Assistant Professor

Are you a researcher in the field of environmental economics? Do you have experience in academic teaching? Please apply at Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam.

Jouw functie

As an assistant professor in environmental economics, you will be a member of the Environmental Economics section at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) of VU Amsterdam. We are looking for an environmental economist with a broad interest in our research themes, with a preference for the themes sustainable food, ecosystems, biodiversity, and/or sustainable (nature) finance.

Your work involves teaching courses in environmental economics as well as other thematic courses in our interdisciplinary BSc and MSc programmes. You will develop a research programme in your field, and will conduct research and contribute to attracting research funding. You will also have some organisational duties (such as education committees or the organization of internal or external events) in support of the teaching and research base.

We expect that you will contribute about 40% of your time to research, 40% to education and 20% to organisational tasks. Your career development is guided by our Career Track policy.

Your duties

• You develop a leading research programme in your research field, and in the longer term, build up a successful team around your field of expertise
• You acquire external research funding and submit applications for financing research with societal impact
• You teach at BSc and MSc level including thesis supervision
• You contribute to organisational tasks of our Institute
• You maintain a high quality publication output
• You initiate collaborative projects within and beyond our University and work in teams.

Jouw profiel

• you hold a PhD in Environmental Economics
• you have a strong research interest and academic track record in environmental economics
• your research has a clear methodological focus and uses quantitative methods
• you are committed to academic teaching in Environmental Economics and Sustainability courses for interdisciplinary student groups
• you show academic leadership and value teamwork
• you have a keen interest in interdisciplinary collaboration and generating societal impact through applied research

Fluency in English is a prerequisite.

Please note that we do not consider applicants that do not have a background in (subdisciplines of) economics. We cannot offer appointments beyond Assistant Professor level.

Wat bieden wij

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

• a salary of minimum € 4.728,00 (Scale 11) and maximum € 6.433,00 (Scale 11) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Lecturer / Assistant Professor 1. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
• a position for at least 0.8 FTE. Your employment contract will initially affect a period of 18 months. After 15 months your performance will be evaluated in terms of quality of teaching, research and collaboration. After a successful evaluation, you will receive permanent employment and a path for your further academic development will be established through the career track agreement.

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and regulations. Some examples:

• A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• solid pension scheme (ABP)
• contribution to commuting expenses
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package

Over ons

Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)

Established in 1971, IVM is a leading environmental research institute that is internationally recognised for its high quality research output in a range of environmental disciplines, as well as for its interdisciplinary work. The mission of the institute is to contribute to sustainable development and care for the environment through scientific research and teaching. IVM aims to do excellent problem-oriented research that is useful to a wide range of stakeholders in the Netherlands and internationally. A unique strength of our research is to understand sustainability problems in their social and economic context. IVM’s research community works within four departments: Environmental Economics; Environmental Geography, Environmental Policy Analysis; and Water and Climate Risk. Since 2001 IVM has been part of the Faculty of Science at VU Amsterdam (legal name Stichting VU).

The department of Environmental Economics (EE) leads the institute’s efforts in improving insights into the interaction between the environment and the economy. The department is one of the main groups of environmental economists in Europe, consisting of around 35 scientific staff and PhD researchers. The department strategy is to consolidate and further strengthen its position as a major player in the European field of environmental economics. Important fields of application include climate change, energy, circular economy, water, ecosystem services, and environmental and natural resource management. The philosophy of the EE department is to closely integrate its research projects with its teaching programme and to initiate and conduct research jointly with stakeholders and collaborating institutes.

Faculty of Science

Researchers and students at VU Amsterdam’s Faculty of Science tackle fundamental and complex scientific problems to help pave the way for a sustainable and healthy future. From forest fires to big data, from obesity to malnutrition, and from molecules to the moon: we cover the full spectrum of the natural sciences. Our teaching and research have a strong experimentally technical, computational and interdisciplinary nature.

We work on new solutions guided by value-driven, interdisciplinary methodologies. We are committed to research, valorisation and training socially engaged citizens of the world who will make valuable contributions to a sustainable, healthy future.

Are you interested in joining the Faculty of Science? You will join undergraduate students, PhD candidates and researchers at the biggest sciences faculty in the Netherlands. You will combine a professional focus with a broad view of the world. We are proud of our collegial working climate, characterised by committed staff, a pragmatic attitude and engagement in the larger whole. The faculty is home to over 11,000 students enrolled in 40 study programmes. It employs over 1,600 professionals spread across 10 academic departments.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely - a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research.

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility. Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.

Diversity

Diversity is the driving force of VU Amsterdam. VU wants to be accessible and receptive to diversity in disciplines, cultures, ideas, nationalities, beliefs, preferences and worldviews. We believe that trust, respect, interest and differences lead to new insights and innovation, to sharpness and clarity, to excellence and a broader understanding.

We stand for an inclusive community and believe that diversity and internationalisation contribute to the quality of education, research and our services.

Therefore, we are always searching for people whose backgrounds and experience contribute to the diversity of the VU community.