Research Assistant in Regenerative Agriculture and Well-being

As a research assistant, you are responsible for communication and cooperation with lead farmers in the measurement and monitoring program component of the ReGeNL transition program for regenerative agriculture. You will work closely with colleagues from the Department of Rural Sociology and Soil Biology. You will do this partly from Wageningen, but you will also be on the road a lot for meetings or workshops with farmers. The other half of the time, you are responsible for conducting and processing telephone surveys among conventional farmers transitioning to regenerative agriculture.

Your duties and responsibilities include: 

• Organize and facilitate communication and cooperation with lead farmers in ReGeNL and research teams in ReGeNL;

• Organize and facilitate workshops with farmers around integrated measurement and monitoring of regenerative agriculture, socio-economic well-being, and farming innovations;

• Telephone interviews;

• Social science data processing. 

Your team

You will collaborate with colleagues at the RSO and SBL departments.

You will work here 

You will work entirely within the national growth fund program ReGeNL. Together with regenerative farmers in the Netherlands, ReGeNL is building a sustainable agricultural sector in which farming goes hand in hand with soil health, nature restoration, and a liveable income for the farmer and their employees. Between now and 2030, ReGeNL aims to initiate the transition to regenerative agriculture among 1,000 farmers, with the goal of making regenerative farming the new standard by 2040. Within the research in this transition program, we want to learn from pioneer companies to support the transition; we do this by closely monitoring their practices and agricultural systems. 

In your role, you support communication, coordination, and information exchange between approximately 100 regenerative farmers and the ReGeNL research consortium. You work with data systems, such as a CRM, to ensure that information from the field is well documented and accessible. In addition, you help organize and facilitate workshops in which farmers and researchers jointly discuss the results of the monitoring activities. In this connecting role, you ensure transformative learning and mutual understanding among various partners – from farmers to scientists – and contribute to the success of ReGeNL in making agriculture more sustainable and resilient. For measuring and monitoring socioeconomic well-being among conventional farmers in transition, you are responsible for conducting telephone interviews with farmers and processing the data.

You have the following competencies and/or are willing to further develop in these areas: 

• A master's degree in an agriculture-related field (e.g., Plant Sciences, Rural Sociology).
• Demonstrable experience and a strong network in the Dutch agricultural sector.
• Fluent in speaking and writing Dutch (proficiency in Dutch at C2 level).
• Excellent social and communication skills; you easily connect with both farmers and researchers, also over the phone.
• Experience with or strong affinity for coordinating and facilitating workshops or organizing other activities related to knowledge production and exchange.
• Affinity with data harmonization and digital tools.
• The ability and motivation to learn new administrative and data systems, such as CRM.
• Flexibility in working hours and willingness to occasionally work early mornings or evenings if necessary.
• A valid driving license B. 

You can see that there are sufficient challenges for you. These challenges can also be seen as development opportunities. So if you do not yet have the track record required in the job posting, but do have solid work experience, we would still like to invite you to apply.

Scale 7 up to and including 10
WUR welcomes applications from international candidates. However, for applicants for this specific position from outside the EU/EFTA zone, immigration restrictions may apply based on Dutch and EU immigration laws. Such candidates may be eligible for an “orientationyear” in the Netherlands or a visa as a “knowledge migrant”.

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

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and 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 of course receive a good salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between €3.382 and €5.057 for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 8-9). As for your contract, we initially offer a one-year contract that can be extended - if possible within (company) organizational circumstances - on good performance.

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.

For more information about the position, please contact Margriet Goris via email: margriet.goris@wur.nl or Phone: 06-28521054.
Questions about the procedure? Get in touch with Noorien Abbas, Corporate Recruiter, via recruitment.ssg@wur.nl

Ready to apply?
Click on the application button next to the vacancy on our website. Only applications submitted through our website will be considered.

You can apply up to and including 31 May 2026. The first interviews are scheduled for 5 June and 12 June 2026. Internal candidates are preferred to apply before 24 May 2026.

We review incoming responses continuously, even before the closing date. Therefore, it may happen that the vacancy is closed earlier than stated.

Procedure
As part of our selection process, an assessment may be incorporated within the procedure

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.

​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.

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