Job Opportunity Assistant Professor Cultural Geography

Assistant Professor of Geography, Planning and Environment

32 – 40 hours per week
Maximum gross monthly salary: € 5,127
Nijmegen School of Management
Required background: PhD
Duration of the contract: 2 years
Application deadline: 7 July 2020

We are looking for

As an Assistant Professor, you will be part of the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment (GPE) of the Nijmegen School of Management (NSM). Fulfilling a combined teaching and research position, you will contribute to the Bachelor’s degree programme in Geography, Planning and Environment and to the Master’s degree programmes in Human Geography, Spatial Planning and Environment and Society Studies, and to the development and implementation of the departmental research programme. The vacancy includes a specific additional responsibility as acquisition officer. As part of the latter, you will co-develop a variety of modules and help build networks for grant applications and outreach activities, notably in the interdisciplinary fields of place development (with emphasis on borders and mobility, sustainability (with emphasis on climate and biodiversity) and/or spatial governance. For both teaching and research, you will collaborate with different colleagues in various teams. You will also work intensively with acquisition staff from the Institute of Management Research at the NSM and from the Radboud Innovation department at Radboud University. Your work will be part of GPE’s research strategy and departmental profile.

To develop our group, we are currently strengthening our staff capacity along the following lines:

Cultural Geography

The Human Geography group at the Radboud University, focusses in research and teaching on topical issues in the overlapping fields of Political Geography, Migration and Development Studies, Urban Geography, Economic Geography, Geography of Tourism and Cultural Geography. In doing so we focus on issues of the politics of space, place and culture, from a critical social constructivist perspective. To strengthen our team, we would highly appreciate applications of a cultural geographer with an affinity to the above mentioned fields, with a strong sense of current debates in cultural geography and with the ability to also teach in the field of cultural geography and tourism.

Spatial Planning (SP)

The Nijmegen chair group of Spatial Planning carries out research on the governance of spatial transformations towards sustainable, resilient and just cities and regions. The group has three main research foci: (1) governance and institutions, (2) the policy science-interface, and (3) vision and strategy making. The vast majority of the group’s research projects are directly linked to planning practice. Nijmegen planning scholars are frequently involved in action research. Together with practitioners, they develop intervention strategies, and experiment with these in pilot projects, planning experiments or ‘living labs’. Over the past years the group has developed expertise on three thematic fields specifically: (1) land and property markets, (2) water and climate, and (3) mobility and infrastructure. For this vacancy we are looking for someone who can strengthen our research on the governance of spatial transformations, and has knowledge on either one or more of these thematic fields.

Environmental Governance and Politics (EGP)

The EGP chair group is a social scientific team of researchers that aims to critically reflect on and contribute to sustainability transformations. We develop useful insights into the why and how of such processes, which can serve to enable, accelerate, deepen and broaden the transformation towards a global sustainable society. For this purpose, we engage in research, teaching and collaboration with societal partners. We are specialized in (the relationships among) agriculture, animal, biodiversity, circular economy, climate change, energy, and freshwater governance. Since the chair group is embedded in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, we often approach sustainability issues from a spatial perspective. We focus on transdisciplinary research, incorporate futures studies, and mostly apply qualitative methods and comparative analyses. Theoretically, we mainly use discursive, institutional, and practice-based perspectives.

For this vacancy, we are especially looking for the following:

expertise on (the governance and politics of) sustainability transformations, preferably on biodiversity-climate change-food related issues;
expertise on economic reform, sustainable economic models, and corporate sustainability; and/or
experience in Global South.

We ask

A PhD degree in a relevant subject area: spatial planning, geography or environmental studies.
A University Teaching Qualification (UTQ/BKO).
Thematically relevant publications in international, peer-reviewed journals (proven qualities in contributing to the international academic debate in the field).
Ample experience with grant writing, notably for collaborative research projects involving multiple partners.
Good communication and networking skills, proven team player.
Ability to perform multiple different tasks effectively and efficiently.
A good proficiency in both Dutch and English (in order to teach BA and MA courses in both languages and write grant proposals that get national and/or international funding).

We are

The Nijmegen School of Management (NSM) is an academic centre of research and higher education at Radboud University, focusing on institutional and managerial issues concerning complex organisations in both the public and private domains. It covers seven disciplines: Business Administration, Public Administration, Political Science, Economics and Business Economics, Environmental Governance and Politics, Human Geography, and Spatial Planning. The NSM strives for a multidisciplinary approach whenever possible, through departmental research programmes and its ‘Hotspots’ programme. The NSM employs about 280 FTEs, 75% of whom are academics. The NSM currently has approximately 4,800 students.

The department’s research programme covers issues on the interaction between space, environment and society, studied from various yet complementary perspectives in Political, Economic and Cultural Geography, Urban Planning and Urban Development, and Environmental Governance and Politics. Empirical themes of the research comprise international migration, climate change, cross-border issues, regional and urban development, mobility and transport, water management, biodiversity, sustainable food, energy, grass roots initiatives on sustainability issues, and land-use planning and governance. The research aims at a good analytical understanding of societal and political issues as well as contributing to resolving these issues on the ground.

Core theoretical perspectives focus on governance, institutional and social theoretical dimensions. We work with diverse qualitative and quantitative methods. The group works in international, national, regional and local projects, networks and contexts, and has an excellent track record in research that is not only of high scientific quality, but also has high impact on society and policy making.

Radboud University

We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 22,000 students and 5,000 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!

We offer

Employment: 32 – 40 hours per week.
A maximum gross monthly salary of € 5.127 based on a 38-hour working week (salary scale 11:https://www.ru.nl/english/working-at/why-work-at-radboud-university-0/terms-employment).
The exact salary depends on the candidate’s qualifications and amount of relevant professional experience. Preliminary salary scale 10 may apply.
In addition to the salary: an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
Duration of the contract: fixed for two years.
The intended start date is 1 September 2020.
You will be able to make use of our Dual Career Service: our Dual Career Officer will assist with family-related support, such as child care, and help your partner prepare for the local labour market and with finding an occupation.
Are you interested in our excellent employment conditions? More info HERE

Would you like more information?

For more information about this vacancy, please contact:
Prof. A. Lagendijk, Head of Geography, Planning and Environment
Email: a.lagendijk@fm.ru.nl, or: Prof. H. Ernste, Chair Human Geography, h.ernste@fm.ru.nl, Prof. S. Meijerink, Chair Spatial Planning, s.meijerink@fm.ru.nl, Prof. I. Visseren-Hamakers, Chair Environmental Governance and Politics, i.visseren@fm.ru.nl

Apply directly

Please address your application to Prof. A. Lagendijk and submit it, using the application button, no later than 7 July 2020, 23:59 Amsterdam Time Zone.

Your application should include the following attachments: