Theme coordinator “City Challenges''

Introduction

Convergence

This vacancy is related to the Convergence Alliance, a joining of forces of the TU Delft, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Erasmus Medical Centre aiming to tackle the urgent and complex societal challenges of our time. These challenges ask for fundamentally new forms of cooperation, whereby the boundaries between institutes and academic disciplines are crossed to create new perspectives and solutions. In research and education, the Convergence Alliance is committed to combine strengths, knowledge and methods to address societal challenges such as climate change, sustainability, pressure on the healthcare systems, urbanization, socio-spatial inequalities, artificial intelligence and digitalisation. On these challenges, the Convergence collaborates with a large number of public and private partners in the province of South Holland and beyond. Using the region as living lab, the Convergence thus creates a leading research and innovation ecosystem in South Holland, with great (inter)national appeal and ambitions. Read more on www.convergence.nl.

The Resilient Delta initiative and the City Challenges theme

As an academic coordinator/lead, you will be connected to the Resilient Delta initiative, one of the 5 programs in the Convergence alliance. Resilient Delta has a dedicated team of academics and practitioners that organize research, education and collaboration to design resilience solutions in the real-world dynamics of our living lab; the Rotterdam delta. Through interdisciplinary research and co-creation, Resilient Delta builds on policies, technologies, business models and methodologies that address the concrete societal issues that are prevalent in urban deltas, and in particular climate change and inequality. Resilient Delta believes that a better understanding of the complex coherence and mechanisms of systems contributes to achieving the breakthroughs that are needed to really combat societal challenges. We therefore do our work in close cooperation with public en private entities, societal organziations and other knowledge institutions. Read more on www.resilientdelta.org.

Resilient Delta works with six mayor perspectives: Port Transitions, Delta Systems, City Challenges, methodology, education and ‘Innovation, Tools & Assets’. Your role as academic coordinator/lead will be most connected, but not limited to the City Challenges theme of Resilient Delta. The City Challenges theme focuses on the urban and neighborhood dimensions of climate adaptation and social (in)equality in cities (neighbourhoods) and the role of urban governance therein (including civil society). Research is set out and executed in transdisciplinary settings, i.e., in close collaboration with public and societal stakeholders, as well as residents and local communities. Current sub-themes within the City theme are socio-spatial inequality, just climate adaptation and governance with civic networks / actors / citizens. Other related topics are health disparities, inclusive urban greening and placemaking, resilient labour market, broad prosperity and liveability. The new City Challenges coordinator will build upon the already existing portfolio of City projects and work with the network that has laid the foundation in the past three years.  

Job description

Characterization of the academic

Resilient Delta is part of a new way of working connecting academic knowledge production with societal challenges: transdisciplinary cooperation. As a post-doc researcher within the Resilient Delta community, you are enthusiastic about developing this new way of working and creating impact with your work. You are willing to invest too in new perspectives of integration science; like setting up new collaborations, within cross disciplinary boundaries, working together with professionals, societal partners, local practitioners, communities and citizen target groups.

The ideal candidate has a track record in interdisciplinary and intercultural cooperation and is a pioneer that combines scientific curiosity and rigor with a drive for societal impact. He/she has an interest in a wide range of subjects, a respect for other disciplines, a willingness to promote the success of other disciplines, good interpersonal skills, is proactive in engaging with other partners and has a keen eye for exploration and innovation. This postdoc research on City Challenges will take place in the wider Rotterdam region, in close cooperation with the Resilient Delta Coordination Group City, consisting of both senior scientic staff from the three Convergence universitites, and societal partners like the City of Rotterdam and NPRZ. Your core activity will be to help build a portfolio of scientific research projects for the theme.   

You are an intellectually curious, emphatic team-player who wants to understand what lies at the heart of  resilience and city challenges. You are eager to learn and explore new contents and perspectives, bold and persistent in making societal impact. You feel comfortable in multidisciplinary and experimental environments and care for colleagues, partners and their motives.

Position results areas

• Writes or assist in writing research proposals for potential parties;
• Helps formulating definitions of the problem and working hypotheses, as well as helps determining the research method and target groups and tailored to meet societal demand and the possibility of valorizing the knowledge to be developed;
• Helps collect, analyze, and interpret research data;
• Co-ordinates related research projects and monitors the progress of research;
• Supports publication of research results;
• Monitors progress and scientific output;
• Takes part in and/or chairs committees or working groups, as well as performs assigned administrative and managerial tasks;
• Builds a university-internal community for the theme, as well as relations with relevant societal partners. Helps to coordinate, with the support of our business developers and communications advisor partnering and funding activities, as well as dissemination and communication activities.
• Issue and assess financing calls;
• Organize events and other forms of knowledge dissemination;
• Build and maintain a network among societal/public stakeholders and at the various universities and faculties;
• Maintain a research community of researchers and partners affiliated with Resilient Delta, and stimulate knowledge exchange and collaboration.

Job requirements

Requirements and Competencies

• PhD, ideally in a background connected to the content of the research theme, but candidates  with different backgrounds (technical, public policy, history, economist) can apply as this is a transdicplinary role, so less connected to an individual field;
• Emphatic, team-oriented, keen to collaborate, and a good listener;
• Conceptually strong, intellectually curious, tenacious, pro-active, entrepreneurial;
• Experience with and/or interest in inter- and transdisciplinarity (ITD) and diverse research methodologies;
• For this position, being fluent in Dutch is an important prerequisite, excellent oral and writing (jargon-free) skills in English and advantage.

