event 18 May 2021

Vacancy // Postdoctoral Researcher on Social Justice of Water, Energy and Food Governance in South Africa

The Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University is looking for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the research project 'Water-Energy-Food communities in South Africa: multi-actor nexus governance for social justice?’. Application deadline is June 17 2021.

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Photo by Joshua Gaunt on Unsplash

About the project

The research project 'Water-Energy-Food communities in South Africa: multi-actor nexus governance for social justice?’ studies the consequences of implementing the so-called water-energy-food nexus, or decision-making around synergies and trade-offs between the use and production of water, energy and food, in South Africa. It focuses on social justice questions around whether the nexus can benefit all, who makes decisions and at what level. The challenges and opportunities of a socially just nexus implementation are studied from the bottom up, focusing in particular on the role of the poorest and women.

The project is led by Dr. Marjanneke Vijge, Assistant Professor of Sustainability Governance in the Developing World at Utrecht University, and Prof. Willemien du Plessis, Professor of Law at the North-West University in South Africa. Partners in this project are the University of Groningen, the University of Fort Hare and WWF South Africa.

Job description

The Postdoctoral Researcher will analyse how water, energy and food resources are allocated, used and produced at the household and community level in South Africa, how multilevel decision-making on synergies and trade-offs between these resources takes place, and the challenges and opportunities of relevant governance frameworks in advancing social justice.

Research methods include household surveys, focus group discussions and multi-stakeholder workshops and field shops in two communities in the Eastern and Northern Cape. In addition to community-level research, you will study the governance of the water-energy-food nexus in South Africa by analysing policy documents and conducting interviews with policymakers at national and subnational levels.

The Postdoctoral Researcher be based at Utrecht University and closely collaborate with fellow researchers in South Africa. As long as there are travel restrictions, the Postdoctoral Researcher will provide training and guidance to researchers in collecting data in South Africa. When it is possible to travel again, the Postdoctoral Researcher will personally conduct field work in South Africa. Besides conducting research, he/she will also be partly responsible for the coordination of the project and the organisation of research and outreach activities in South Africa.

Requirements

Successful candidates have a PhD degree and/or postdoctoral experience in the field of sustainability governance, natural resource management, development studies, human geography or a related field. As successful candidate, the Postdoctoral Researcher has experience in qualitative and quantitative research methods such as surveys, focus group discussions, interviews and/or workshops. The Postdoctoral Researcher is willing to travel to South Africa to conduct field work (if the COVID-19 situation allows), and has experience with field work, preferably at community level and/or in developing countries. The successful candidate is an independent worker and highly motivated to produce high-impact academic and policy-relevant outputs. Apart from possessing excellent research and academic skills, the candidate needs to have strong affinity and/or experience with transdisciplinarity to engage societal actors in research and outreach. Since the Postdoctoral Researcher will also be involved in the coordination of the project, he/she needs to possess strong organisational, coordination and communication skills and be a good team player with affinity to work in an international research environment.

Offer

The University of Utrecht offers a temporary position (1.0 FTE), initially for a period of one year. In case of good performance, the contract will be extended with another two years to a total of three years. The gross salary - depending on previous qualifications and experience - ranges between €2,790 and €3,746 (scale 10.0 - 10.7 according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) per month for a full-time employment (36-40 hours per week). Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year. In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). More information about working at Utrecht University external link can be found here.

About the organisation

At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major societal themes. Its focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Sustainability.

Utrecht University's Faculty of Geosciences studies the Earth: from the Earth's core to its surface, including man's spatial and material utilisation of the Earth - always with a focus on sustainability and innovation. With 3,400 students (BSc and MSc) and 720 staff, the faculty is organised in four Departments: Earth Sciences, Human Geography & Spatial Planning, Physical Geography, and Sustainable Development.

Institutionally, the successful candidate will be affiliated with the Environmental Governance group, one of the five sections of the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development that is part of the Faculty of Geosciences. The Environmental Governance group is a dynamic, ambitious and internationally leading team of over sixty researchers (including 30 PhD students) with a focus on fundamental and policy-oriented research of governance processes, from the local to the global level.

The Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development has been evaluated in a 2014 international review as the highest ranked research institute in environmental and sustainability sciences in the Netherlands. Since then, the institute has intensified its efforts in maintaining its leading position by investing in numerous international faculty appointments and developing new, internationally oriented teaching programmes. The Copernicus Institute also houses the International Project Office of the Earth System Governance Project, which is the largest social science research network in the area of governance and global environmental change.

Utrecht University, founded in 1636, is one of the leading research universities in Europe, with particular strengths in sustainability sciences. The university has been listed as the best Dutch university in the Academic Ranking of World Universities for more than a decade.

Contact

For more information about this position, please contact:
Dr. Marjanneke Vijge (Assistant Professor), via m.j.vijge@uu.nl or +31 6 10 81 01 91.

Application

You can fill in the application form here.

Please, include the following in your application:

  • a motivation letter explaining your interest and suitability for the position;
  • a full curriculum vitae (CV), which includes a list of publications;
  • the contact details of three references

The application deadline is 17 June 2021.

View the original job offer here.

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