Land Use and Climate Researcher (LULUCF)

Are you a broadly interested researcher with a university education and a strong interest in sustainability, climate, and issues surrounding land use or forest management? Do you have experience researching the effects of land use, land-use change, and forestry on greenhouse gas emissions and CO₂ sequestration? Are you motivated to contribute to scientifically sound climate reporting and policy support at national and European levels? Then we are looking for you!

For the Sustainable Forest Ecosystems (SFE) team at Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR), we are seeking a motivated LULUCF researcher to contribute to the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and sequestration for the Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) sector. In this role, you will work on current and policy-relevant issues in the areas of climate mitigation, changes in carbon stocks, land use monitoring, and sustainable forest and land management.

Within WENR, we develop and use geographically explicit instruments, including models and monitoring methods, to determine the effects of management and changes in land use for forests, arable land, grasslands, wetlands, built-up areas, and other land use categories. Your work contributes directly to international (UN Climate Convention, Paris Agreement, EU) and national reporting, as well as to Dutch and European climate policy – ​​currently including the development of methodologies for certifying carbon sequestration in forests, peatlands, and agricultural soils (carbon farming).

You work closely with colleagues at WENR, Wageningen University & Research, and other national and international research institutes. Together, you gather the knowledge, data, and tools needed for high-quality reporting within international and national climate frameworks.

What are you going to do?

• National greenhouse gas inventory and estimates: You assist in compiling the national greenhouse gas inventory for the LULUCF sector in the Netherlands and contribute to the estimates of the effects of policy and measures in the annual Climate and Energy Outlook (KEV).

• Methodology Development: You help improve methodologies for calculating changes in carbon stocks towards higher Tier levels in accordance with the IPCC guidelines and contribute to the further development of geographically explicit approaches, models, and monitoring instruments for land use categories within the LULUCF sector.

• Data and quality assurance: You gather the necessary data, submit it in the correct format, and are responsible for the QA/QC of the data underlying the inventory.

• Reporting and policy support: You translate scientific results into clear reports, datasets, and recommendations that support Dutch and European climate policy.

• Collaboration and knowledge integration: You work closely with experts in the fields of forests, land use, soils, ecology, and climate, both within Wageningen Environmental Research and with external European partners, for example in the Horizon project. NextGenCarbon with a focus on the role of European forests in the greenhouse gas balance.

• Networking and project acquisition: You contribute to acquiring new, externally funded research in the fields of LULUCF, climate mitigation, carbon accounting, and land use monitoring.

Your qualities

We are looking for a curious and analytically strong researcher with a broad interest in climate, land use, and sustainability. You quickly acquire new knowledge, critically assess complex information, and communicate your findings clearly to scientific, policy, and professional audiences.

You have:

• Education: An MSc or PhD in Forestry and Nature Management, Biology, Environmental Sciences, Ecology, or a similar field.

• Expertise: Broad knowledge of carbon dynamics in European ecosystems and of the ecological processes contributing to carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions from land use and forestry, and/or experience with developing and applying geographically explicit approaches for monitoring land use in a European context.

• LULUCF and policy knowledge: Knowledge of greenhouse gas inventories, land use monitoring, and reporting in the European context. Familiarity with the EU LULUCF Regulation and the Governance Regulation is an advantage.

• Data and modeling skills: Excellent skills in data analysis in R and an affinity for geographic explicit approaches and GIS, and preferably some familiarity with object-oriented programming (e.g. Java).

• Analytical ability: The ability to bring together diverse datasets, ensure data quality, perform QA/QC, and provide data in the required formats for reporting and policy support.

In our international work environment, communication is increasingly in English. For this position, at least English at language level C1 required. As part of the work takes place within the Dutch policy context, understanding Dutch is considered an advantage.

We prefer candidates with 4–8 years of relevant work experience, but candidates with less experience and an an excellent track record are also warmly invited to apply. Due to the nature of the work, we are seeking candidates with demonstrable experience within the Dutch or European market.

We offer

When it comes to employment conditions You've come to the right place at Wageningen University & Research. Highlights from our collective labour agreement are:

• working hours that can be determined in consultation, so that an optimal work-life balance is possible;

• sabbatical leave, study leave and partially paid parental leave;

• There is a strong focus on vitality, and you can make use of the sports facilities on campus at an attractive rate;

• a structural year-end bonus of 8.3%;

• Excellent pension scheme through ABP.

Naturally, these excellent secondary employment conditions are accompanied by a suitable salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a salary ranging from a minimum of €3,399 to a maximum of €6,228 for a full working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the Wageningen Research CLA (scale 10 or 11). For this role, a 28-hour appointment is negotiable. Regarding your contract, we initially offer a one-year contract which – subject to the organizational circumstances and if this is possible – can be extended upon satisfactory performance.

We encourage development and mobility within our organization. In our recruitment and selection policy Read which conditions specifically apply to you as a (former) employee. If you have any questions about this, we are happy to help.

You work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working atmosphere.