wo vacatures in Wormerveer

Business hour

We are open from Monday to Friday 8.30h to 17h.

Highlights

First Year Retreat

0,9

18 - 20 March 2026

Starting a PhD is an exciting step but it can also feel a bit overwhelming at times. Our First year Retreat is designed to help you get a better sense of what lies ahead and how to make the most of your PhD experience.

Mid term Retreat

0,6

19 - 20 March 2026

This retreat invites you to hit pause, look back, and explore how things are going and how things can be improved!

Last Year Retreat

0,6

19 - 20 March 2026

Join us for an inspiring two-day retreat designed for PhD candidates in their final year!

1.5

22 - 27 March 2026

In this post graduate course, we will explore photosynthesis from the chloroplast to the whole-plant canopy level.

Farming Systems and Rural Livelihoods Analysis

3

22 March - 2 April 2026

The focus of this edition of the FSRLA course is on farm household systems in multifunctional landscapes, as affected by poverty, pressures of climate change, population growth, land-use change, and changes in markets.

Natural disturbances and restoration activities in European forests

1.5

10-16 May 2026

European forests have a central role to play in biodiversity conservation, as is recognized by recent publications and policy documents.

PE&RC News

NAEM 2026 is open for registration!

PE&RC Office

- 9 December 2026

Each year in February, the Netherlands Ecological Research Network (NERN) organises her annual conference, the Netherlands Annual Ecology Meeting (NAEM). This conference is particularly geared towards people working in the field of ecology and/or evolution.

- 6 March 2026

- 30 January 2026

This PE&RC Newsletter is published once a month and will round up useful information, relevant news, upcoming events and job opportunities.

- 28 November 2025

This PE&RC Newsletter is published once a month and will round up useful information, relevant news, upcoming events and job opportunities.

The winners of the NWO Domain Science Awards 2025 have been announced: prof. dr. Marielos Peña-Claros from WUR is one of the winners!

Are you passionate about understanding the effects of fires on tropical forests? Do you aspire to contribute to cutting-edge research in forest ecology and management? We have two exciting PhD positions available at the Forest Ecology and Forest Management Chair Group (FEM) at Wageningen University that offer a unique opportunity to investigate fire resilience of Amazonian forests in Bolivia, based on permanent plot networks and a fire experiment.

Both PhD projects will assess the impact of fire intensity and fire frequency on the resistance and recovery of tropical trees and forests, and will work in seasonally dry Chiquitanía forest and evergreen wet Amazon forests in Bolivia.

PhD project 1 will assess the mechanisms underlying forest resilience (resistance and recovery) to fires. The PhD candidate will lead the expansion of a permanent monitoring network of plots in burned and unburned (control) forests across gradients in both fire frequency and fire intensity in dry (Chiquitanía) and wet (Amazon) forests in Bolivia. Furthermore, the PhD will quantify functional traits of trees relevant to fire resilience. The PhD will be supervised by , Prof. Marielos Peña-Claros , and dr. Peter van der Sleen .

PhD project 2 will assess the physiological and morphological impacts of fires on trees in order to understand how and why trees die or recover. The PhD candidate will implement a tree-level fire experiment in dry and wet forest in Bolivia. For a set of 10 tree species per forest type, the PhD will implement different fire intensity and frequency treatments while tracking tree physiological and morphological responses before, during and after (up to 1-2 years) fire. The PhD will be supervised by , Prof. Hans Cornelissen , dr. Silvia C. Gallegos , and Prof. Lourens Poorter .

These projects fall within the ERC Starting Grant to Masha van der Sande on 'Fire resilience of Amazonian forests: past, present and future'. The PhD projects aim to understand the 'present'.

Both PhD candidates are expected to perform periods of fieldwork (approx. 3 months per year during year 1, 2 and 3) in Bolivia. There are ample opportunities for collaborations within the project. The trait data collected in the PhD projects will also be used by a postdoc to assess how the impact of fire on tree populations is modulated by fire-related traits at paleo-ecological timescales (using fossil pollen and charcoal records dating back 10,000y), and PhD results and data will be used to adapt and parametrize an individual-based, spatially-explicit dynamic forest model to predict future fire resilience of Amazon forests.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Leading field campaigns, and being willing to spend long consecutive periods of up to 3-4 months per year in Bolivia
• During time in the Netherlands, work at least 4 days per week from the office in Wageningen.
• Writing a minimum of 3 scientific PhD chapters (publications)
• Participate in scientific and social activities of the Forest Ecology and Forest Management chairgroup

Your qualities

We are looking for two highly motivated and enthusiastic candidates with the following qualifications:

• An MSc degree in a relevant field, including: biology, forest & nature conservation, plant sciences
• High level of English speaking and writing. See the language requirements of Wageningen University.
• Knowledge of Spanish is a plus
• Knowledge on tree morphology and physiology
• Experience in conducting forest ecological or tree eco-physiological field work in remote sites; leading such fieldwork is a plus
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• Experience with quantitative techniques and statistical analyses of large datasets
• Experience with, and knowledge on, forest fires is a plus
• A broad interest in understanding fire and other climate change impacts on forests

We offer you

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

• 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 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 € 3.059,- per month rising to € 3.881,- 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.

Wageningen University & Research offers plenty of opportunities for growth and development, with a strong internal recruitment policy and excellent training programmes.

You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment. For 20 consecutive years, we have been voted the " best university " in the Netherlands! A place to be proud of.

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. We can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, 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 ,

Questions about the procedure? Get in touch with Jessa Rozema, Corporate Recruiter, via