Postdoc: Visualising Social and Environmental Disruptions

Your job

Postdoc: Visualizing and Mapping Social and Environmental Disruptions in Forest and Coastal Communities.

The Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group (FNP) and Cultural Geography Group (GEO) at Wageningen University are seeking an engaged postdoc researcher who is passionate about critical landscape research on human-nature relationships. Specifically, this researcher would conduct an intersectional geospatial analysis on environmental disruption due to flood, wind and drought to better understand impacts on both the landscape and local communities after climate change triggered natural disturbances.

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher who is

• experienced with GIS methods and their critical application in research;
• wants to connect them with social science perspectives and theories and;
• is interested in engaging in a dynamic interdisciplinary and intersectional frameworks in at least two unique landscapes.

Thus, we are looking for candidates skilled in interdisciplinary research using GIS as a platform for a broader analysis of climate change induced disturbances (such as floods, wind or drought events) on both landscapes (with a specific focus on forested landscapes) and related interdependent communities.

The postdoctoral position is shared between FNP and GEO, and the prospective candidate will have the opportunity to participate in academic activities of both chair groups. In addition, there are ample opportunities for training, workshop participation, mentorship, and other enriching activities available throughout the greater WUR community. The focus of the postdoc is to contribute to an existing project exploring disrupted landscapes due to climate-related disturbances through own field research, with an aim toward generating maps and publications. Data for the generated maps will focus on changes over time in landscape, highlight environmental disruption, disturbance, system uncertainties, and combine this environmental data with the lived and felt realities for dependent and often marginalized communities before and after such disruptions gained through ethnographic and engaged multimedia methods. The two existing project sites are in Poland and the United States, but exact locations and details are open to suggestions from prospective candidates. The emphasis for ideal project sites is on, but not limited to, forested landscapes.

The project will combine both quantitative and qualitative methods to identify relevant intersections in geospatial data, both existing and new, for analysis. The postdoctoral researcher, supported by supervisors, will conduct interviews and collect multi-media (sound and visual) data in place to represent the realities of the dependent communities. The collected data can be used to build own maps and contribute to a published ESRI StoryMap. The changes over time may be used to understand possible future conditions for disrupted landscapes and dependent societies, as well as provide recommendations for policy makers, and to identify gaps for further research beyond our selected sites.

English language is mandatory for this position. A second language, possibly linked with a second project site suggestion, is preferred.

The duration of the position is 2 years (24 months).

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Selecting two project sites/case studies for the research (together with supervisors)
• Designing and leading interdisciplinary research on disturbed landscapes
• Preparing two research publications
• Preparing related intersectional maps and/or StoryMaps for the two project sites
• Actively participating in academic activities of two chair groups

Your team

You will work with two supervisors: Jennifer Veilleux, Cultural Geography Group (GEO) and Agata Konczal, Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group (FNP). Three of you will constitute a project team. You will be administered by FNP and will take an active part in the life and activities of both GEO and FNP groups. Your main working place will be on site at Wageningen University, within the Department of Environmental Sciences in Wageningen, The Netherlands.

You will work here

The Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group is embedded in the Department of Environmental Sciences of Wageningen University, which provides fundamental research and academic education on our living environment. The chair group focuses on the political, socio-cultural and economic dimensions of forests and nature. The FNP research program includes four interrelated themes: 1. Forest and nature policy and governance, 2. Value chains and markets for ecosystem goods and services, 3. Interconnections between Humans and Nature. FNP is a member of the Wageningen School of Social Sciences (WASS) and of the Wageningen Sustainability Governance Hub.

The Cultural Geography (GEO) chair group is committed to social theory in all its spatial articulations. The group advances creative, critical-constructive scholarship through exploring the ecological and social challenges facing all life on earth. Researching space, place and culture, engaging with current, historic and future dynamics of societies globally, the group pays special attention to questions of inequality, exclusion, mobility, plurality along with deploying critical tourism studies to all aspects of social and environmental sciences, unravelling relational complexities in wilderness to urban settings. Thereby the group translates knowledge into practical action in four closely related fields of application. These are: mobilities and migration, tourism, climate change, and nature and landscape – we just updated these conceptually recently, but do not see this reflected on our website and not sure if I can change the language or not. (health & care, tourism, nature and landscape.)

This position is part of the Academic Career Framework (ACF) at Wageningen University & Research.

Your qualities

The ideal candidate must have the following qualities:

• Knowledge of qualitative social science methods, including interviewing and use of multiple media (quantitative methods are assent but are not required)
• Creative and innovative mindset
• Ability to work in international and collaborative environments
• PhD in fields such as geography, geosciences, GIS, anthropology, archaeology, landscape planning, environmental science or similar
• Proven GIS proficiency
• English language proficiency (C1)

In addition, the following qualities will be perceived as assets:

• Knowledge of additional languages
• Experience in working in international and interdisciplinary projects

We offer

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between € 3.546,- and € 5.538,- for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 10). As for your contract, we initially offer a one-year contract that can be extended - if possible within (company) organizational circumstances - on good performance, for the duration of the project.

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.

Coming from abroad

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.

Important information

For more information about the position, please contact Jennifer Veilleux, Assistant Professor jennifer.veilleux@wur.nl and/or Agata Konczal, Assistant Professor agata.konczal@wur.nl
Questions about the procedure? Get in touch with Jessa Rozema, Corporate Recruiter, via jessa.rozema-stol@wur.nl

Ready to apply?
Click on the application button next to the vacancy on our website. Only applications submitted through our website will be considered.

You can apply up to and including 6 July 2026. Internal candidates are preferred to apply before 15 June 2026.

Procedure
As part of our selection process, an assessment may be incorporated within the procedure

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.

We are

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.