Netherlands: (Senior) Lecturer “Water Conflict, Cooperation and Diplomacy”

Jul 6, 2021 | IHE Delft
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IHE Delft is the largest international graduate water education facility in the world and is based in Delft, the Netherlands. The mission of IHE Delft is to work in partnership to strengthen capacity in the water sector, to achieve global sustainable development. IHE Delft has a permanent staff of 200 of which more than 100 are academics from all over the world, while about 250 guest lecturers from academia and industry contribute to our educational programmes. Each year 750 professionals (including about 200 new MSc students per year) attend courses at IHE Delft. The Institute has an international staff & student community with English as the working language.

Within IHE Delft, the Department of Water Governance has the following vacancy (Senior) Lecturer “Water Conflict, Cooperation and Diplomacy”

Around the world, countries share rivers, lakes and groundwater. Decisions about how to share these waters across borders – in terms of quantity, timing, and quality - are intrinsically political in nature. Even more so as pressures on water resources, such as economic growth and climate change, multiply claims on water and increase competition. IHE Delft envisions a world where transboundary water resources are protected and used in a sustainable (with no significant harm to environment and society), equitable (with fair distribution of water, knowledge, voice and authority) and peaceful (with constructive conflict management and transformation) way for people and ecosystems.

IHE Delft’s thematic programme on water conflict, cooperation and diplomacy focuses on seven areas: four core pillars of water cooperation - transboundary institutions, international and national water law, data and knowledge management, and dispute resolution mechanisms – and three cross-cutting underpinnings – practices of water diplomacy, causes and dynamics of transboundary water interaction, and linkages between water and the broader political context. IHE Delft defines water diplomacy as the facilitation of cooperation between states on shared water resources and the prevention and resolution of water related conflicts among them. In this understanding, water diplomacy is mostly about the process of establishing joint water governance arrangements to realize equitable and sustainable outcomes. IHE Delft has years of experience in developing and implementing activities related to transboundary water cooperation and water diplomacy. They range from education to building capacity on institutional arrangements and legal frameworks to negotiation training or supporting joint fact finding.

As part of the Water Conflict, Cooperation and Diplomacy team within the Department of Water Governance, you will be contributing to the team’s work on water conflict and cooperation, water diplomacy, water law and other related topics. This includes the translation of research outputs and new analytical insights into educational and training activities as well as capacity development and institutional strengthening projects (such as the DUPC Water Diplomacy project or the Water, Peace and Security (WPS) partnership). This work will be done in collaboration with colleagues at IHE Delft and partner institutes in the Netherlands and around the world.

Responsibilities

  • Education and capacity development;
    • Contribute to relevant modules within IHE’s curriculum as well as to short and summer
    • courses;
    • Contribute to capacity development activities, including tailor-made trainings in various
    • regions and basins;
    • Contribute to the implementation of IHE’s DUPC 2 Water Diplomacy project (such as
    • workshops and trainings for academics and practitioners, institutional strengthening for
    • partners in the Global South).
  • Project management;
    • Organize project activities such as the organization of conferences, workshops and
    • training courses (including conceptualization, planning, implementation and logistics);
    • Support the Water, Peace and Security (WPS) partnership implementation through
    • programmatic support as well as management support (in particular project
    • management, monitoring and reporting).
  • Research;
    • Conduct research on topics relating to (transboundary) environmental/water conflicts, institutions and practices of (transboundary) water conflict and cooperation and diplomacy and/or questions pertaining to water rights and water conflict resolution;
    • Contribute to academic publications and policy publications on topics relating to these topics;
  • Strategic development and partnerships;
    • Support the development of IHE’s water conflict, cooperation and diplomacy portfolio, in collaboration with partners in the Netherlands and abroad;
    • Contribute to the maintenance of IHE’s networks and the implementation of joint activities with partners (joint publications, conferences, trainings, etc.);
    • Contribute to communication and outreach activities (including social media and online outreach) for the Water Conflict, Cooperation and Diplomacy team.

Requirements

The successful candidate

  • Holds a MSc or PhD in a relevant discipline, such as political science, international relations, law, sociology, geography, environmental sciences, water resources management or related disciplines;
  • Has proven experience in conducting interdisciplinary research on water conflict, cooperation and diplomacy;
  • Has proven experience or interest in implementing educational and/or capacity development activities (development of training courses, training materials, organization of workshops, etc.);
  • Has proven experience in managing projects (including strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, budgeting and reporting) and a keen interest in project management;
  • Has proven experience in organizing workshops, conferences and other events (including conceptualization, preparation, logistics, etc.);
  • Can communicate with both academic and practitioners’ communities and bridge between them, while being familiar with relevant current debates in both communities;
  • Has excellent written and oral communication skills in English as well as good command of at least one additional language (in particular Arabic and/or French are highly desirable);
  • Is a team player committed to contributing to excellent outcomes for the entire team in a collaborative manner;
  • Have demonstrable experience of and affinity to working in and with the Global South, with experience in the Middle East and North Africa being of particular relevance;
  • Is motivated and able to work in a multicultural, multilingual and interdisciplinary academic environment.

Terms of employment

This position is a temporary position with an initial contract of 2 years. The position is based in Delft, The Netherlands. A competitive salary is offered depending on qualifications and experience in accordance with the conditions of employment for Dutch Universities. Candidates should be prepared to carry out short-term missions abroad.

Information and application

Additional information can be obtained from Dr. Susanne Schmeier, s.schmeier@un-ihe.org

Applications (in English), should respond specifically to the requirements, and can be sent until 31 July 2021 including curriculum vitae, a motivation letter and the names and contact details of two contactable referees (as one PDF file with your family name as the filename), to IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, attn. Human Resource Management (E: recruitment@un-ihe.org), PO Box 3015, 2601 DA Delft, The Netherlands, stating vacancy-number 21-WG-04.