Postdoc: Nature-Based Solutions, Co-Creation & Digital Tech in Rural Areas

Are you passionate about helping rural communities and regions to adapt to climate change while protecting biodiversity? Are you interested in transdisciplinary research for nature-based solutions and its potential to enable more just and sustainable regions? Are you adept with digital technologies and how they can be put to use for engaging diverse stakeholders?

Your job

We are seeking an enthusiastic and research-dedicated post-doctoral researcher to join our team focusing on developing, applying, and evaluating novel approaches to co-creation by including multi-species approaches and employing digital technologies (such as VR/XR) with rural communities for fostering climate resilience with nature-based solutions. The researcher will be engaged in the NURISH European Union funded project “NURturing transformative capacities, Innovation in NbS and Harmonious resilience in rural areas”. Specifically, this project addresses key research frontiers at the intersection of co-creation, digital innovation, and nature-based solutions. It investigates how co-creation processes can engage with nature’s values and multi-species representation and acknowledgement, and how this can foster transformations in how rural communities think about, engage with, and relate to nature/nature-based solutions. It further explores how digital technologies can support meaningful co-creation with rural communities and enable the implementation and mainstreaming of nature-based solutions in ways that contribute to more just and sustainable regions. The researcher will deepen these themes empirically and theoretically, generating actionable knowledge for inclusive governance of nature-based solutions while building strongly from action research across a diverse portfolio of real-life case studies in Greece, Cyprus, Finland and the United Kingdom.

Alongside research, the post-doctoral researcher is expected to contribute to the European project “for one day per week. Upon agreement, the post-doctoral researcher will have the opportunity to supervise a small group of master students writing their thesis on the topic of urban nature-based solutions each year; as well as prepare and contribute with a few teaching lectures per year on the topic of governance and planning of nature-based solutions in the Bachelor and Master programmes of the Department.

Your qualities

Knowledge, Skills & Experience (Essential):

• A PhD (to be awarded by 1rst of October 2026 latest) in Urban Planning and Governance, Urban Ecology, Urban Environmental Planning, Human Geography, Political Science, Policy Studies, Sustainability Science, or related specialties;
• Excellent and proven research skills, especially gathering and analysing qualitative data following ethical research practices;
• Experience in publishing as a lead author in high-quality international peer-reviewed journals, with a minimum of three published academic papers at the time of the application;
• Experience in conducting and analysing structured and semi-structured interviews, large and small workshops, focus groups and/or other kinds of transdisciplinary research activities;
• Excellent communication skills;
• Experience in presenting research findings at an international level;
• Excellent command of the English language (in both written and oral form);
• Ability to work both independently and in a team;
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills;
• Ability to work across different, interdisciplinary research projects and research initiatives simultaneously;
• Ability to think independently and overcome difficulties in research process.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience (Desirable):

• Experience in co-organising expert focus groups and stakeholder workshops in a professional way and co-producing agenda or positioning papers;
• Knowledge of European environmental policies;
• Experience in organizing international research seminars, workshops and other events;
• Willingness to acquire new skills and learn about new methodologies and theories.

The ideal candidate should:

• Commit to research excellence and research with impact that is a mission of Utrecht University;
• Engage in the wider research and scholarly activities of the NURISH research project and Utrecht University NURISH team;
• Engage in the dissemination of results of the NURISH project by producing at least two high-quality academic papers as a lead author;
• Lead and co-author high-quality papers with the PI and the Spatial Planning research team of nature-based solutions academic outputs of European and Global Interest;
• Conduct individual and collaborative research complying with and following research ethical standards;
• Carry out administrative and management work associated with the research;
• Have a positive, co-operative and responsive attitude that fosters positive and safe working relationships;
• Show integrity and professionalism in the course of their work.

The post-doctoral researcher will be based at the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning and it will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Niki Frantzeskaki, and Assistant Prof. Dr. Katharina Hölscher.

Our offer

We offer:

• a temporary position (0.8 FTE), initially for one year with an extension to 30 September 2029 (end of the project) upon a successful assessment in the first year.
• a working week of 32 hours and a gross monthly salary between € 3.706 and €4.599 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale 10.0 - 10.5 under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University also offers a range of its own schemes for employees. This includes arrangements for professional development, various types of leave, and options for sports and cultural activities. You can also tailor your employment conditions through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage you to keep investing in your personal and professional development. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

About us

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.

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 a strong and challenging organisation. The Faculty of Geosciences is organised in four Departments: Earth Sciences, Human Geography & Spatial Planning, Physical Geography, and Sustainable Development.

The Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning investigates sustainability challenges in the context of an ongoing worldwide trend of increasing urbanization. The Department’s ‘Urban Futures’ research program focuses on the enhancement of long-term economic developments of cities, the inclusion and social inequalities in relation to transnational mobilities, the health outcomes of urban living as well as on the governance and planning of sustainability transformations of cities and urban regions. It develops novel theoretical and empirical approaches that are not solely at the forefront of academic debates but that also create new perspectives on successful policies and interventions to address urban challenges.

The NURISH Research Project

Rural areas offer new opportunities in the NB economy and digital technology spheres, contributing to climate resilience through innovations in farming, tourism, culture, and services. Resilience in rural areas relies more on community capital than economic capital, emphasizing the need for local engagement and cross-sector collaboration. Recognising the drivers and pressures challenging future resilience in rural and small urban communities, NURISH will support the implementation of the EU’s long-term Vision for Rural Areas towards stronger, connected, resilient, and prosperous rural areas up to 2040, aiming to empower rural communities to tackle climate challenges, prioritize NBS as a means to adapt to CC and build nature-positive local economies, and enhance their digital skills. The communities involved in NURISH will participate in and actively promote the EU Rural Pact, by (1) highlighting rural perspectives and elevating their prominence on political agendas, (2) facilitating networking, collaboration, and knowledge exchange through community-to-community learning and (3) establishing voluntary pledges to advance the vision, based on regenerative practices for nature restoration and conservation, and NB innovation and economy. NURISH will encourage collaborative approaches between regions and the sharing of best practices to build resilience against climate impacts, highlighting the prospects of NBS, and the active engagement of communities in addressing climate risks based on data and evidence, therefore supporting the implementation of the EU Climate Adaptation Strategy for 2030 and the EU Mission on Climate Adaptation. By encouraging the co-creation of systemic, scalable solutions for climate adaptation, particularly in vulnerable and remote contexts, NURISH will establish cycles of knowledge and resources flows, and empower rural communities towards community-led climate adaptation and resilience, circular economy, and NB economy in rural areas. NURISH will facilitate the achievement of the European Green Deal goals towards a climate-neutral and resilient Europe by 2050, through building Regenerative Rural Resilience (RRR).

More information

If you have questions, please contact our Recruitment Advisor Sophie Ketting via s.j.ketting@uu.nl.

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht University.

Apply now

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To apply, please send, via the ‘apply now’ button:

• Your curriculum vitae with detailed academic records and qualifications;
• A motivation letter of a maximum 1 page, including your first ideas on the topic and your interest in research on nature-based solutions, co-creation and their planning and governance;
• A sample of your writing.

UU applies a strict and transparent selection procedure: only complete, timely, English-language applications submitted via the official platform will be considered. Prior contact with supervisors is not permitted, and applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria or are AI-generated will be excluded.