Postdoc position for Scaling the Adoption of RWH Technologies in the Sahel

Are you a development economist passionate about climate adaptation and food security in sub-Saharan Africa? This post-doctoral position offers a rare opportunity to contribute to an ambitious, policy-relevant research program at the frontier of agricultural development and environmental sustainability.

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) techniques can reverse land degradation, improve soil quality, and increase incomes for smallholder farmers in the Sahel — yet adoption on private land remains below 10% in many countries, such as Niger. Our consortium has spent a decade uncovering why. Building on a randomized control trial between 2018 and 2022 showing that a single half-day training dramatically increased adoption (Aker and Jack 2025), this project now seeks to scale those insights across other regions of Niger, as well as pilot interventions in Mali and Nigeria.

Based at WUR and embedded in an international, inter-disciplinary consortium — spanning economists, soil scientists, agronomists, remote sensing specialists, and Sahelian research partners — this post-doc position will help to lead the cross-cutting work package that co-develops, implements, analyses, and communicates findings from pilots and RCTs across three countries. This position will work closely with PIs Jenny Aker and Erwin Bulte, ICRISAT, the University of Diffa, Sahel Consulting Group, and the Niger Ministry of Environment.

This position will involve a significant amount of travel within West Africa, and will be responsible for helping to organize stakeholder workshops, co-develop and implement pilots, co-organize data collection, assist with analysis and contribute to policy. The position suits a researcher who combines rigorous quantitative skills, especially in the area of randomized control trials, with experience with complex development challenges.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Coordination across consortium and work packages Serve as the day-to-day research coordinator across work packages, liaising with consortium partners at WUR, ICRISAT, the University of Diffa, Sahel Consulting Group, and the Ministry of Environment. Support the project management structure led by PIs Aker and Bulte, including preparation of progress reports, meeting documentation, and monitoring and evaluation against the project's impact pathway indicators.
• Quantitative data management and impact evaluation support Design and oversee data management protocols for large-scale survey datasets collected across ±600 villages and up to 10,000 households in Niger. Contribute to the analysis of RCT results, including estimation of treatment effects on RWH adoption, soil quality, agricultural production, and farmer revenues, disaggregated by gender and agro-ecological zone.
• Cross-country synthesis and comparative analysis Systematically compile and analyze results from pilot interventions and RCTs conducted across Niger and feasibility studies in Mali and Nigeria. Produce comparative analyses that identify what works, for whom, and under what conditions, drawing on survey data, earth observation outputs, and qualitative inquiry from all consortium partners.
• Mentorship and capacity strengthening Contribute to the supervision and mentoring of PhD and MSc students affiliated with the project at WUR and the University of Diffa. Participate in capacity-building workshops for local stakeholders — including training in the Eight Question Method (8QM) and impact evaluation methods — helping to strengthen research design and policy evaluation skills among government partners and local research staff.
• Research dissemination and knowledge translation Prepare peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, and working papers synthesizing project findings for academic and practitioner audiences. Present results at dissemination workshops with governments, NGOs, and communities in Niger, Mali, and Nigeria, and contribute to the project's strategic communications to ensure evidence reaches and influences relevant policymakers and scaling actors.

The team is comprised of PIs Jenny C. Aker (Cornell) and Erwin Bulte (WUR), researchers at the University of Diffa (Malam Assane Maigari), ICRISAT (Kidia Gelaye and Bouba Traore) and the Sahel Consulting Group (Adamou Hamadou and Mounkaila Kindo Boubacar), as well as partner staff at the Ministry of Environment and other NGO stakeholders. The position will be based in Wageningen, the Netherlands, with frequent travel to Niger, Mali and Nigeria.

This position will be based at the Development Economics Group at Wageningen University and Research (WUR).

This position is part of the Academic Career Framework (ACF) at Wageningen University & Research.

Trainer Korfbalvereniging Débaldérin

Heb jij een passie voor sport en in het bijzonder voor Korfbal? Wil jij anderen graag iets leren en ben jij in staat een groep fanatieke studenten te enthousiasmeren? Dan zijn wij bij Sports Centre de Bongerd op zoek naar jou!

