[ES_JOBS_NET] Junior professor position in Soil Science & Soil Fertility - KU Leuven (Belgium)

[Erika Marin-Spiotta]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Steven Bouillon <Steven.Bouillon at ees.kuleuven.be>
Date: Tue, Jun 29, 2021, 6:56 AM


Dear all,

I would appreciate if you could circulate the position announcement below
within your network if you see suitable candidates.

Thanks in advance and apologies for cross-posting, if any.

Best wishes

Steven

///


https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/jobs/60023575?hl=en&lang=en


JUNIOR PROFESSOR IN SOIL SCIENCE AND SOIL FERTILITY

(ref. ZAP-2021-65)
*Last modification : Wednesday, June 16, 2021*

In the Science, Engineering and Technology Group of KU Leuven, Department
of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Division of Soil and Water Management
and Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, there is a full-time tenure-track
academic vacancy in the area of Soil science and soil fertility. We are
looking for internationally oriented candidates with an excellent research
record and with educational competence within the field of soil science and
soil fertility and offer an attractive research environment with extensive
facilities, and an attractive starter package. The division is embedded
within the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. The mission of
the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences is to carry out
state-of-the-art scientific research and teaching with respect to the
functioning of geo- and ecosystems at different spatial and temporal
scales, including the interaction between humans and the environment and
the sustainable management of natural resources. The Division of Soil and
Water Management currently has 9 professors and 65 research and technical
staff members. The division conducts research on soil fertility, nutrient
and carbon fluxes in terrestrial and aquatic systems, environmental
chemistry and microbiology, soil physical and hydrological processes and
land surface remote sensing and data assimilation. The Faculty of
Bioscience engineering is the organiser of bachelor-, master-, honours-,
postgraduate- and doctoral programmes in the field of the Applied
Biological Sciences. De bachelor- and about half of the master programmes
are taught in Dutch. The other programmes are English taught. Graduates of
most of the Dutch and English taught master programmes are entitled the
professional title ‘bioscience engineer’ : https://www.biw.kuleuven.be/en/.
Website unit <https://ees.kuleuven.be/bwb/>
Duties
Research
For the present vacancy, we wish to recruit a junior academic staff member,
in the tenure track system, willing to develop a research program at the
forefront of soil science, seeking to unravel the biological, geochemical
and pedo-genetic processes that determine soil quality, in particular soil
fertility, as a determinant of sustainable agricultural production, with
attention for productivity in developing countries.

The challenge of producing sufficient food for a growing and more
prosperous world population within the carrying capacity of the Earth will
form the overarching framework of your research. It will require an
integrative approach and close collaboration with related disciplines, and
may focus on natural and anthropogenic changes that affect soil quality, on
changes in agro-ecosystems, on soil management options that improve the
productive capacity of the soil.

You set up an international collaboration around your research program.

You make use of, and provide scientific support for the analytical lab
facilities of the Division Soil and Water Management (stable isotope
instrumentation, ICP-MS and ICP-OES, growth chambers, radioactive tracer
work, state-of-the-art microbiological methods, LC-MS/MS).
Education
You ensure high-quality education within the area of soil science and, more
generally, in environmental, agricultural and environmental sciences, with
a clear commitment to the quality of the programme as a whole. You also
contribute to the pedagogic project of the faculty/university through the
supervision of master theses and as a promoter of PhD students.

You develop your teaching in accordance with KU Leuven’s vision on
activating and researched-based education and make use of the possibilities
for the educationalist professionalization offered by the faculty and the
university.
Service
As member of the academic staff of KU Leuven you use your research and
educational activities as leverage for collaboration with partners in the
global south. You engage in the public debate and in the support of local,
regional and (inter-)national authorities for development and monitoring of
policy initiatives. In this function you will enable collaborations with
industry.

