Vacancy Postdoc 'Nurturing Connections: The Role of Physical Closeness in Parent-Infant Well-being and Development'

Job description

Th​​​e transition to parenthood can be challenging and is often related to mental and physical problems in parents. Parent-infant physical closeness (PIPC) sharply decreases over the first months in Western families, while studies show that PIPC is important for healthy child development and potentially also for maternal wellbeing. PIPC may hence offer unique opportunities to support both child development and new parents’ wellbeing. However, large gaps in knowledge on fathers, causal associations, underlying mechanisms, and long-term relations preclude further developments. Will you help us with further research?

This 4-year project is financed by NWO and focused on early parenthood and infancy and will be lead by Prof Dr. Carolina de Weerth (Developmental Psychobiology Lab).

Our multidisciplinary team will fill these gaps with sophisticated intervention, experimental, and longitudinal studies on daily life PIPC: baby carrying, skin-to-skin contact, and room sharing. We will determine whether, to what extent, and through what mechanisms easily accessible avenues for increasing PIPC can lead to improved maternal, paternal, and child mental and physical health, both concurrently as well as later in childhood and adolescence.

The project includes collaborators from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Utrecht University, and University of Trento. You will be part of a team consisting of senior researchers, a PhD student, a student assistant, as well as perinatal professionals and parents. You will be affiliated to the Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour and the Baby & Child Research Center.

We offer a challenging position in an innovative project within a team of dedicated colleagues. Our collaboration is characterized by creativity, collegiality, team work, and responsibility. You will be part of a dynamic, enthusiastic, collaborative, and ambitious research group specialized in early life, the developmental psychobiology lab.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Developing and pre-registering research protocols.
• Preparing and submitting (medical) ethical applications.
• Support recruitment and data collection.
• Data analysis and statistical analyses.
• Writing and dissemination of results for peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals.
• Writing and dissemination of results for the public, professionals, internal reports, etc.
• Presentation of findings at conferences and symposia.
• Training and supervision of PhD and (Research) Master students, as well as research assistants.

Place of work

For this position you will work at the Department Cognitive Neuroscience of Radboud university medical center (Radboudumc). The Cognitive Neuroscience department is part of the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior ('the Donders'). The Donders is a world-class research network with over 1,000 scientists dedicated to advancing brain, cognitive, and behavioral sciences. The institute enables access to the most advanced research facilities, fosters interdisciplinary collaborations, and trains new generations of researchers. Research into stress and stress-related disorders is an important area of ​​attention.

Radboudumc
Welcome to Radboud university medical center (Radboudumc), where our research groups strive for innovative solutions that make impact on health and healthcare. We challenge the status quo to overcome current and future health challenges. Our goal is to shape the future of healthcare for generations to come. Our focus is on prevention, sustainability, and meaningful care, which we achieve through our in-depth understanding of disease mechanisms, clinical science, public health research, medical technology and data science. Our approach is centered on breakthroughs that can truly enhance personalized healthcare and public health. 

At Radboudumc, a comprehensive range of research programs provide the compass for our research efforts. Each program has a clear goal, where collaboration within and outside our organization is highly valued. We integrate care, education and research in partnership with our patients to ensure that our research programs have significant impact on health and healthcare. We invite you to join us in our mission to create a healthy future for all.

Profile

Our ideal candidate has a PhD diploma in psychology, pedagogics, or similar study and strong affinity with the perinatal period and working with young parents. You have excellent communicative skills, strong writing skills and good statistical skills. You are fluent in English (spoken and written), fluency in the Dutch language is an advantage.

In addition you possess the profile below:

• Excellent organizational skills and highly precise in communication and data management.
• A proactive attitude and eager to learn and develop academic skills.
• Independent working style.
• A collaborative spirit and flourishes within team science.

Employment conditions

The ideal start date is 1 January 2025. At Radboud university medical center, you build on your future. We are committed to providing the best care, education, and research. And we are true to our word, because we help you develop and seize opportunities and give you the room to grow. As an employer, we believe that employees should feel vital and happy at work in all stages of life. We are also committed to creating a healthy and safe working environment. Our employment conditions contribute to that. What we offer:

• A gross monthly salary between € 3.493 and € 5.504 (scale 10) for full-time employment (36 hours per week). You will also receive an 8% holiday allowance, an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a 47% to 72% bonus for working unsocial hours.
• 172 vacation hours per year based on a 36-hour working week. (As of 1 January 2025, you will receive 176 vacation hours.) 
• An Employment Conditions Selection Model, allowing you to use part of your employment conditions to your choosing. For example, you can use your gross salary to purchase additional vacation hours or hours for providing informal caregiving. Or, for example, you can use your gross end-of-year bonus to purchase a bicycle, so you pay less tax.
• Plenty of opportunities for personal development. You can take a variety of courses in our online learning environment. 
• Your well-being and vitality are a priority. For example:
  • Save time for work-life balance leave. 
  • A 40% discount on a sports membership of the Radboud Sports Center.
  • Healthy Professionals program to help you manage your energy. 
  • Company Support Team and a personal coach if you are going through a life-changing event.
  • Financially beneficial working less through a Generation Scheme as you approach state pension age.
• Support in achieving a good work-life balance at every stage of your life. Examples:
  • Advice and courses on, for example, 'Millennial dilemmas' and 'Your Career After 57'.
  • Activities at our own mindfulness center.
  • Informal caregiving consultations if you have questions about juggling work and caregiving responsibilities at home.
• In addition to statutory pregnancy and maternity leave, Radboud university medical center offers 26 weeks of parental leave, nine of which are paid. In addition, as a partner you can take a maximum of five weeks of supplementary partner leave. During supplementary partner leave and parental leave, we supplement the UWV benefit up to 100% of your salary.
• Pension accrual at the ABP Pension Fund. Radboud university medical center pays 70% of the pension premium. 
• Discounts on supplementary packages of two group health insurances and ten other types of insurance, from home insurance to legal assistance.
• As of 1 October 2024: an allowance for your commuting costs of € 0.18 per km up to a maximum of 40 km one way. If you use public transport to commute, we will fully reimburse the public transport costs (2nd class). If you regularly work from home, you will receive a working from home allowance of € 2.35 per day.

Application procedure

We would like to receive your application before 4 October 2024. We will contact you shortly after. The first job interviews takes place on 15 October 2024. The second round interviews takes place on 22 October 2024. We would appreciate it if you would take this into account.

Good to know

• This position requires a Certificate of Conduct (VOG).
• You can find more information about our application procedure and frequently asked questions on our website.
• Will you be our new colleague? Then you will be given the time and space to get to know your role, your workplace, and your colleagues. An induction day for all new colleagues is an integral part of your onboarding program. 

We are recruiting for this position ourselves. Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated, but do feel free to share the vacancy in your network!

Contact

Any questions? Or wondering what it is like to work at Radboudumc? Then  email to Prof. Dr. Carolina de Weerth, full professor CNS. Use the Apply button to submit your application.