Differences in trainability of Wellbeing

Job Requirements

• a (research) master in biological psychology, positive psychology, genetics, psychometrics, artificial intelligence, epidemiology or something along those lines
• Experience with or interest in interventions
• Knowledge of statistical methods and statistical programming (R or Python)
• Experience in working with large datasets
• Experience with or interest in behaviour genetics
• Interest in wellbeing and research
• Excellent English writing and speaking skills
• Preferably Dutch speaking or motivation to learn Dutch

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 € 3.059,00 (PhD) and maximum € 3.881,00 (PhD) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile PhD candidate.
• a position for at least 1 FTE.
• The employment contract is first for a period of 12 months and is extended to a total of 3 years if there is sufficient perspective. The employment contract is concluded with a dissertation at the end of the third year.

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
• contribution to commuting expenses
• group insured for partial disability with employer contribution of 50% of the premium
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package

Project description

In light of major demographic trends, building and maintaining health and wellbeing amongst citizens is one of the most important societal challenges. People who feel well, function better, are less susceptible to mental illness, and have stronger social relationships, and are more successful in functioning at work and in daily life. Knowledge on the intervenability of wellbeing is important to facilitate and build wellbeing. While previous research shows that wellbeing training can be effective, we still know relatively little about for whom and under which conditions these interventions work best. 

About the department
You will be working at the department of Biological Psychology of the Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. At the department Biological Psychology (BioPsy) we conduct research and education on the causes of individual differences in health behaviours and disease outcomes. It is a department with a long tradition in behavioural genetics research where enthusiastic and ambitious academics work on generating knowledge and translating this to improvements in health, health behaviours, and wellbeing. BioPsy maintains the Netherlands Twin Register and its biobank to enable genetically informative studies using both genomic and pedigree-based approaches. 

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.