You take up an active role in councils, educational committees, working
groups of the university and in particular, of the division, department and
faculty you will belong to.
Profile

   - You have a PhD in soil science (Bioscience Engineering or related).
   - You have a strong scientific track record with international
   publications.
   - Your demonstrated scientific mobility is considered a strong asset.
   - You have expertise in field and lab experimentation and analytical
   techniques.
   - You have demonstrable qualities related to academic education.
   Teaching experience is an advantage.
   - You have the capacity to lead and animate a research team and to
   attract research funding.
   - You possess organisational skills and have a cooperative attitude. You
   also possess leadership capacities within a university context. Strong
   interpersonal skills with the ability to function in international teams
   and a cooperative attitude.
   - A good command of spoken and written English is required. KU Leuven
   offers courses in academic English.
   - The official administrative language used at KU Leuven is Dutch. If
   you do not speak Dutch (or do not speak it well) at the start of
   employment, KU Leuven will provide language training to enable you to take
   part in meetings.
   - Before teaching courses in Dutch or English, you will be given the
   opportunity to learn Dutch or English, respectively, to the required
   standard.

Offer
We are offering full-time employment in an intellectually challenging
environment.

KU Leuven is a research-intensive, internationally oriented university that
carries out both fundamental and applied scientific research. Our
university is highly inter- and multidisciplinarily focused and strives for
international excellence. In this regard we actively work together with
research partners in Belgium and abroad and provide our students with an
academic education that is based on high-quality scientific research.

KU Leuven, alma mater of acclaimed scholars such as Erasmus, Andreas
Vesalius and Georges Lemaître, has a rich scientific tradition and history.
Its internationally renowned research and educational programmes lead to
its consistent rank among the best 50 universities worldwide.

An attractive package of start-up funding (100.000 euro plus a 4-year
PhD-scholarship) is provided to ensure a smooth start-up of your research
activities.

You will work in Leuven, a historic, dynamic and lively city located in the
heart of Belgium, within 20 minutes from Brussels, the capital of the
European Union, and less than two hours from Paris, London and Amsterdam.

As a junior researcher you will be appointed as assistant professor in the
tenure track (tenure track docent) for a period of 5 years. After this
period and a positive evaluation, you obtain a tenured position as
associate professor (hoofddocent).
Interested?
For more information please contact Prof. Gert Verstraeten, Departmental
Chair of Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, e-mail:
gert.verstraeten at kuleuven.be, tel.: +32 16 32 64 11 and Prof. Erik
Smolders, Departmental Vice Chair of Department of Earth and Environmental
Sciences, e-mail: erik.smolders at kuleuven.be, tel.: +32 16 32 96 77.
For problems with online applying, please contact solliciteren at kuleuven.be.

Add to your application following documents (more information is available
on the KU Leuven job site):

   - your biosketch in which you indicate your added value as an academic
   for research, education and service to society of your past career and of
   your future activities (maximum 2 pages);
   - a file on your five most important publications or realizations;
   - an extensive cv including a full publication list;
   - your research plan with focus on the development of your research line
   and research team in relation with the colleague-researchers of the entity
   of employment (maximum 4 pages);
   - your vision on academic education and its organization (maximum 2
   pages);
   - your contribution to society by outreach and public communication on
   science and technology, internal representation in boards and councils and
   service activities directly in relation to your developed expertise
   (maximum 1 page);
   - your vision on leadership (maximum 1 page).

KU Leuven places great importance on research integrity and ethical conduct
and will therefore ask you to sign an integrity statement upon appointment.
You can apply for this job no later than September 30, 2021 via the online
application tool <http://www.kuleuven.be/eapplyingforjobs/60023575>
KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish,
regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments.
If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please
contact us at diversiteit.HR at kuleuven.be.


-- 
*Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences* <http://ees.kuleuven.be>
*KU Leuven*
*GoogleScholar*
<http://scholar.google.be/citations?hl=nl&user=nrZTAQ0AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&pagesize=100>
- *Researchgate* <http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Steven_Bouillon>
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