Postdoctoral Researcher - Regio Deal New Towns

Delft University of Technology; Delft; On-site; EUR 40,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent pension ABP

Flexible working week

Annual employment package

Job summary

Delft University of Technology invites applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Regio Deal New Towns project. The role blends academic research with municipal collaboration to address socio-spatial challenges in former Dutch New Towns, spanning housing, local infrastructure, social cohesion, and economic development.

You will spend time with partner municipalities Capelle aan den IJssel, Nissewaard, and Zoetermeer, while contributing to transdisciplinary knowledge at the Urban Studies

Qualifications

• A PhD degree in a relevant field, e.g. urban geography, urban planning, innovation studies, (social) design (research), public administration, sustainability transitions, urban sociology, or another related, spatially aware discipline.
• Proven taste for and pleasure in working in multi- and transdisciplinary settings, being able to actively and enthusiastically contribute to the Regio Deal consortium.
• A strong interest in topics such as socio-physical challenges societal transitions, collective action, public-sector collaboration, and community-driven innovation.
• Proven experience with qualitative research skills (interviews, case studies, participatory methods) and/or design research skills (e.g., co-design, visualisation, prototyping).
• Strong written and verbal communication abilities, enabling you to engage effectively with diverse audiences, to facilitate workshops, and to translate (research) findings into practical frameworks and tools.
• Strong proficiency in the written and spoken use of both the Dutch and English language.

Responsibilities

• Develop and conduct academically sound and practice-relevant research into the specific New Town challenges, their proposed solutions, and the related governance challenges;
• Collaborate closely with the selected municipality and translate scientific research and insights into practical applications, but also the other way round;
• Collaborate and exchange with the involved researchers at the Haagsche Hogeschool and Erasmus University Rotterdam;
• Organise and facilitate workshops and reflection sessions, contributing to collaborative and transdiciplinary knowledge development under the principle of “learning together, developing together”;
• Publish articles in both peer-reviewed academic journals and practitioner magazines;
• Present your research at national and international academic and practitioner conferences and actively develop your (academic and practitioner) network.

Skills

Transdisciplinary teamwork

Qualitative research

Communication skills

Dutch and English proficiency

Education

PhD degree in relevant field

Job description

Postdoctoral Researcher - Regio Deal New Towns: Help municipalities tackle their growing physical-social and socioeconomic challenges in former Dutch New Towns—bridging research, practice and policy to create lasting public impact.

Job description

Bring science and practice together, investigate how municipalities can address complex socio-spatial challenges in an integrated way and create genuine societal impact. Dutch public organisations such as municipalities operate in an increasingly complex and dynamic environment. Globalisation, rapid technological developments, and societal changes require organisations to perform reliably and to adapt continuously, while facin a decrease in resources. Which new ways of working and organisational capabilities do municipalities need te develop to successfully address complex societal and spatial challenges in an integrated way?

In this project, you will investigate this transdisciplinary question, working closely with three municipalities: Capelle aan den IJssel, Nissewaard, and Zoetermeer, partners of the “Regio Deal New Towns”. Many neighbourhoods in these former New Towns were developed during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s in response to the large housing shortages. Today, these municipalities face a set of intertwined physical, social and economic challenges, such as a relatively uniform, ageing housing stock, deteriorating public spaces and infrastructures, decreasing residential attractiveness, eroding social cohesion, and growing socioeconomic inequalities. The number of low-income households is increasing and many young people are growing up in vulnerable circumstances.

Addressing these challenges requires municipalities to develop new capabilities and new ways of collaborating across departments, together with other public actors, housing associations, developers, and of course residents. Through the Regio Deal New Towns, these three municipalities have committed to jointly exploring and developing more integrated and effective approaches to these complex societal and spatial challenges, in collaboration with Delft University of Technology and Erasmus University Rotterdam (in the Resilient Delta initiative).

In this postdoc position, you will genuinely be a transdisciplinary researcher, simultaneously participating in municipal projects and carrying out academic research. You will investigate how municipalities address the tensions between social, governance and spatial issues in specific local projects aimed at increasing the quality of the living environment. On average, you will spend one or two days per week at one of the municipalities and the remainder of your time at Delft University of Technology.

