces today. We are a diverse group that fosters a pleasant, collaborative and lively atmosphere. 

5. We offer

• We will give you a temporary employment contract of 1 years with the prospect of an extension for 3 years.
• Your salary within salary scale 10 depends on your previous education and number of years of (relevant) work experience. The amounts in the scale are based on a 38-hour working week.
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus. 
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20. 

6. Practical information and applying

You can apply only via the button below. Address your letter of application to Aafke Schipper. In the application form, you will find which documents you need to include with your application. We look forward to receiving your application.

The first interviews will take place on Monday 15, Wednesday 17, and/or Thursday 18 June. You will preferably start your employment on 1 September 2026.

We can imagine you're curious about our application procedure. It describes what you can expect during the application procedure and how we handle your personal data and internal and external candidates. 

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