Your Function

Within this project we are looking for a motivated postdoc to identify and map out Antarctic biodiversity values, and to quantify direct and cumulative human impacts on Antarctic terrestrial flora and fauna. Antarctic flora and fauna is dominated by mosses, lichens and small soil invertebrates, and these will be the primary focus in this position.

Your Duties

• Identify biodiversity indicators for Antarctic terrestrial biodiversity.
• Mapping of biodiversity hotspots.
• Quantify impacts of climate change and human activity on Antarctic terrestrial biodiversity.
• Design and test indicators for monitoring of Antarctic biodiversity

Your Profile

• PhD in polar ecological sciences or relevant biodiversity experience
• Experience with spatial biodiversity patterns (potential GIS experience)
• Experience with (polar) field surveys and laboratory experiments
• Willingness and physical ability to work in a cold polar environment
• Proficiency with statistical approaches and use of R.
• Excellent social skills to work in an interdisciplinary international research team.
• English language proficiency both in speech and in writing

As a university, we strive for equal opportunities for all, recognising that diversity takes many forms. We believe that diversity in all its complexity is invaluable for the quality of our teaching, research and service. We are always looking for talent with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This also means that we are committed to creating an inclusive community so that we can use diversity as an asset.

We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.

What do we offer?

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

• A salary of minimum € 3.877,00 (Scale 10.4) and maximum € 4.786,00 (Scale 10.10) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Researcher 4. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
• A position for at least 0.8 FTE. Your employment contract will initially start with a 1 year contract with the possibility to extend with another 2 years.

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and regulations. Some examples:

• A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• hybrid working enables a good work-life balance
• contribution to commuting expenses
• space for personal development

The position is offered within the Amsterdam Institute of Life and Environment (A-LIFE) department at the Faculty of Science of the VU Amsterdam. A-LIFE is created by the merger between the departments of Ecology, Environment and Health, and Molecular Cell Biology.

Are you interested in this position and do you believe that your experience will contribute to the further development of our university? In that case, we encourage you to submit your application.

Submitting a diploma and a reference check are part of the application process.

Applications received by e-mail will not be considered.

Acquisition in response to this advertisement is not appreciated.