Voor onze studentenkorfbalvereniging Débaldérin zijn wij per direct op zoek naar een: Trainer Korfbal

Jouw baan
Als korfbaltrainer ben je verantwoordelijk voor het trainen en begeleiden van de competitiespelers en de recreatieve spelers van studentensportvereniging Débaldérin. De vereniging telt ruim 40 (student)leden. De trainingen vinden plaats op dinsdag 19:00 – 20:30 en donderdag van 20:00 - 21:30 uur (in overleg met de vereniging kunnen andere tijden eventueel worden geaccommodeerd) en worden verzorgd vanuit Sports Centre de Bongerd, in samenwerking met Débaldérin. Op een doorsnee training zijn er 15 tot 20 leden aanwezig.

Débaldérin neemt deel aan de competitie van de Nederlandse korfbalbond (KNKV), en komen daarin uit in de midweek en de zaterdagcompetitie.

Jouw belangrijkste taak is het ontwikkelen van zowel competitiespelers als recreatieve spelers, met als doel het verhogen van het spelniveau, het vergroten van het spelplezier en het behalen van competitieve resultaten.

Naast de reguliere trainingen neem je enkele keren per jaar deel aan team- en docent overleggen, bijscholingsactiviteiten, WeDay, de AID en/of personeelsuitjes. Deze activiteiten vinden plaats buiten je gebruikelijke werktijden.

Hier ga je werken
Het Sports Centre de Bongerd (SCB) van Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is verantwoordelijk voor het sportprogramma voor studenten en medewerkers van WUR. In totaal maken 6500 studenten en 900 medewerkers actief gebruik van het sportcentrum dat bestaat uit 45 gespecialiseerde sportdocenten, 9 management- en beheermedewerkers. Het SCB heeft een initiërende en actieve rol bij de uitvoering van het gezondheidsprogramma Vital@work.

Het sportcentrum bevindt zich aan de rand van de campus en vormt de uitvalsbasis voor de diverse studentensportverenigingen. Door het grote aantal internationale studenten en medewerkers is de voertaal op de campus grotendeels Engels.

Trainer Korfballassociation Débaldérin

Do you have a passion for sports, and korfball in particular? Do you enjoy teaching others and are you able to motivate a group of enthusiastic students? Then Sports Centre de Bongerd is looking for you!
For our student korfball association Débaldérin, we are looking for a:

Korfball Trainer
Starting as soon as possible
Your job
As a korfball trainer, you are responsible for training and coaching both the competitive players and the recreational players of the student sports association Débaldérin. The association has over 40 (student) members. Training sessions take place on Tuesdays from 19:00–20:30 and Thursdays from 20:00–21:30 (alternative times may be arranged in consultation with the association) and are provided through Sports Centre de Bongerd in cooperation with Débaldérin. A typical training session has 15 to 20 members in attendance.

Débaldérin participates in the competition of the Dutch Korfball Association (KNKV), competing in both the midweek league and the Saturday league.
Your main task is to develop both competitive and recreational players, aiming to improve the level of play, increase enjoyment, and achieve competitive results.

In addition to regular training sessions, you will take part several times a year in team and staff meetings, training activities, WeDay, the AID, and/or staff outings. These activities take place outside your regular working hours.

You will work here
The Sports Centre de Bongerd (SCB) of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is responsible for the sports program for students and staff of WUR. A total of 6500 students and 900 employees actively use the sports centre, which consists of 45 specialized sports teachers, 9 management and administration staff. The CPC has an initiating and active role in the implementation of the health program Vital@work. The sports centre is located on the edge of the campus and is the base for the various student sports associations. Due to the large number of international students and staff, the language of instruction on campus (and at GVC) is largely English.

PhD positions: Portable mass spectrometry for food toxin detection

Do you have a strong affinity for innovative mass spectrometry and delivering a positive impact on global food safety? Do you take joy in creative processes and are you driven by curiosity? Are you a go-getter? Do you excel at working in teams? Then we are looking for you!

We have a PhD position available at the laboratory of Organic Chemistry (Wageningen University) in close collaboration with Wageningen Food Safety Research. The PhD position is available in the NWO-funded VIDI project GPS4FoodSafety, which is focused on studying novel routes towards achieving molecular selectivity in ambient ionization for portable mass spectrometry – to detect natural toxins in crops and water at the point-of-need.

