Postdoc Novel conservation approaches through data integration

Job description

In this project, you will be 1) using data integration to assess the effectiveness of different forms of current collective actions in landscapes aimed at bending the curve of biodiversity loss, comparing approaches and outcomes across project sites in The Netherlands, Argentina and East Africa, 2) Co-creating novel solutions in collective action at the level of socio-ecological landscape systems together with cooperation partners, 3) Identifying the key mechanisms for effective and sustainable forms of collective biodiversity restoration, jointly with stakeholders. Focus during year 1 and 2 will be on database design and data integration through setting up a shared data management strategy for a set of interlinked PhD projects, and during year 3-4 on synthesis. This requires the integration of various monitoring schemes, identification of the key factors and mechanisms that underlie the most effective collective actions for biodiversity restoration, and translation of the insights from locally successful practices to other regions worldwide.

Research environment

Research will be mainly performed in the Conservation Ecology group at the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES).

This is position CS-PD1 of the Curvebend program in which 8 PhD students and 2 postdocs across 9 institutions will collaborate to investigate how to restore biodiversity and promote a nature-positive society through mobilisation of collective action at the landscape level - a program working on three continents worldwide with a focus on livestock-dominated landscapes. Within CurveBend, you will have a central role in facilitating the data integration between these different PhD and postdoc projects, including visits to these projects in The Netherlands, South America and East Africa.

Organisation

Founded in 1614, the University of Groningen enjoys an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative institution of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Flexible study programs and academic career opportunities in a wide variety of disciplines encourage the 34,000 students and researchers alike to develop their own individual talents. As one of the best research universities in Europe, the University of Groningen has joined forces with other top universities and networks worldwide to become a truly global center of knowledge.

Qualifications

We are looking for a motivated and skilled researcher with a completed PhD degree in ecology or related discipline with a clear affinity to nature conservation. The successful candidate should have proven excellent technical skills in data science methods as database management, statistics, R, and GIS, and is a team player with a collaborative attitude and ability to work within an interdisciplinary team (ecology, humanities and economics). Good verbal and written communication skills in English are also required (TOEFL iBT 90+ or equivalent level), as well as flexibility to travel regularly abroad to South America and Africa.

Organisation

Conditions of employment

In accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities, we offer:

• A salary of minimum € 3,378 (salary scale 10.0) and maximum € 4,537 (salary scale 10.7) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Researcher 4. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
• An appointment initially for 1 year. Subject to a positive evaluation, the contract will be extended with 3 more years for a total project duration of 4 years.
• Plenty of room to acquire new skills to develop a highly-competitive research portfolio.

Starting date: 1 May 2025