Apply for a PhD in the field of Climate resilience in Africa: the role of ownership rights
Application Deadline: 31 July 2025
Apply for a PhD in the field of Climate resilience in Africa: the role of ownership rights
About the Organisation
Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has enjoyed an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative center of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Belonging to the best research universities of Europe and joining forces with prestigious partner universities and networks, the University of Groningen is truly an international place of knowledge.
About the Faculty of Economics and Business
The Faculty of Economics and Business offers an inspiring study and working environment for students and employees. International accreditation enables the Faculty to assess performance against the highest international standards. It also creates an exciting environment of continuous improvement. FEB’s programmes, academic staff and research do well on various excellence ranking lists.
FEBRI, the graduate school and research institute of the Faculty of Economics and Business has one PhD position in the field of Climate resilience in Africa: the role of ownership rights available.
Project description
Land ownership rights play a crucial role in managing sustainable landscapes and building climate resilience. Private and communal land ownership structures each have distinct implications for sustainable landscape governance. Gender dynamics in land rights further influence sustainable landscape management. Women’s exclusion from formal land ownership limits their economic independence and may undermine community resilience. This study will assess how promoting gender-inclusive ownership structures impact climate resilience in Maasai communities in Kenya and northern Tanzania. This implies intersecting with formal legal frameworks, to understand how gender-inclusive ownership structures influence resilience.
The findings aim to inform policies that support both economic and environmental resilience, recognizing the complex interplay between land rights, gender equity, and sustainable landscape governance in pastoral African communities. During the project, primary data collection will need to be done in Southern Kenya (Narok and Kajiado counties). Maasai Mara University in Narok county will provide on-the-ground assistance.
The PhD position is embedded in the research programme of FEB’s Research Institute. The project will be supervised by Prof. Robert Lensink (Faculty of Economics and Business), email: b.w.lensink@rug.nl, Prof. Han Olff (Faculty of Science and Engineering), email: h.olff@rug.nl and Dr Jedidah Simantoi Nankaya (Maasai Mara University, Kenya), email: jsjedidah@gmail.com
Qualifications
The ideal candidate is ambitious, highly motivated and wishes to make a career in research. He or she has a thorough training in research skills, speaks and writes English fluently, speaks Swahili and preferably also Maasai and has obtained good results in the Master phase. The PhD candidate should have a background (MSc, Research Master) in Economics, Development Studies or related field, and have experience with economic, gender and inequality studies in Africa.
Conditions of employment
- A gross monthly salary from € 2,901 which increases yearly to a maximum of € 3707.
- An additional 8% holiday allowance each year in May, and an additional 8.3 % end of year bonus in December based on the gross salary.
- A temporary full-time appointment for a period of four years, under the condition of a positive assessment at the end of the first year. PhD candidates contribute 20% of their time to teaching in years 2-4.
How to Apply for PhD in the field of Climate resilience in Africa
The application package consists of the following separate documents:
- A motivation letter, including a description how you qualifications and experience connect to the research proposal (2A4 max).
- Your cv.
- A scan of your diploma including transcripts.
- Proof of English proficiency.
- Other relevant documents.
The documents 1-4 are compulsory and please note that incomplete application packages will not be taken into account. An assessment may be part of the procedure, consisting of psychological tests and an interview.
The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities.
Information
For information you can contact:
- For more general information, please send an email to, febphdvacancies@rug.nl
- Prof. Robert Lensink (for more information on this specific project), b.w.Lensink@rug.nl
Please do not use the e-mail address(es) above for applications.
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