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PhD: Investigating cascading drought risk as socionatural processes

  • Nieuwe Universiteitsgebouw (NU)
  • Amsterdam
  • 0.8 / 1
  • Faculty of Science
  • PhD
  • MSc
  • Closes on
    10-08-2025
  • Publishing date
    04-07-2025
Apply
Are you passionate about drought resilience and environmental justice? Eager to learn how physical processes (e.g. climate change) and social dynamics (e.g. power differences, culture) shape risk? Keen to connect local and global scales? Join us!

Your function

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is scheduled to take a “watershed decision” on global drought resilience, including a legal framework, to be promoted and hopefully adopted at COP17 in June 2026. However, drought as a systemic risk that has both social and natural causes is still poorly understood. While natural conditions, such as lack of rainfall, evidently play a role, political decisions on where water is allocated (e.g. to subsistence farmers or extractive companies) and practices (e.g. which crops are planted, how fields are irrigated) do as well. In that sense, drought is a socio-natural phenomenon. In order to understand what puts individuals and communities at risk, how they experience drought and what shapes their responses, it is therefore necessary to go beyond standard approaches to drought as a contained, natural phenomenon. A more holistic approach is needed to make sure that policies effectively tackle drought risk and build resilience. For this, an understanding of the cascading impacts that droughts can have on people’s lived realities and environments (e.g. displaced agricultural activities and associated environmental degradation, changes to livelihoods, alternative food intake, migration, etc.) is needed. Similarly, understanding what makes people vulnerable vs. resilient requires a look beyond singular socio-economic factors such as household income to account for the influence of politics but also of social support structures, cultural practices and traditional knowledge.

As a PhD candidate at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), you will conduct interdisciplinary research on how drought risks are formed, manifested, experienced, modelled, and governed. You will combine quantitative and qualitative approaches to understand how people make sense of and mitigate drought impacts. Your work will critically evaluate drought policies and assess their alignment with people’s lived realities, their perceptions of risk and resilience, and root causes of drought. The position offers the opportunity to work across two culturally distinct case study regions, contributing to both scientific understanding and international policy development. 

Your duties

  • you develop innovative methods to quantify anthropogenic drought risk and its cascading socio-economic impacts
  • you conduct qualitative-interpretative research to understand how people perceive, explain, and respond to drought, using interviews, ethnographic and/or participatory methods
  • you compare modelled risk and impact data with community narratives to uncover divergences in drought perception and response
  • you evaluate drought-related policy measures, including novel global drought resilience frameworks, in terms of their social fit and effectiveness in tackling root causes
  • you translate your findings into academic publications as well as actionable recommendations for fair, effective and locally grounded drought resilience policies

Your profile

  • you have a Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. hydrology, environmental science or environmental governance/politics, sociology) or other related fields
  • you are enthusiastic about working across disciplines and combining numerical data analysis (statistics, hydrology, basic coding knowledge) with in-depth qualitative inquiry (critical social science theories and approaches, interpretative methods)
  • you have prior experience in researching environmental issues and/or water-related risks, ideally with an interest in socio-natures, the water system, vulnerability, or justice
  • you are aware of/open to approaching drought as a socio-natural phenomenon that is simultaneously caused by social and physical dynamics
  • you either have previous knowledge of or an interest in the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus, how it is impacted by droughts, and what social responses look like
  • you are motivated to engage with communities in different cultural settings and to reflect on your own role as a researcher; you like to challenge dominant narratives in risk governance and explore alternative, community-centred perspectives
  • you are fluent in written and oral English and have knowlegde (or are willing to learn) Dutch
  • potentially: you have interest in creative methods, and speak another language than Dutch or English

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 fully meet all the requirements.

What do we offer?

An interesting 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 € 2.901,00 (PhD scale 85.0) and maximum € 3.707,00 (PhD scale 85.3) gross per month in the fourth year for a full-time employment. This is based on UFO profile PhD candidate. 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. If there is sufficient perspective, this will be extended to a total of 4 years. Your dissertation at the end of the fourth year forms the end of your employment contract.

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
  • solid pension scheme (ABP)
  • contribution to commuting expenses
  • optional model for designing a personalized benefits package

Additionally, we also offer a PhD education programme including training for teaching assistants and courses that are part of the SENSE graduate school.

About us

Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)
Established in 1971, IVM is a leading environmental research institute that is internationally recognised for its high-quality research output in a range of environmental disciplines, as well as for its interdisciplinary work. The mission of the institute is to contribute to sustainable development and care for the environment through scientific research and teaching. IVM aims to do excellent problem-oriented research that is useful to a wide range of stakeholders in the Netherlands and internationally. A unique strength of our research is to understand sustainability problems in their social and economic context. IVM’s research community works within four departments: Environmental Economics; Environmental Geography, Environmental Policy Analysis; and Water and Climate Risk. Since 2001 IVM has been part of the Faculty of Science at VU Amsterdam (legal name Stichting VU).

