PhD: Impact evaluation of climate policies in agricultural and forest landscapes

Career at WUR

About Us

• Plenty of variety and challenges
• Pleasant working atmosphere
• Time for personal development
• Proper work-life balance
• Internationally leading
  
  

Your job

Have you ever wondered how we can ensure that climate mitigation and adaptation policies are fair, coherent, and effective? Are you interested in applying state-of-the-art impact evaluation techniques to analyze how climate policies affect land use, GHG emissions, and biodiversity? Do you good communication skills in Spanish? Then this might be your next step!

Climate change mitigation and adaptation in agriculture and forestry represent a “wicked problem”, shaped by uncertainty, conflicting objectives, institutional fragmentation and time pressure. While the EU has set ambitious climate targets for 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050, progress in agriculture and forestry remains insufficient and current policy frameworks have not yet resulted in significant climate mitigation and adaptation results, or generated the systemic transformation needed.

This PhD position is part of the EU-Horizon project “Evidence-based pathways towards fair, coherent and effective climate policies for Europe’s agriculture and forestry (PolicyForClimate)”, which will develop tools and frameworks to enable policymakers and other stakeholders to design fair, coherent, and effective climate mitigation and adaptation policies in the EU. The project will use AI-assisted evidence synthesis, a policy-lab approach, and embedded case studies to offer a continuously updated evidence base on policy impacts, trade-offs, synergies, and spillovers.

Your research will focus on developing, applying, and validating a novel mixed-methods framework for ex-post impact evaluation of climate policies in forestry and agricultural landscapes. By combining state-of-the-art econometric techniques with qualitative participatory approaches, you will empirically analyze how climate policies have affected land use, GHG emissions, and biodiversity metrics. This will require conducting systematic reviews on existing impact evaluation frameworks, run workshops and focus group discussions with various stakeholders, collect, combine, and analyze farm-level primary data and secondary spatially explicit data.

Start date: February 2027.

Your Duties And Responsibilities Include

• Conduct systematic literature reviews and workshops to develop a mixed-methods ex-post impact evaluation framework for climate policies;
• Apply rigorous econometric methods together with qualitative assessments, particularly from policy sciences, to evaluate the impact of specific climate policies on land cover, carbon, and biodiversity metrics;
• Conduct focus group discussions with various stakeholders in the EU to validate the proposed impact evaluation framework and results from the empirical analyses;
• Write research papers and present research findings at international academic conferences;
• Collaborate with our research partners and contribute to the dissemination of project results.
  
  

You will work here

You will be based at the Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group (FNP) at Wageningen University. The FNP group focuses on the political, socio-economic and cultural dimensions of forests and nature. Our research addresses major challenges including biodiversity conservation, deforestation, forest transitions, climate change and landscape management in both the Global North and Global South. You will be jointly supervised by Dr. Jorge Sellare and Prof. Bas Arts from Wageningen University (WU-FNP), and by Dr. Dario Schulz (EFI) in the research group headed by Sven Wunder.

Your qualities

We are looking for a researcher with a strong interest in climate adaptation and mitigation policies and in exploring the underlying causal mechanisms through which they affect land, GHG emissions, and biodiversity. You enjoy working with both quantitative and qualitative data and are motivated to conduct research that combines rigorous econometric analysis with qualitative assessments and with real-world challenges facing farmers and forest owners. Fieldwork in Spain will be an important component of the PhD project, so Spanish language skills are critical. You should be enthusiastic about working with farmers and able to spend time in rural areas of Spain under fieldwork conditions.

You Also Possess

• a successfully completed MSc degree in agricultural economics, environmental economics, environmental policy, forestry or a closely related field;
• affinity with applied econometrics and / or qualitative mixed methods and an interest in developing your skills in both;
• knowledge of GIS and spatial data analysis is an asset;
• good skills with statistical software such as R, Stata or Python;
• very good communication skills in Spanish (min. level B2);
  
  

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level . Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here .

We offer

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

• Partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• 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 year-end 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 € 3.204,- per month rising to € 4.051,- 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.

We encourage development and internal mobility within our organisation. Our recruitment and selection policy sets out the conditions that apply specifically to you as a (former) employee. If you have any questions, we are happy to help.

You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment.

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. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, our Welcome Center can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example housing, opening a bank account, dual career programs 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.

Important information

For more information about the position, please contact Jorge Sellare, Associate Professor, via e-mail: jorge.sellare@wur.nl.

Questions about the procedure? Get in touch with Jessa Rozema, Corporate Recruiter, via e-mail: jessa.rozema-stol@wur.nl.

Ready 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. Only applications submitted through our website will be considered.

To apply, please send the following documents (max. 3 pages in total):

• Complete and up-to-date curriculum vitae (max. 2 pages);
• Motivation letter (max. 1 page).
  
  

The maximum length of the documents must not exceed 3 pages. If it exceeds, applications will not be considered. Additional files such as grades and transcripts are not required during this stage and will not be considered.

You can apply up to and including November 4th 2026. The first interviews are scheduled for November 16th, 17th, and 18th.

Additional Information Form

For this position, you must fill in a mandatory form which will allow us to have a comprehensive view of your qualifications and better assess your fit for it. You can access the form using the link below:

PhD: Impact evaluation of climate policies in agricultural and forest landscapes – Fill out form

Your prompt response will ensure that your application continues to move forward in the evaluation process. We assure you that the information provided will be kept confidential and used solely for this application process.

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”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below to get an idea of our green campus!

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

Locations

Wageningen

Professional field

PhD & EngD

Educational level

Masters degree

Apply before

5-11-2026

Salary range

€3204 - €4051

Hours

38 - 38