Are you a systems thinker passionate about bending the curve of biodiversity loss in agroecosystems? Are you looking for a meaningful research path with impact on the ground? Are you eager to join a stimulating environment, collaborate across academic fields, and engage with private and public actors? Are you enthusiastic to dive into a plurality of views regarding biodiversity and its recovery? Then, we have a PhD position for you.
Biodiversity recovery is essential to sustain resilient food systems, robust businesses, and healthy societies. A transition to nature-inclusive dairy sector in the Netherlands would be pivotal to biodiversity recovery, because of its influence in shaping landscapes through land use and management, and because of its socio-economic relevance. DECISION is a transdisciplinary project involving farmers, dairy companies, financial and service sectors, and local communities, to co-create and accelerate the transition to a resilient and nature-inclusive future. DECISION will count on a broad group of experts, four fully funded PhDs candidates and one postdoc.
For this position, we are looking for a PhD candidate eager to deal with the understanding of the diverse values of nature (including biodiversity and ecosystem services) across stakeholders, and with anticipating the consequences of adopting nature-inclusive transitions for business and for nature. In that role, you will develop and explore the potential of farm typologies to deal with heterogeneity and tailor a nature-inclusive transition; explore the diverse values of nature among diverse stakeholders; and co-design of scenarios and interventions to support biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services.
Your duties and responsibilities include:
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Develop a Research Proposal and a Training and Supervision Plan, to structure the PhD trajectory
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Advancing conceptual thinking by linking farm heterogeneity and typologies, diverse values and valuation of nature, and theory of transitions and transformations
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Conducting and analyzing semi-structured interviews and workshops with stakeholders
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Develop scenario analysis and/or other ‘future’ studies
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Disseminate results by publishing papers in scientific journals, presenting in international conferences, and creating content items dedicated to stakeholders
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Work as a team player, contributing to the activities and wider aims of DECISION project.
You will work here
This PhD position will be situated between the Animal Production Systems (APS) group and the Land Use Planning (LUP) group of Wageningen University & Research. APS focuses on unravelling the complexity of livestock systems, and exploring trade-offs and synergies of innovations regarding environmental impact, animal welfare, and economic viability, to design a more sustainable future. The LUP group aims to improve our understanding of landscapes as social-ecological systems and focuses on interventions that relieve the pressure on scarce space, improving the overall landscape quality.
You will be supervised by Dr Raimon Ripoll-Bosch (APS) and Dr Judith Westerink (LUP). The work of Dr Raimon Ripoll-Bosch focuses on understanding the complex interactions between livestock, nature (biodiversity and ecosystem services) and economy, to design enabling environments for the transitions to nature-inclusive agroecosystems. The work of Dr Judith Westerink focuses on transformative landscape governance, in particular related to biodiversity and dairy farming systems.
You have strong analytical skills, capable of disentangling complex problems and understanding diverse perspectives on the matter. You are a responsible and independent researcher, but also a team player that thrives being part of a larger, collaborative and multi-disciplinary team. You are creative, constructive and open to learn from other disciplines.
You also have:
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A successfully completed MSc degree in a relevant field, such as Social Sciences, Environmental Sciences, or Integrative Agricultural/Animal/Plant Sciences
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Acquaintance with mixed-method research, experience with conducting and analyzing interviews, surveys and synthesizing documents
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Affinity with semi-quantitative approaches, scenario analysis and/or shared socioeconomic pathways
- Background with the systems approach and/or interdisciplinary research
- Excellent writing and presenting skills, for both academic and non-academic audiences
For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.
Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:
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Partially paid parental leave;
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working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
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there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
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a fixed year-end bonus of 8.3%;
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excellent pension scheme.
In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.
The gross salary for the first year is € 3,204,- per month rising to € 4,051,- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.
We encourage development and internal mobility within our organisation. Our recruitment and selection policy sets out the conditions that apply specifically to you as a (former) employee. If you have any questions, we are happy to help.
You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment.
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.
Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.
Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, our Welcome Center can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example housing, opening a bank account, dual career programs or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.
For more information about the position, please contact Dr. Raimon Ripoll-Bosch, via email: [email protected] and Dr. Judith Westerink, via email: [email protected]
Questions about the procedure? Get in touch with Noorien Abbas, Corporate Recruiter, via [email protected]
Ready to apply?
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval. Only applications submitted through our website will be considered.
To apply, please send the following documents (max. 3 pages in total ):
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Complete and up-to-date curriculum vitae (max. 2 pages);
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Motivation letter (max. 1 page).
The maximum length of the documents must not exceed 3 pages. If it exceeds, applications will not be considered. Additional files such as grades and transcripts are not required during this stage and will not be considered.
You can apply up to and including September 28, 2026. The first interviews are scheduled for 14-16 October 2026.
Welcome, safe, and valued
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) highly values diversity and inclusion because we believe that different insights lead to innovative solutions. We create a work environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, and appreciated, regardless of background, identity, or experience. Together, we are building a culture where everyone's unique contribution adds to the success of our organization.
The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.
Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below to get an idea of our green campus!
We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.