The department of Water and Climate Risk (WCR) studies hydrological and climate processes, and how these processes lead to risks and opportunities for society, the economy, and the environment. A defining characteristic of the department is a multi-disciplinary approach that combines expertise from natural sciences with knowledge from the fields of economics, e-Science and geography. This approach has led to a unique research portfolio of water and climate risk projects, and the department is a global leading institute in flood and drought risk assessment, and risk management research.

The department of Environmental Policy Analysis (EPA) at IVM is a team of more than 25 researchers that was evaluated in the most recent international research quality review as “world leading” and as being “one of the highest profile academic research groups involved with sustainability governance from around the world”. We address questions related to institutional effectiveness and change, governance innovation and complexity as well as learning and adaptation. Empirically, we have a strong focus on water, climate change and biodiversity.

Faculty of Science
Researchers and students at VU Amsterdam’s Faculty of Science tackle fundamental and complex scientific problems to help pave the way for a sustainable and healthy future. From forest fires to big data, from obesity to malnutrition, and from molecules to the moon: we cover the full spectrum of the natural sciences. Our teaching and research have a strong experimentally technical, computational and interdisciplinary nature.

We work on new solutions guided by value-driven, interdisciplinary methodologies. We are committed to research, valorisation and training socially engaged citizens of the world who will make valuable contributions to a sustainable, healthy future.

Are you interested in joining the Faculty of Science? You will join undergraduate students, PhD candidates and researchers at the biggest sciences faculty in the Netherlands. You will combine a professional focus with a broad view of the world. We are proud of our collegial working climate, characterised by committed staff, a pragmatic attitude and engagement in the larger whole. The faculty is home to over 11,000 students enrolled in 40 study programmes. It employs over 1,600 professionals spread across 10 academic departments.

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.

Interested

Are you interested in this position and do you believe that your experience will contribute to the further development of our university? In that case, we encourage you to submit your application.

IMPORTANT: Motivation letters generated with ChatGPT or other AI language tools will not be considered.

Submitting a diploma and a reference check are part of the application process.

Applications received by e-mail will not be considered.

Acquisition in response to this advertisement is not appreciated.

Your function

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is scheduled to take a “watershed decision” on global drought resilience, including a legal framework, to be promoted and hopefully adopted at COP17 in June 2026. However, drought as a systemic risk that has both social and natural causes is still poorly understood. While natural conditions, such as lack of rainfall, evidently play a role, political decisions on where water is allocated (e.g. to subsistence farmers or extractive companies) and practices (e.g. which crops are planted, how fields are irrigated) do as well. In that sense, drought is a socio-natural phenomenon. In order to understand what puts individuals and communities at risk, how they experience drought and what shapes their responses, it is therefore necessary to go beyond standard approaches to drought as a contained, natural phenomenon. A more holistic approach is needed to make sure that policies effectively tackle drought risk and build resilience. For this, an understanding of the cascading impacts that droughts can have on people’s lived realities and environments (e.g. displaced agricultural activities and associated environmental degradation, changes to livelihoods, alternative food intake, migration, etc.) is needed. Similarly, understanding what makes people vulnerable vs. resilient requires a look beyond singular socio-economic factors such as household income to account for the influence of politics but also of social support structures, cultural practices and traditional knowledge.

As a PhD candidate at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), you will conduct interdisciplinary research on how drought risks are formed, manifested, experienced, modelled, and governed. You will combine quantitative and qualitative approaches to understand how people make sense of and mitigate drought impacts. Your work will critically evaluate drought policies and assess their alignment with people’s lived realities, their perceptions of risk and resilience, and root causes of drought. The position offers the opportunity to work across two culturally distinct case study regions, contributing to both scientific understanding and international policy development. 

