PhD Position in Environmental Risks and Benefits of Offshore Wind Farms (Wageningen University & Research)

Job title

PhD Position in Environmental Risks and Benefits of Offshore Wind Farms.

Company

Wageningen University & Research (WUR), Marine Animal Ecology Group, in collaboration with Wageningen Marine Research (WMR), the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), and Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

Description of the job

Wageningen University & Research offers a fully funded PhD position within the NO-REGRETS project, a 5.5-year, multidisciplinary research programme funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and co-designed with stakeholders to understand the ecological and economic tradeoffs of upscaling offshore wind farms in the North Sea in light of climate change and in relation to the ongoing food and nature transitions.

Over the next decades, the use of the North Sea will dramatically increase to accommodate large-scale implementation of renewable energy platforms. While providing a sustainable source of energy, offshore wind farms and associated activities will exert pressures on the North Sea that cause ecological changes — some may be unwanted while others may provide societal benefits. The candidate will contribute knowledge needed by decision-makers to plan the future ecological and economic sustainability of the North Sea.

A "whole-ecosystem" approach is used by examining physical and biogeochemical processes, suspended sediments, plankton, fish, seabed composition, seafloor organisms, marine mammals, and sea birds. Oceanographic research cruises, satellite remote sensing and ecosystem modelling will advance knowledge needed for testing ecological hypotheses, performing bioeconomic analyses, and informing science-based policymaking.

The candidate will be matriculated at WUR as part of the Marine Animal Ecology group with Prof. Myron Peck but integrated within the group of Dr. Gerjan Piet at WMR in Den Helder, also collaborating with Dr. Patrick Bogaart at CBS in The Hague. There is flexibility in the primary location of the position. This is one of 12 PhD positions funded in the NO-REGRETS programme. The initial contract is for 18 months, extended upon good performance.

Key Responsibilities:

• Advancing knowledge on the cumulative ecological impacts of pressures on the North Sea, including the upscaling of offshore wind energy.
• Employing natural capital frameworks to translate ecological to socio-economic impacts.
• Evaluating how risk assessments and ecosystem service valuation can contribute to science advice on the sustainable use of the marine environment through ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning.
• Developing ways to make this advice climate-proof and identify climate-ready solutions.
• Contributing to the synthesis of natural and social science products stemming from the NWO NO-REGRETS program.

What We Offer:

• A fully funded PhD position with a course programme tailored to your needs.
• Partially paid parental leave.
• Flexible working hours for the best possible work-life balance.
• Sports facilities on campus for a small fee.
• A fixed year-end bonus of 8.3%.
• Excellent pension scheme.
• Support for international employees with visa procedures and settling in.

Requirements

• A successfully completed MSc degree in natural sciences or an interdisciplinary programme.
• Knowledge of marine ecosystems, preferably the North Sea or related systems.
• Knowledge of the human pressures impacting marine biodiversity.
• Familiarity with concepts involving ecosystem services and their contribution to human wellbeing (e.g. IPBES and SEEA).
• Strong quantitative skills and ability to work with large geospatial data sets. Experience with GIS software and fluency in Python or R.
• English language proficiency at C1 level.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Strong passion for working across disciplines within a broad, diverse, international network.

Location

Yerseke / Den Helder, The Netherlands (flexible primary location).

Salary

€3,059 per month rising to €3,881 in the fourth year (gross, full-time 38 hours per week).

How to apply

Apply directly using the apply button on the WUR vacancy page. Submit a CV and motivation letter (max. 3 pages total). Applications exceeding 3 pages will not be considered. Additionally, fill in the mandatory form linked on the vacancy page.

For more information, contact Prof. Myron Peck at myron.peck@nioz.nl or Dr. Gerjan Piet at gerjan.piet@wur.nl. Questions about the procedure: contact Noorien Abbas at noorien.abbas@wur.nl. First interviews are scheduled for early June 2026.

Deadline

16/05/2026.

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