Researcher Nutrition & Health

Are you a proactive and experienced researcher? Are you passionate about creating sustainable solutions to provide healthy food to more people? Then this role might be for you!

What will you do?

You are an enthusiastic and enterprising researcher in the field of Nutrition and Health who makes an important contribution to our research. We do this within the Food & Health group within the institute Wageningen Food & Biobased Research (WFBR). For this position, we are looking for someone who will be a pivotal figure in our research in which the health effects of nutrition are investigated in humans. Based on the customer demand, you set up a research plan and implement it with the team around you. After completing the studies, you will start working on the data sets, interpreting the results and reporting them. The customer questions are primarily in the research lines 'Gut Health' and 'Food Clinical Trials'. This means that you have to be able to switch between multiple projects and customers and be able to act in different partnerships.

Your duties and responsibilities include: 

• You develop research plans, write proposals for the Medical Ethics Review Committee and then take care of the execution of the studies. In this, you work together in teams of researchers, analysts and dieticians, and you also maintain contact with participants. At the same time, you maintain overview;
• You will analyse and interpret human study data sets, potentially in collaboration with statistics and data-science experts;
• You disseminate the research results, including in (popular) scientific publications, reports and conferences, and provide feedback to the client(s);
• You contribute to the acquisition of new projects, by writing project proposals and keeping a helicopter view of developments in the field;
• You promote cooperation and proactively contribute to bringing parties together.

Your team

You will work within the Nutrition Interventions & Health team, where various intervention studies are carried out, both within the Human Research Unit on campus and in external locations (e.g. in home situations or hospitals).  An example of a research project is a study into the effect of different fibres or dietary supplements such as pre-, pro- and postbiotics on gut health. Another example is the unravelling of the bioavailability of new protein sources. Collaboration takes place in adjacent research lines within Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, for example on the analysis of the health effects of food products using model systems. 

You will work here 

The ecosystems of WUR, Wageningen Campus and beyond offer numerous opportunities for collaboration on innovative developments and solutions. That is why we are looking for a team player with a focus on application and with a proactive attitude and a talent for bringing partners together. Examples of clients include industrial organizations, such as ingredient suppliers and food companies, government agencies and combinations thereof in public-private partnerships.

You have strong organizational qualities and an enthusiastic and driven personality. 

You also have:

• a PhD and several years of work experience with a background in nutrition, health or biology and have an affinity with the agrifood sector with a corresponding network in this field;
• experience with applied scientific research;
• experience in conducting human (nutritional) research;
• strong verbal and written skills, both in Dutch and English; Dutch is really a must in connection with contacts with participants in studies.
• Affinity with statistics and data-driven science is an advantage.

In our international working environment there is an increasing amount of communication in English. For this position it is about language level C1 .

You can see that there are plenty of 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 vacancy, but do have solid work experience, we would also like to invite you to apply.

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

• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• 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. We offer, depending on your experience, a competitive gross salary of between €4.045,- and €6.228,- for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research (scale 11). Additionally, For this role a contract for 32 hours a week can be discussed. As for your contract, we initially offer a one-year contract that can be extended - if possible within (company) organizational circumstances - on good performance. Of course, we are happy to have a conversation with you if you have any questions about this.

Wageningen University & Research offers plenty of opportunities for growth and development, with a strong internal recruitment policy and excellent training programmes.

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

For more information about the position, please contact Mark Bouwens, Research manager Food & Health, via +316 2320 7472 or by e-mail; mark.bouwens@wur.nl.
Questions about the procedure? Get in touch with Rutger Voorrips, Corporate Recruiter, via email; rutger.voorrips@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 the 6th of April 2026. Internal candidates are preferred to apply before the 16th of March, 2026. Don’t wait with your application. We might initiate the first interviews before the closing date and therefore close the vacancy earlier.

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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