Professorial Chair in Environmental Science and Technology (m/f), Delft, Netherlands

Professorial Chair in Environmental Science and Technology PROFILE

Professorial Chair in Environmental Science and Technology (Full-time) (m/f) Vacancy number: 15-EEWT-03

About UNESCO-IHE

UNESCO-IHE is the largest international graduate water education facility in the world and is based in Delft, the Netherlands. The Institute confers fully accredited MSc degrees, and PhD degrees in collaboration with partner universities. Since 1957 the Institute has provided graduate education to more than 15,000 water professionals from over 162 countries, the vast majority from the developing world. Numerous research and capacity development projects are carried out throughout the world. The Institute offers a unique combination of applied, scientific and participatory research in water engineering combined with natural sciences, social sciences and economics. Since its establishment the Institute has played an instrumental role in developing the capacities of water sector organizations in the South, not least by strengthening the efforts of other universities and research centers to increase the knowledge and skills of professionals working in the water sector. UNESCO-IHE carries out educational, research and capacity development activities that complement and reinforce each other in the broad fields of water engineering, water management, environment, sanitation, and governance. The main themes UNESCO-IHE deals with as an answer to today's and tomorrow's world water challenges are safe drinking water and sanitation, water-related hazards and climate change, water and ecosystems quality, water management and governance, water, food and energy security, and information and knowledge systems. UNESCO-IHE is operating in partnership with many institutions around the world with the aim to advance education, research and training on solutions for the interconnected issues of water management, sustainable development, poverty reduction and ecosystem protection.

About the Department of Environmental Engineering and Water Technology

The Environmental Engineering and Water Technology (EEWT) Department is one of three academic departments of the Institute. It contributes to the provision of safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and pollution prevention and resource recovery, focusing on developing countries and countries in transition. The department conducts applied research, provides post-graduate education and professional training, and supports capacity development of knowledge institutions. The department consists of three chair groups, namely Water Supply Engineering, Sanitary Engineering, and Pollution Prevention and Resource Recovery, each headed by a professor. The department further comprises an educational and research laboratory and its staff. With its international and multi-disciplinary team, the EEWT Department educates a new generation of 'all-round' water supply, sanitary and environmental engineers and scientists, it carries out cutting-edge, applied and highly relevant research in a developing context, it and provides integrated, innovative and tailor-made advice and practical solutions to end-users world-wide.

The EEWT Department maintains a leading role in delivering high quality graduate education (both via regular master programmes, online and short courses), contributing to capacity building through various projects, and delivering a number of tailor-made trainings to professionals world-wide. The departmental staff delivers five specializations of two masters programmes and plays a prominent role in developing innovative didactic approaches, e.g. student-centered learning and problem-based education. Furthermore, it is recognized for its cutting-edge contribution to the development and delivery of on-line courses and is currently pioneering the development and implementation of novel educational products.

Professorial Chair in Environmental Science and Technology PROFILE

The department has an excellent track record in acquiring large research and capacity building projects. Given the general mission of the Institute, the EEWT department has a special obligation to develop and adapt technological solutions relevant to developing countries and countries in transition. Research activities embody experimental work at laboratory, pilot, and field scales as well as mathematical modelling work for process optimization and to develop decision support systems in both municipal and industrial applications. The department often carries out projects jointly with partners and is particularly keen on developing collaborative partnerships with academia and institutions from developing countries. It has a strong research relationship with the Dutch academia and industry, as well as numerous leading research groups worldwide

About the Pollution Prevention and Resource Recovery (PPRR) Chair Group

The Pollution Prevention and Resource Recovery (PPRR) Chair Group (CG) consists of 7 permanent staff, and 2 post-doctoral researchers. The activities of the PPRR Chair Group include graduate education, development projects, advisory services and research. The group contributes to two master programmes, namely: Environmental Science and Technology and Urban Water and Sanitation. The group has established research lines and is recognized for its research concerning pollution prevention, waste(water) management, resource recovery and environmental biotechnology. The research backbone is the 21 currently registered PhD students.