In this challenging project, you will work as a PhD student to develop novel approaches to impart chemical selectivity on easy-to-use sample probes that can be coupled to a portable mass spectrometer – and ultimately used outside the laboratory setting in food safety applications. The PhD project contributes to and collaborate on achieving this aim, yet have distinct focus. Please indicate whether you are interested in either or both PhD positions and in case of the latter specify preference:

You will focus on the chemical modification of cellulose paper to create highly selective solid-phase extraction devices to enrich targeted contaminants (plant toxins and cyanobacterial toxins). Moreover, 3D-printing and rapid prototyping will be applied to develop modular sample extraction and handling devices, as well as for integrating the selective probes with the portable mass spectrometer.

Relevant literature related to these positions can be found here:

• Interconnectable 3D-printed sample processing modules for portable mycotoxin screening of intact wheat - ScienceDirect
• Rapid analysis of Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, and cannabidiol in Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol edibles by Ag(I) paper spray mass spectrometry after simple extraction - ScienceDirect
• Bifunctional Ti4+-modified paper for selective extraction or removal of phospholipids and paper spray mass spectrometry for bioanalysis in urine and plasma - ScienceDirect

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• You will collaborate to achieve the analytical workflows for molecular identification of toxins using portable mass spectrometry, which will be demonstrated in pilot studies together with the project stakeholders.
• You will be expected to develop research questions, experimental approaches and execute the experiments in the lab, and during the pilot studies. You will report on your findings to the scientific community via peer-reviewed publication, and conference contributions.
• You will take part in the education of students through supervision of BSc and MSc students in laboratory courses and thesis projects.
• You will be registered with the graduate school and receive training in both field-specific, general scientific and soft skills to facilitate your professionalisation and development as independent scientist.

You will work here
The project is a part of an NWO Vidi grant, GPS4FoodSafety, awarded to Dr. Gert Salentijn, which will be executed in the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry (Organic Chemistry - WUR), which is headed by Prof. Han Zuilhof. You will be supervised by Dr. Gert Salentijn with support by the other team members Dr. Laura Righetti and Prof. Han Zuilhof. The PhD project is a collaboration with Wageningen Food Safety Research.

Technisch Assistent Physics and Physical Chemistry of Foods

Heb jij kennis van de fysisch-chemische aspecten van materialen, bij voorkeur voedingsmiddelen? Ben jij een enthousiaste analytisch medewerker? Zoek je graag de samenwerking en ben je bekend met het onderzoek en onderwijs in natuurkunde of fysische chemie? Wij zijn op zoek naar een Technisch Assistent, dus lees snel verder!

Jij gaat als Technisch Assistent bijdragen aan de ondersteuning van onderwijs en onderzoek van het Laboratorium voor Fysica en Fysische Chemie van Levensmiddelen.

Jouw taken en verantwoordelijkheden als Technisch Assistent:

• je coördineert en assisteert bij de praktische invulling van het onderwijs, ondersteunt studenten en promovendi bij het gebruik van de apparatuur van onze groep, en zorgt tevens voor het onderhoud van de apparatuur;
• je test nieuwe apparatuur voordat deze wordt aangeschaft en je helpt mee gegevens te verzamelen voor specifieke onderzoeksactiviteiten;
• je bent verantwoordelijk voor de aankoop en het beheer van chemicaliën en klein laboratoriumapparatuur.

Jouw team
Jij gaat samenwerken binnen een team van in totaal vijf technisch assistenten van het Laboratorium voor Fysica en Fysische Chemie van Levensmiddelen (FPH).

Hier ga je werken
De leerstoelgroep FPH integreert de natuurkunde van levensmiddelen, het ontwerpen en ontwikkelen van mesostructuren en toepassingsgericht onderzoek om innovaties effectiever mogelijk te maken. Ons doel is om

a) fundamentele kennis, nieuwe mesostructuren en toepassingsconcepten te leveren aan academische partners, de industrie en de maatschappij, en

b) studenten op te leiden om deze integratie in hun toekomstige carrière toe te passen.

Een centraal thema in ons onderzoek is de mesoschaal: de tussenliggende lengteschaal tussen individuele moleculen en het uiteindelijke voedingsproduct. Structuren op deze schaal, typisch enkele nanometers tot enkele millimeters, beïnvloeden sterk macroscopische eigenschappen zoals textuur, stroming, stabiliteit en uiterlijk. Door te begrijpen hoe water, eiwitten, polysacchariden, vetten, oliën en andere componenten zich op de mesoschaal organiseren, kunnen we het gedrag van voedsel beter beheersen en innovatieve materialen ontwikkelen.