Positioning

Whereas Convergence and the Resilient Delta initiative are collaborations between multiple institutes and partners, your formal employment will be at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB),  Department of Public Policy. In your daily activities you will be part of the Resilient Delta initiative team and the Convergence research community. In agreement with the involved faculty, parts of your activities might take place at the faculty, for example through research or education activities which  are both relevant to Resilient Delta ánd the faculty.

The Resilient Delta team currently consist of a Scientific Director, a Program Director, a Project Officer, 3 Business Developers, an Education coordinator, 6 Theme Research Coordinators, 3 GLUON researchers, an operations coordinator, a program support officer and two communications advisors. The Theme Research Coordinators each work on one of the Resilient Delta Themes (City, Port, Delta System, Methodology, Education, Living Labs & Communities) and both coordinate the practical organization and network of the Resilient Delta Theme and support the development of research proposals and projects, in close cooperation with the coordination groups of the respective themes and the business developers in the Resilient Delta Team .    

Employment conditions and benefits

We offer you an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

The start date of this position is 1 January 2025 (or as soon as possible) and you will be based at Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB). This position is for 0.8 fte - 1 fte. The salary is dependent on your experience and knowledge and ranges from a minimum of € 4.492 to a maximum of € 6.148 gross per month, scale 11 on a fulltime basis (38 hours), in accordance with the CAO-NU. The contract is offered for a period of 2 years and can be extended if suitability is proven and if (financial and/or organizational) circumstances remain the same.

Everything else we offer you, you can find below!

-        Everything you need for a good work-life balance: the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 41 days of paid leave with a 40 hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centre!

-        Sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture, where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and to the world around us. Make the most of our bicycle budget, or join networks such as Young@EUR, FAME or QuEUR.

-        Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: development days and a personal career budget and free access to our university library.

-        Good pension with ABP that EUR contributes 2/3rds towards, discounts on various collective insurances with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, and Allianz, and compensation for travel, working from home and home internet use.

-        Are you currently combining your job with parenthood, or do you want to do so in the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional birth leave for partners, and our campus features a daycare (daycare not paid for by EUR).

-        Moving to the Netherlands for your job with EUR? Then you may be eligible for the 30%-ruling if you meet the requirements of the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax agency), and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find the right job for them.

Employer

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 4.100 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

Faculty / Institute / Central service

Department of Public Administration and Sociology (DPAS)

DPAS encompasses the disciplines Public Administration and Sociology: two related scientific fields each with a unique profile. Public Administration studies governance capacity and policy interventions. It focuses on institutional power to organize and intervene in the relations between different social, political and economic actors. Public Administration in Rotterdam goes far beyond the public realm to also pay attention to public-private cooperation and the networks of organizations. Sociology investigates the social structures of societies and the way these evolve. Sociologists in Rotterdam focus, inter alia, on processes of globalization and individualization, and the effects of these processes on international social relations, the labor market and family relations. Social issues that are studied under this banner include migration, flexibilization and solidarity. The perspectives of Public Administration and Sociology complement each other. Together they guarantee a highly relevant and scientific approach to topical administrative and social issues. The bachelor- and master programs of DPAS are built on this profile and develop students into scientifically schooled professionals.

Group

Department of Public Administration and Sociology (DPAS)

DPAS encompasses the disciplines Public Administration and Sociology: two related scientific fields each with a unique profile. Public Administration studies governance capacity and policy interventions. It focuses on institutional power to organize and intervene in the relations between different social, political and economic actors. Public Administration in Rotterdam goes far beyond the public realm to also pay attention to public-private cooperation and the networks of organizations. Sociology investigates the social structures of societies and the way these evolve. Sociologists in Rotterdam focus, inter alia, on processes of globalization and individualization, and the effects of these processes on international social relations, the labor market and family relations. Social issues that are studied under this banner include migration, flexibilization and solidarity. The perspectives of Public Administration and Sociology complement each other. Together they guarantee a highly relevant and scientific approach to topical administrative and social issues. The bachelor- and master programs of DPAS are built on this profile and develop students into scientifically schooled professionals.

Department

Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (ESSB) has a team-based structure. The Department of Public Administration and Sociology (DPAS) works with four teams, of which Governance & Pluralism (GoPlu) is one. Our team has about 55 members now. We study complex, multi-value, and multilevel issues regarding a wide variety of societal challenges. GoPlu takes the pluriform nature of societal issues as a given and therefore approaches these multi-value issues from various social groups, lifestyles, and identities. We investigate how these complex societal issues can be dealt with by various modes of governance, like public-private partnerships, public sector collaborations, community-based initiatives, triple helix partnerships, and the like. The work of our team is highly valued by (inter)national peers, civil society, policymakers, and governments, expressed by their visibility in design, impact and academic research projects and programs.

Additional information

Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained by contacting Hans de Voogd, Program Director Resilient Delta initiative, via devoogd@eur.nl.

Applying

Please submit your application, consisting of a motivation letter and CV, before the vacancy closing date. We look forward to receiving your application.

Persons of all gender identities or expressions, sexual orientations, religions, ethnicities, ages, neurodiversities, functional impairments, citizenships, or any other aspect are welcome to apply and join the EUR community.