PhD – Resilience against disaster and war in the Netherlands

Your job

There is an increasing risk of disasters and war in the Netherlands. The government is therefore trying to increase societal resilience. In this PhD research, you look at the implementation and impact of such resilience initiatives to discover how well they prepare residents for crises.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• You carry out a literature review to identify which characteristics make communities resilient against disasters and war and/or how resilience initiatives contribute to resilience.
• You study the implementation and impact of resilience measures from the government as well as spontaneous resilience projects from communities.
• You analyze who begin resilience initiatives, who participates in them, who takes decisions, and who benefits from them.
• You collect data in different municipalities and/or Safety Regions in the Netherlands to formulate new theory and contribute with scientific insights to disaster sociology, for example through developing new knowledge on community resilience, disaster vulnerability, and emergent organizing.
• You support in formulating recommendations to administrators and policymakers who deal with resilience and present your research results.

You will work here

The research is embedded within the chair Sociology of Development and Change , which is led by Prof. Bram Büscher. You will be co-supervised by dr. Jori Kalkman and dr. Esther van ‘t Veen.

Your qualities

You are a curious, independent, and enthusiastic student, who has an affinity with research on disasters and wants to contribute to an important societal issue.

You also possess:

• A completed Master's degree in the social sciences, such as sociology, anthropology, public administration, or business administration.
• Good research and writing skills, such as an excellently graded master's thesis and/or publication in (professional) journals, newspapers, or blogs.
• Demonstrable interest in (the preparation for) crises, disasters, and war.
• Experience with qualitative (comparative) field research: you are able totake initiative and give direction to the research process.
• An open, curious, and constructively critical attitude.

For this position you should be fluent in Dutch. In addition, your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here. Finally, the PhD student will have to provide a certificate of conduct (NL: Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag (VOG)).

We offer

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• Partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.
The gross salary for the first year is € 3.204,- per month rising to € 4.051,- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

We encourage development and internal mobility within our organisation. Our recruitment and selection policy sets out the conditions that apply specifically to you as a (former) employee. If you have any questions, we are happy to help.

You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment.

Coming from abroad

Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.

Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, our Welcome Center can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example housing, opening a bank account, dual career programs or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.

Important information

For more information about the position, please contact Dr. Jori Kalkman, via email: jori.kalkman@wur.nl
Questions about the procedure? Get in touch with Noorien Abbas, Corporate Recruiter, via recruitment.ssg@wur.nl .

Ready to apply?
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval. Only applications submitted through our website will be considered.

To apply, please send the following documents (max. 3 pages in total ):

• Complete and up-to-date curriculum vitae (max. 2 pages);
• Motivation letter (max. 1 page).

The maximum length of the documents must not exceed 3 pages. If it exceeds, applications will not be considered. Additional files such as grades and transcripts are not required during this stage and will not be considered.

You can apply up to and including 2 November 2026. The first interviews are scheduled for 20 November 2026.

Welcome, safe, and valued
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) highly values diversity and inclusion because we believe that different insights lead to innovative solutions. We create a work environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, and appreciated, regardless of background, identity, or experience. Together, we are building a culture where everyone's unique contribution adds to the success of our organization.

We are

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.