Junior researcher Law & Circular Construction ('Circulaw')

 Have you just recently finished your LLM degree and are you interested in contributing new, impactful research on the circular economy? The Law Group at Wageningen University is recruiting a recent graduate to contribute to The Circulaw Amsterdam initiative, developing new insights on activating legislation and regulations to accelerate the timber construction transition. CircuLaw Amsterdam is a joint project by the AMS institute, Dark Matter Labs and the City of Amsterdam.  

Using timber as a circular construction material has many advantages; it has a low environmental impact and help can store CO�. While the use of timber is increasing, many barriers to its effective uptake by policymakers remain. This project serves to provide new insights on the relation between existing legal instruments and successful application thereof in a real-world context. The results will be directly translated into the development of the CircuLaw application module, providing answers to questions such as: 

• What is needed/required to enable a policy maker to apply specific legal instruments that may accelerate timber construction? 
• Which elements promote the successful implementation of legal instruments in a complex transition-, organisational-, political- and socio-economic context? 
• What steps should/could a policy maker make in the application of a legal instrument? 
• How can legal instruments and other policy instruments be combined to create levers that accelerate the timber transition? 

The researcher will become part of the Wageningen University Law Group. With a strong focus on finding legal solutions to social problems, the group has collective expertise on matters relating to EU law, food law, environmental law, private law, human rights law and more. The research of the group is also strongly interdisciplinary, with faculty and students from all over the world. 

Due to the need for frequent contact with local stakeholders and those working on the technical side of the project, the researcher will have the opportunity to conduct part of their work at the AMS Institute; the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions, located at the Marineterrein in Amsterdam. The AMS Institute is an internationally leading institute where talent is educated and engineers, designers, and both natural and social scientists jointly develop and valorize integrated metropolitan solutions.

We ask

The successful candidate is expected to:

• Carry out research tasks in group contexts as well as independently.
• Write up and communicate research results (in Dutch) to internal and external stakeholders.
• Help develop and test a digital tool for policy makers and civil servants in Dutch municipalities to effectively leverage legislative and regulatory systems for the circular economy, specifically timber construction.
• Participate and assist in specific projects of the Circulaw project.
• Possess a creative, pro-active and entrepreneurial mindset: always looking for possibilities, especially in a legal context.
• Candidate must be in the possession of an LLM (law) degree, affinity with/expertise in policy studies is a plus.
• Have an intrinsic drive and dedication to contributing to a sustainable society operating within planetary boundaries.
• Fluency in Dutch (written & spoken) is required.

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;
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• 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 December 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 € 2402 and € 3026 or (€ 2748 fixed) for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 6), a contract for 1 FTE. 

Position for 1 year, fulltime (0.8 FTE is a possibility) at the level of junior staff (pre-PhD). 
There may be possibilities for extension of the research position and/or the development of a PhD project.
Starting date is flexible (ideally as soon as possible). 

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.
You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “Best University” in the Netherlands for the 17^th consecutive time.

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. Applicants from abroad moving to the Netherlands may qualify for a special tax relief, known as the 30% ruling. 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 and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling, and other issues.

More information

You can apply for the position by sending your CV and a brief motivation letter (max 1 page), introducing yourself, your experience, and your affinity with the topic. Promising candidates will be invited for a job interview. Preferred starting date is as soon as possible, but there is some flexibility. Please indicate your availability in the motivation letter.   

Applications should be submitted before noon on Friday 4 November 2022. Interviews will take place mid November. If you have any questions about the position, please contact Edwin Alblas (edwin.alblas@wur.nl). 

For more information about the procedure, please contact Jouke van Oostenbrugge, Corporate recruiter email jouke.vanoostenbrugge@wur.nl, or Tanja Schultz, Assistent recruiter email tanja.Schultz@wur.nl. 

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, 7,200 employees (6,400 fte) and 13,200 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 this video 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.
 

Apply now