Postdoc Position: Ecology of Waterway Management

We have five positions available on the new BALANS project in the Netherlands: three PhD positions (at Radboud University (RU), the University of Groningen (RUG) and FLORON/RAVON respectively), one 4-year postdoctoral position (RU) and one two-year position for a research assistant that will become available later in 2027 (RUG).

These positions are part of a larger project funded by LVVN (Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature) dedicated to the management of waterways. Waterways, such as ditches, are maintained to ensure sufficient water flow capacity, but also harbour important biodiversity. BALANS will generate knowledge on best practices for future management of waterways, searching for a balance between their practical functionality and biodiversity. The results will be used for the revision of the new code of conduct for waterway management in the Netherlands (2029) and will be obtained by a consortium including RU, RUG, FLORON, RAVON and Wageningen Environmental Research (WEnR), with project management by STOWA (Foundation for Applied Water Research), and guided by a committee including representatives from the Dutch water boards and species conservation NGOs.

Key topics that will be investigated are the timing, frequency and spatial scales of mowing activities, and the type of machinery applied. Methodological approaches will include the analysis of available data from water boards, field monitoring, field experiments that manipulate mowing and lab-based experiments for a mechanistic understanding. Research will be carried out across different types of landscapes and waterway dimensions, and will include impacts on different species groups (fish, plants, birds, macrofauna, amphibians, mammals) for which we will apply different monitoring techniques (e.g. camera trapping, tracking, surveys).

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will be coordinating the research for the whole four-year project. You will first have the role of helping the three PhD candidates with setting up their field and lab experiments, overseeing the project’s coherence together with the PIs on the project. Over time, the role will shift towards setting up and carrying out experiments, either together with the PhD candidates or on your own initiative, and ultimately to helping with appropriate data analyses and the writing of the scientific output. For this position, it is required to be able to speak sufficient Dutch, because of a coordinating task in reporting to the project guidance committee consisting of representatives from the water boards, STOWA and species conservation NGO’s (e.g. Vogelbescherming, Zodion). This position requires multitasking skills and offers the chance to build a great scientific and applied network in the Netherlands as well as achieve scientific output.

You will be based at the Department of Ecology at Radboud University and will be entitled to receive varied, cutting-edge research training with ample opportunities to attend advanced courses, workshops and conferences, complemented by training in transferable skills and teaching - as standard at Radboud University. As a postdoctoral candidate at Radboud University, you will be expected to be committed to conducting independent and original scientific research, reporting it in international publications and presentations, and contributing 10% of your overall workload to teaching.

The other positions in the BALANS project can be found here:

PhD position at Radboud University
PhD position at the University of Groningen
PhD position at FLORON/RAVON

Requirements

• You have a PhD degree in biology or environmental sciences.
• You are highly motivated to work on ecosystem management/restoration.
• You have good field ecological, analytical (incl. R-Statistics) and writing skills.
• You have good communication and interpersonal skills, are proficient in both Dutch and English, and enjoy collaborating with stakeholders (primarily from the Netherlands) and fellow researchers.
• You have knowledge of aquatic ecology and key-species groups; experience with identification/monitoring of plants, birds, macrofauna, amphibians and/or fish is a plus.

Contract terms

• We will give you a temporary employment contract of 4 year(s).
• Your salary within salary scale 10 depends on your previous education and number of years of (relevant) work experience. The amounts in the scale are based on a 38-hour working week.
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20.

Additional employment conditions
Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions . You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.