Postdoc Position: Evaluating the Effectiveness of National Nature Restoration Plans

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!

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.

At Radboud University, I can fully focus on expanding my expertise while learning from my peers and mentors.

Noemí Segura-Solé, PhD candidate in Microbial Ecology

Does this sound like you?

• 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.

What we offer you

• 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.

Additional employment conditions

Work and science require good employment practices. Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions reflect this. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself. For example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports membership. In addition, you receive a 34% discount on the sports and cultural activities at Radboud University as an employee. And, of course, we offer a good pension plan. We also give you plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

Where you will be working

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.

Faculty of Science

The Faculty of Science (FNWI), part of Radboud University, engages in groundbreaking research and excellent education. In doing so, we push the boundaries of scientific knowledge and pass that knowledge on to the next generation.

We seek solutions to major societal challenges, such as cybercrime and climate change and work on major scientific challenges, such as those in the quantum world. At the same time, we prepare our students for careers both within and outside the scientific field.

Currently, more than 1,300 colleagues contribute to research and education, some as researchers and lecturers, others as technical and administrative support officers. The faculty has a strong international character with staff from more than 70 countries. Together, we work in an informal, accessible and welcoming environment, with attention and space for personal and professional development for all.