Postdoc Nature-based schoolyards

Vrije Universiteit; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 41,000 - 64,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday leave entitlement

8% holiday allowance

8.3% end-of-year bonus

Group insurance

Personal development

Partial work-from-home option

Job summary

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam invites applications for a Postdoctoral researcher to study how nature-based schoolyards support community use and wellbeing within the Resilient Roots project. You will coordinate research, conduct mixed-method studies across four cities, and lead publications.

The role focuses on governance, educational use, and community engagement, offering 0.8 FTE for up to four years with potential extension based on performance.

Qualifications

• Nearly finished PhD in a relevant field (nature-based schoolyards, health, or urban studies)
• Excellent English writing and speaking; Dutch preferred for stakeholder interactions
• Experience designing and reporting qualitative and quantitative research
• Strong planning, prioritization and project-management skills
• Awareness of national/international developments in the field

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and manage the Resilient Roots project in the Netherlands
• Oversee progress monitoring and project reporting
• Conduct research with case studies across four European cities using observations, surveys and interviews
• Lead scientific publications and contribute to project deliverables
• Support design of strategies to enhance community use and wellbeing

Skills

English proficiency

Dutch proficiency

Qualitative research

Quantitative research

Project management

Interviews

Participatory research

Policy awareness

Planning & organizing

Education

PhD (nearly finished)

Job description

Your function

Schools are increasingly investing in nature-based schoolyards to support healthy child development while also enhancing biodiversity and climate resilience. These benefits may extend to surrounding communities. Within the Resilient Roots project we are looking for a Postdoctoral researcher (postdoc) that wants to help us understand how nature-based schoolyards can support community use and wellbeing.

The Resilient Roots project is a European collaboration between universities, municipalities, and NGOs in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Spain. In this project, we will examine how we can scale the use and implementation of nature-based schoolyards throughout Europe by focusing on their governance and management, educational use, and community use and wellbeing. The postdoc will work exclusively on the Resilient Roots project and will be based in the Netherlands.

The postdoc will help coordinate and manage the project, including overseeing progress monitoring and project reporting. The postdoc will also conduct research on how nature-based schoolyards can support community use and wellbeing. This research involves case studies in four European cities using observations and surveys, stakeholder interviews, and participatory co-design of strategies to improve community use and wellbeing. The postdoc will lead the scientific publications arising from this research and will contribute to project deliverables.

This position offers the opportunity to contribute to an interdisciplinary and international project at the intersection of urban nature and wellbeing. It provides opportunities to develop an international network in the field and build an independent research profile. The position is 0.8fte. The appointment will initially be twelve months, with the possibility of extension for up to three years, subject to satisfactory performance.

Your profile

We are looking for a candidate with a (nearly) finished PhD on the topic of nature-based schoolyards, nature and health and wellbeing, public health, human geography, urban studies, or a closely related field. We are looking for somebody who can support project management tasks and design, conduct, and report on scientific research under supervision.

Requirements for the position are:

• A (nearly) finished PhD on a topic related to nature-based schoolyards within a relevant field, such as (environmental) psychology, sociology, geography, urban studies, or health sciences
• Excellent verbal and writing skills in English and preferably also in Dutch as the research includes interviews and participatory research with Dutch stakeholders
• Demonstrable experience in designing, conducting, and reporting on both qualitative and quantitative research
• Strong planning and organizational skills, with the ability to set priorities, define objectives, and effectively manage activities, timelines, and resources
• Well-informed about national and international scientific, societal, and policy developments relevant to the field.

Interviews will be scheduled on Friday 27 November 2026.

As a university, we strive for equal opportunities for all, recognising that diversity takes many forms. We believe that diversity in all its complexity is invaluable for the quality of our teaching, research and service. We are always looking for talent with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This also means that we are committed to creating an inclusive community so that we can use diversity as an asset.

We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.

What do we offer?

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

• a salary of minimum € 3.706,00 (Scale 10) and maximum€ 5.760,00 (Scale 10) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Researcher 4. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
• a position for at least 0.8 FTE. Your employment contract will initially last 1 year.Afterwards, the possibility of expansion exists.

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and regulations. Some examples:

• A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• group insured for partial disability with employer contribution of 50% of the premium
• space for personal development
• the possibility to work partly from home

About us

About the research team
The postdoc will be part of the Vitamin G lab, which studies the influence of nature in diverse settings on people's health and wellbeing: https://vu.nl/en/research/more-about/vitamin-g-green-space-and-psychological-wellbeing. The Vitamin G lab examines how nature in these settings can be used as an instrument for prevention and recovery. The postdoc will be supervised by Dr. Nicole van den Bogerd (PI, daily supervision) and Dr. Jolanda Maas (head of research group). The Vitamin G lab is part of the Department of Clinical-, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology.

Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences
Developing knowledge for an active, healthy and meaningful life: that is our mission at the Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences at VU Amsterdam. We maintain a broad focus on the fields of behaviour and health. Our teaching and research programmes are devoted to current developments in society. From healthy aging to e-health, and from training top athletes to social media as a teaching tool. We combine three academic disciplines: psychology, movement sciences and education. A multidisciplinary approach allows us to arrive at a better understanding of human behaviour and movement. Our aims are to help people live healthier lives, learn better and function better.

Are you interested in joining Behavioural and Movement Sciences? You are the kind of person who feels at home working in an ambitious faculty, with an informal atmosphere and short lines of communication. We offer you all the space you need for personal development. Together with your 630 colleagues, you will take care of about 4,200 students.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely - a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research. Learn more about our codes of conduct

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility.Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.

Diversity
Diversity is the driving force of VU Amsterdam. VU wants to be accessible and receptive to diversity in disciplines, cultures, ideas, nationalities, beliefs, preferences and worldviews. We believe that trust, respect, interest and differences lead to new insights and innovation, to sharpness and clarity, to excellence and a broader understanding.

We stand for an inclusive community and believe that diversity and internationalisation contribute to the quality of education, research and our services.

Therefore, we are always searching for people whose backgrounds and experience contribute to the diversity of the VU community.