Your duties

  • you develop innovative methods to quantify anthropogenic drought risk and its cascading socio-economic impacts
  • you conduct qualitative-interpretative research to understand how people perceive, explain, and respond to drought, using interviews, ethnographic and/or participatory methods
  • you compare modelled risk and impact data with community narratives to uncover divergences in drought perception and response
  • you evaluate drought-related policy measures, including novel global drought resilience frameworks, in terms of their social fit and effectiveness in tackling root causes
  • you translate your findings into academic publications as well as actionable recommendations for fair, effective and locally grounded drought resilience policies

Your profile

  • you have a Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. hydrology, environmental science or environmental governance/politics, sociology) or other related fields
  • you are enthusiastic about working across disciplines and combining numerical data analysis (statistics, hydrology, basic coding knowledge) with in-depth qualitative inquiry (critical social science theories and approaches, interpretative methods)
  • you have prior experience in researching environmental issues and/or water-related risks, ideally with an interest in socio-natures, the water system, vulnerability, or justice
  • you are aware of/open to approaching drought as a socio-natural phenomenon that is simultaneously caused by social and physical dynamics
  • you either have previous knowledge of or an interest in the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus, how it is impacted by droughts, and what social responses look like
  • you are motivated to engage with communities in different cultural settings and to reflect on your own role as a researcher; you like to challenge dominant narratives in risk governance and explore alternative, community-centred perspectives
  • you are fluent in written and oral English and have knowlegde (or are willing to learn) Dutch
  • potentially: you have interest in creative methods, and speak another language than Dutch or English

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 fully meet all the requirements.

What do we offer?

An interesting 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 € 2.901,00 (PhD scale 85.0) and maximum € 3.707,00 (PhD scale 85.3) gross per month in the fourth year for a full-time employment. This is based on UFO profile PhD candidate. 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. If there is sufficient perspective, this will be extended to a total of 4 years. Your dissertation at the end of the fourth year forms the end of your employment contract.

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
  • solid pension scheme (ABP)
  • contribution to commuting expenses
  • optional model for designing a personalized benefits package

Additionally, we also offer a PhD education programme including training for teaching assistants and courses that are part of the SENSE graduate school.

About us

Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)
Established in 1971, IVM is a leading environmental research institute that is internationally recognised for its high-quality research output in a range of environmental disciplines, as well as for its interdisciplinary work. The mission of the institute is to contribute to sustainable development and care for the environment through scientific research and teaching. IVM aims to do excellent problem-oriented research that is useful to a wide range of stakeholders in the Netherlands and internationally. A unique strength of our research is to understand sustainability problems in their social and economic context. IVM’s research community works within four departments: Environmental Economics; Environmental Geography, Environmental Policy Analysis; and Water and Climate Risk. Since 2001 IVM has been part of the Faculty of Science at VU Amsterdam (legal name Stichting VU).

The department of Water and Climate Risk (WCR) studies hydrological and climate processes, and how these processes lead to risks and opportunities for society, the economy, and the environment. A defining characteristic of the department is a multi-disciplinary approach that combines expertise from natural sciences with knowledge from the fields of economics, e-Science and geography. This approach has led to a unique research portfolio of water and climate risk projects, and the department is a global leading institute in flood and drought risk assessment, and risk management research.

The department of Environmental Policy Analysis (EPA) at IVM is a team of more than 25 researchers that was evaluated in the most recent international research quality review as “world leading” and as being “one of the highest profile academic research groups involved with sustainability governance from around the world”. We address questions related to institutional effectiveness and change, governance innovation and complexity as well as learning and adaptation. Empirically, we have a strong focus on water, climate change and biodiversity.

Faculty of Science
Researchers and students at VU Amsterdam’s Faculty of Science tackle fundamental and complex scientific problems to help pave the way for a sustainable and healthy future. From forest fires to big data, from obesity to malnutrition, and from molecules to the moon: we cover the full spectrum of the natural sciences. Our teaching and research have a strong experimentally technical, computational and interdisciplinary nature.

We work on new solutions guided by value-driven, interdisciplinary methodologies. We are committed to research, valorisation and training socially engaged citizens of the world who will make valuable contributions to a sustainable, healthy future.

Are you interested in joining the Faculty of Science? You will join undergraduate students, PhD candidates and researchers at the biggest sciences faculty in the Netherlands. You will combine a professional focus with a broad view of the world. We are proud of our collegial working climate, characterised by committed staff, a pragmatic attitude and engagement in the larger whole. The faculty is home to over 11,000 students enrolled in 40 study programmes. It employs over 1,600 professionals spread across 10 academic departments.

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.

Questions about the vacancy?

Please contact

Dr Marthe Wens

Assistant Professor

Interested

Are you interested in this position and do you believe that your experience will contribute to the further development of our university? In that case, we encourage you to submit your application.

IMPORTANT: Motivation letters generated with ChatGPT or other AI language tools will not be considered.

Submitting a diploma and a reference check are part of the application process.

Applications received by e-mail will not be considered.

Acquisition in response to this advertisement is not appreciated.

Questions about the vacancy?

Please contact

Dr Marthe Wens

Assistant Professor

Application procedure

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