PhD Position - One health cross-policy and system assessment for the governance of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) prevention in Indonesia Wageningen • Wageningen University & Research

Passionate about One Health and sustainable infectious disease prevention? Join a groundbreaking interdisciplinary project enhancing Indonesia's resilience against Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. Collaborate with diverse stakeholders, including public authorities, healthcare, and wildlife workers. Enjoy excellent benefits, including sabbatical leave, a fixed December bonus, and access to campus sports facilities. Embrace this opportunity for growth at a leading international university. Read on to see how your skills fit this role.

Your job

PhD ‘Governance of zoonoses for community resilience from a One Health perspective: integrating and translating knowledge into enabling policies using a multisectoral and transdisciplinary network platform’

Your Job
Are you interested in one health and the governance of sustainable infectious disease prevention? Do you want to be part of a highly interdisciplinary research project aimed at making the Indonesian health care system more resilient against Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and work closely together with its stakeholders (public authorities health care and wildlife workers, farmers and community members)? This PhD position might be what you are looking for!

The Health and Society Group, in collaboration with Indonesian Universities,  are looking for a PhD researcher to work in the NWO-Merian funded project “A whole-of-society approach to health system resiliency and pandemic preparedness in Indonesia”. Working in this project, you will as PhD researcher perform a systematic assessment of policy risks and resources for zoonoses in relevant policy and regulatory documents; apply the One Health-SMART approach for systems mapping and analysis, collecting relevant information from scientific literature and interviewing stakeholders; and conduct a cross-region survey on implementation conditions for One Health. Throughout the project, feedback from stakeholders like poultry farmers, citizens, governmental officials and public health workers provide guidance about how to develop the models.

You will work with the other four work package teams both in the Netherlands and Indonesia (IPB and Universitas Indonesia) to coordinate data collection and participatory stakeholder meetings. Intermittent travel to Indonesia for data collection and knowledge exchange is expected.

The research in work package 1 is embedded within the Health and Society Group with Prof. Spencer Moore as promotor. You will be co-supervised by dr. Marleen Bekker, Associate Professor, and dr. Denny Lukman, Associate Professor at IPB University, Bogor.

Your qualities

• A completed (or about to be completed) MSc degree in political science or political ecology, public administration, sustainability governance studies or related field;
• Strong scientific writing skills;
• Strong qualitative research skills, particularly in action oriented research;
• An affinity with One Health issues;
• Motivation to collaborate in an interdisciplinary research team;
• Knowledge of Indonesian language (Bahasa) is a prerequisite.

In our international working environment there is an increasing amount of communication in English. For this position level C1 in English is required. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.
You can see that there are plenty of challenges ahead of you. These challenges can also be seen as development opportunities. So if you do not yet have the track-record required in the vacancy, but do have solid work experience, we would also like to invite you to apply.

You will work here
The Health and Society Group focuses on the sociological study of public health, health promotion and health protection, in resource poor and resource rich contexts, with emphasis on (1) the social, natural and built environment, and (2) the role of actors and social institutions in advancing health and wellbeing. Health and Society - WUR
We offer you

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.

The gross salary for the first year is € 2.901,- per month rising to € 3.707,-  in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

Wageningen University & Research offers plenty of opportunities for growth and development, with a strong internal recruitment policy and excellent training programmes.

You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment. For 20 consecutive years, we have been voted the "best university" in the Netherlands! A place to be proud of.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.

Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. We can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.
Do you want more information?

For more information about this position, please contact dr. Marleen Bekker, Associate Professor HSO by e-mail: via de button "Solliciteer nu" op deze pagina..

For more information about the procedure, please contact Jouke van Oostenbrugge, Corporate Recruiter via de button "Solliciteer nu" op deze pagina..

Do you want to apply?
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval.

This vacancy will be listed up to and including July 21st, 2025. We hope to schedule the first job interviews on Wednesday, July 24th and Thursday, July 25th.

Welcome, safe, and valued
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) highly values diversity and inclusion because we believe that different insights lead to innovative solutions. We create a work environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, and appreciated, regardless of background, identity, or experience. Together, we are building a culture where everyone's unique contribution adds to the success of our organization.

We are

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is ‘To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life’.

We pursue this mission through a synergistic approach between Wageningen University and Wageningen Research Foundation (applied research). Our research focuses on questions within the domains of food, living environment, and society. With approximately 30 locations, 7,700 staff members, 2,500 PhD candidates, and over 13,000 students, Wageningen University & Research is among the world’s leading knowledge institutions in its domain. The integral approach to challenges and the collaboration across various disciplines form the core of the unique Wageningen approach.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR.

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.