PhD Position in Environmental Science (VU University of Amsterdam)

Your function Those who contribute the least to climate change are the first to suffer from its impacts. This is especially true for vulnerable and marginalized groups in coastal areas, who live in hazardous locations prone to flooding, salt intrusion or coastal erosion. Meanwhile, adaptation measures are often aimed at areas with high economic value, neglecting the most vulnerable and further increasing inequality. With your PhD thesis, you will improve our understanding of the drivers, conditions, and dependencies of household (in)equality in coastal climate risk, in relation to government adaptation decisions. The PhD project contributes to a broader project on pathways towards equitable coastal climate adaptation. As part of your PhD, you will work with, and further develop, the DYNamic climate impact Adaptation Model (DYNAMO). DYNAMO is an agent-based model, that captures adaptation action and interactions of households and governments, and how they are influenced by changing climate risks. You will (1) adapt DYNAMO so that it represents vulnerable and marginalized households, and (2) apply DYNAMO to specific case-studies to analyse interaction effects between government adaptation strategies and household or community responses. Furthermore, to bring science to society, you will develop an open-source modelling toolkit that can be used by societal partners to analyse the distribution of benefits from adaptation actions. During your PhD, you will have the opportunity to test the toolkits during workshops in the case-study areas outside of Europe. In the PhD project, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with other PhD’s and societal partners that work on issues of Climate Justice , climate adaptation, and climate risks. You will be based at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), where you are part of a vibrant PhD community of about 60 PhD candidates. Your duties you advance our scientific and societal understanding of equitable coastal adaptation for vulnerable households you set up and maintain professional contact with societal partners you disseminate your research findings through academic publications, conference presentations, and engagement with relevant stakeholders you contribute to teaching activities at the IVM Your profile you enjoy using models to generate knowledge as DYNAMO is written in Python, your experience with Python is a Pré you feel connected to themes like climate justice, flood risk, and adaptive behaviour you completed a master degree in a related thematic field (such as Environmental Studies, Hydrology, Climate Science) or related methodological field (such as Computer Science, Econometrics, Complex systems science). This list is not exhaustive, if you feel your master degree fits, please apply We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not fully meet all the requirements. What do we offer? An interesting 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 € 2.901,00 (PhD scale 85.0) and maximum € 3.707,00 (PhD scale 85.3) gross per month in the fourth year, for a full-time employment. an employment contract of initially 1 year. If there is sufficient perspective, this will be extended to a total of 4 years. Your dissertation at the end of the fourth year forms the end of your employment contract. 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 Additionally, we also offer a PhD education programme including training for teaching assistants and courses that are part of the SENSE graduate school. About us 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 Water and Climate Risk studies hydrological and climate processes, and how these processes lead to risks and opportunities for society, the economy, and the environment. A defining characteristic of the department is a multi-disciplinary approach that combines expertise from natural sciences with knowledge from the fields of economics, e-Science and geography. This approach has led to a unique research portfolio of water and climate risk projects, and the department is a global leading institute in flood and drought risk assessment, and risk management research. 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. Learn more about our codes of conduct 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. Interested Are you interested in this position and do you believe that your experience will contribute to the further development of our university? In that case, we encourage you to submit your application. IMPORTANT: Motivation letter should be limited to 1 page, resumés to 2 pages. Motivation letters generated with ChatGPT or other AI language tools will not be considered. The first round of job interviews are planned in the week of 8 April 2025, so please take this into account when applying for the position. Submitting a diploma and a reference check are part of the application process. Reference letters can either be uploaded with your application, or you can list the contact information of two references in your CV or cover letter. Applications received by e-mail will not be considered. Acquisition in response to this advertisement is not appreciated. If you apply for this position please say you saw it on Engineeroxy

Your function

Those who contribute the least to climate change are the first to suffer from its impacts. This is especially true for vulnerable and marginalized groups in coastal areas, who live in hazardous locations prone to flooding, salt intrusion or coastal erosion. Meanwhile, adaptation measures are often aimed at areas with high economic value, neglecting the most vulnerable and further increasing inequality. With your PhD thesis, you will improve our understanding of the drivers, conditions, and dependencies of household (in)equality in coastal climate risk, in relation to government adaptation decisions.

The PhD project contributes to a broader project on pathways towards equitable coastal climate adaptation. As part of your PhD, you will work with, and further develop, the DYNamic climate impact Adaptation Model (DYNAMO). DYNAMO is an agent-based model, that captures adaptation action and interactions of households and governments, and how they are influenced by changing climate risks. You will (1) adapt DYNAMO so that it represents vulnerable and marginalized households, and (2) apply DYNAMO to specific case-studies to analyse interaction effects between government adaptation strategies and household or community responses.

Furthermore, to bring science to society, you will develop an open-source modelling toolkit that can be used by societal partners to analyse the distribution of benefits from adaptation actions. During your PhD, you will have the opportunity to test the toolkits during workshops in the case-study areas outside of Europe.

In the PhD project, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with other PhD’s and societal partners that work on issues of Climate Justice , climate adaptation, and climate risks. You will be based at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), where you are part of a vibrant PhD community of about 60 PhD candidates.

Your duties

you advance our scientific and societal understanding of equitable coastal adaptation for vulnerable households
you set up and maintain professional contact with societal partners
you disseminate your research findings through academic publications, conference presentations, and engagement with relevant stakeholders
you contribute to teaching activities at the IVM

Your profile

you enjoy using models to generate knowledge
as DYNAMO is written in Python, your experience with Python is a Pré
you feel connected to themes like climate justice, flood risk, and adaptive behaviour
you completed a master degree in a related thematic field (such as Environmental Studies, Hydrology, Climate Science) or related methodological field (such as Computer Science, Econometrics, Complex systems science). This list is not exhaustive, if you feel your master degree fits, please apply

We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not fully meet all the requirements.

What do we offer?

An interesting 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 € 2.901,00 (PhD scale 85.0) and maximum € 3.707,00 (PhD scale 85.3) gross per month in the fourth year, for a full-time employment.
an employment contract of initially 1 year. If there is sufficient perspective, this will be extended to a total of 4 years. Your dissertation at the end of the fourth year forms the end of your employment contract.

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

Additionally, we also offer a PhD education programme including training for teaching assistants and courses that are part of the SENSE graduate school.

About us

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 Water and Climate Risk studies hydrological and climate processes, and how these processes lead to risks and opportunities for society, the economy, and the environment. A defining characteristic of the department is a multi-disciplinary approach that combines expertise from natural sciences with knowledge from the fields of economics, e-Science and geography. This approach has led to a unique research portfolio of water and climate risk projects, and the department is a global leading institute in flood and drought risk assessment, and risk management research.

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. Learn more about our codes of conduct

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.

Interested

Are you interested in this position and do you believe that your experience will contribute to the further development of our university? In that case, we encourage you to submit your application.

IMPORTANT: Motivation letter should be limited to 1 page, resumés to 2 pages. Motivation letters generated with ChatGPT or other AI language tools will not be considered.

The first round of job interviews are planned in the week of 8 April 2025, so please take this into account when applying for the position.

Submitting a diploma and a reference check are part of the application process.

Reference letters can either be uploaded with your application, or you can list the contact information of two references in your CV or cover letter.

Applications received by e-mail will not be considered.

Acquisition in response to this advertisement is not appreciated.

If you apply for this position please say you saw it on Engineeroxy

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