The successful candidate will join the Urban Studies section at the Department of Urbanism in the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment. Consisting of a group of highly interdisciplinary (spatially-oriented) scholars, this section studies the interactions between people and their built environments, and the effects of urban design on their behaviour.

The postdoc project is conducted in strong collaboration with researchers from The Hague University of Applied Sciences and Erasmus University Rotterdam.

More specifically, the tasks of the postdoc will include:

• Develop and conduct academically sound and practice-relevant research into the specific New Town challenges, their proposed solutions, and the related governance challenges;
• Collaborate closely with the selected municipality and translate scientific research and insights into practical applications, but also the other way round;
• Collaborate and exchange with the involved researchers at the Haagsche Hogeschool and Erasmus University Rotterdam;
• Organise and facilitate workshops and reflection sessions, contributing to collaborative and transdiciplinary knowledge development under the principle of “learning together, developing together”;
• Publish articles in both peer-reviewed academic journals and practitioner magazines;
• Present your research at national and international academic and practitioner conferences and actively develop your (academic and practitioner) network.

Job requirements

This position is very well suited for candidates who want to bridge and integrate scientific research, creative practices and governance transformations, and who are not afraid of a bit of uncertainty and complexity. Applicants must have:

• A PhD degree in a relevant field, e.g. urban geography, urban planning, innovation studies, (social) design (research), public administration, sustainability transitions, urban sociology, or another related, spatially aware discipline.
• A proven taste for and pleasure in working in multi- and transdisciplinary settings, being able to actively and enthusiastically contribute to the Regio Deal consortium.
• A strong interest in topics such as socio-physical challenges societal transitions,collective action, public-sector collaboration, and community-driven innovation.
• Proven experience with qualitative research skills (interviews, case studies, participatory methods) and/or design research skills (e.g., co-design, visualisation, prototyping).
• Strong written and verbal communication abilities, enabling you to engage effectively with diverse audiences, to facilitate workshops, and to translate (research) findings into practical frameworks and tools.
• Strong proficiency in the written and spoken use of both the Dutch and English language.

Previous experience with working with civil servants, residents, or other public and private actors in transdisciplinary settings, is considered an asset.

Working at TU Delft

At TU Delft, our people make the difference. With their knowledge and curiosity, our staff provide a high-quality education and conduct pioneering research that extends beyond the campus. You will have the opportunity to take the initiative, work with others, and grow as a professional.

Working at TU Delft means join an international community of professionals and students. Together, we create knowledge, innovations, and solutions that help move the world forward.

The project is a collaboration within the Resilient Delta Initiative, an alliance between Delft University of Technology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Erasmus University Medical Center. The Resilient Delta Initiative will include the successful applicant in its RDI Fellowship Program, providing a network of peers, activities, and location services.

Faculty Architecture & the Built Environment

The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment has a leading role in education and research worldwide. Staff and students are working to improve the built environment with the help of a broad set of disciplines, including architectural design, urban planning, building technology, social sciences, process management, and geo-information science. The faculty works closely with other faculties, universities, private parties, and the public sector, and has an extensive network in the Netherlands as well as internationally.

Conditions of employment

• Duration of contract is 2,5 years. Temporary external finance.
• A job of 36-40 hours per week.
• FTE: 1.
• Salary range: €3546 - €5538.
• Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.
• An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
• The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
• Discount with health insurers on supplemental packages.
• Flexible working week.
• Every year, 232 leave hours (at 38 hours). You can also sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget.
• Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses.
• Partially paid parental leave.
• Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program.

Will you need to relocate to the Netherlands for this job? TU Delft is committed to make your move as smooth as possible! The HR unit, Coming to Delft Service, offers information on their website to help you prepare your relocation. In addition, Coming to Delft Service organises events to help you settle in the Netherlands, and expand your (social) network in Delft. A Dual Career Programme is available, to support your accompanying partner with their job search in the Netherlands.

As part of knowledge security, TU Delft conducts a risk assessment during the recruitment of personnel. The assessment is based on information provided by the candidates themselves, such as their motivation letter and CV, and takes place at the final stages of the selection process. When the outcome of the assessment is negative, the candidate will be informed. The processing of personal data in the context of the risk assessment is carried out on the legal basis of the GDPR: performing a public task in the public interest.