Tasks & Responsibilities

The professor in Environmental Science and Technology (EST) will provide overall academic leadership to the PPRR CG in its international education, research and capacity building activities and will act a Head of Chair Group. The professor is expected to apply environmental science and technology within the wider technical, social, economic and environmental context in the target countries of UNESCO- IHE. The ambition is that this will result in innovative applications, beyond the technical and scientific state-of-the-art, yet applicable in the developing world. A major challenge the professor in EST needs to address is the translation of academic research into societal impact in the field, which requires good communication and networking skills, as well as a hands-on attitude. The PPRR CG is expected to further develop and profile itself, and to become a leader in development-relevant research and education in the field of EST. In this context the new Chair Professor should be part of a network, both within The Netherlands and internationally, to facilitate acquisition of education, research and capacity building projects.

The candidate will

• Provide overall leadership to PPRR CG;
• Initiate and lead scientific research of the PPRR CG;
• Manage the academic output of the PPRR CG;
• Supervise PhD and MSc research;
• Have a keen interest in developing environmental science teaching and research as an interdisciplinary subject across all the departments of UNESCO-IHE;
• Take overall responsibility for the quality and contents of the MSc programme specialisations in Environmental Science and Technology, Environmental Technology for Sustainable Development, Environmental Technology and Engineering, and serve as a member of the Environmental Science programme committee;
• Teach in the Environmental Science and Urban Water and Sanitation programmes, and in relevant short courses and trainings offered within the Institute and abroad;
• Develop proposals and procure funding for education, research and capacity building activities, abroad and in the Netherlands;
• Develop and establish close links with other chair groups in UNESCO-IHE; and
• Develop and establish close links with institutions, universities and organisations working in the specified fields both worldwide and in the Netherlands.

Required competences

• A PhD degree in environmental science, technology or related field;
• Internationally recognized scientific outputs demonstrated through publications in international peer-reviewed journals and key-note presentations at scientific conferences;
• Professional work experience in developing or transition countries;
• Curriculum development and innovation experience;
• Teaching experience at graduate level and adequate didactic qualities;
• Teaching, research and/or capacity building projects in developing countries and countries in transition are preferred;
• A well-established international network within the science and donor communities;
• Proven leadership skills;
• Proven competency in project management and acquisition;
• Good communication and organisational skills;
• Affinity to working in a multidisciplinary and multicultural environment;
• Excellent command of the English language;
• Command of one additional international language such as French or Spanish is desirable; and
• Willingness to frequently travel and work abroad for short and medium term assignments.

The professor position will be embedded into the Environmental Technology Group of Wageningen University (ETE-WU) In this Group the Chair of Biological Recovery Technology (BRT) and the Chair of Environment and Water Technology (EWT) are included. BRT is oriented on recovery of energy, metals, nutrients and organics from concentrated waste streams and on developing methods to upgrade recovered products for reuse. EWT is oriented on developing technologies for cleaning diluted waste water flows to enable their reuse by removing organic micro pollutants, pathogenic organisms and salt, and converting low concentrations of COD into valuable polymeric products and biogas. In addition the EWT chair includes a Urban System Engineering group, in which concepts are developed for designing and constructing sustainable urban-rural systems. Novel sanitation, matching, energy, water and nutrient demand and supply for these systems, and water reuse in agriculture and industry are the core of research and valorisation programs established by this group.

0-Nomination

It is the intention that the successful candidate for the position at UNESCO-IHE will also acquire the position of Extraordinary Professor at Wageningen University (WU) and therefore has to meet all necessary standards. Terms of employment The position is based in Delft, The Netherlands. A temporary contract will be awarded for the first 5 years, after this period a permanent contract can be offered. A competitive salary is offered depending on qualifications and experience in accordance with the conditions of employment for Dutch Universities. The appointment implies entry into the Netherlands' Civil Service Pension Fund (ABP). Candidates must be prepared to carry out long- and short-term missions abroad.

Information and application

Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from Prof. Damir Brdjanovic (+31-15-215-1776 or d.brdjanovic@unesco-ihe.org). Candidates are asked to submit a curriculum vitae detailing their qualifications and experience, the names and addresses of two references, and a vision statement for leading the PPRR core to UNESCO-IHE, attn. Human Resource Management (vacancies@unesco-ihe.org), PO Box 3015, 2601 DA Delft, The Netherlands, referencing vacancy- number 15-EEWT-03.

The deadline for applications is 31 July 2015 (closing date).