Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Cargo Crime

About the position 

A Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Social Anthropology is available at the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Oslo. 

The position will be part of the convergence environment Cargo Crime: (Il)Licit Seaborne Transport and the Energy Transition, led by Associate Professor Hege Høyer Leivestad, and funded by UiO: Energy and Environment (2025-2030).

Cargo Crime focuses on the emerging issue of green maritime crime and is a collaboration between the Department of Social Anthropology, the Department of Mathematics, Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law and the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law at the University of Oslo. Maritime shipping of goods and raw materials is vital to the global economy, but the environmental repercussions of cross-border cargo crime remain significantly understudied. Illicit activities in shipping are often closely intertwined with legal trade, while law enforcement efforts at sea are limited and complex. 

See Cargo Crime: (Il)Licit Seaborne Transport and the Energy Transition for more information. 

The position is available for a period of 4 years. 25 % of the position is devoted to research management and other career-promoting tasks. The expected start date is no later than 1 September 2026. The location of employment is Oslo, and moving to Norway is required and residence in or close by Oslo city is expected.

More about the position and what your main tasks will be

The Postdoctoral researcher will conduct research on transnational waste trafficking (such as electronic waste, scrap cars, paper and plastic waste, and hazardous materials). While there is a legal trade in waste exports, waste is also a profitable product for illicit activities and organised crime. Finding loopholes in transnational jurisdiction is relatively easy, and while penalties for this type of crime are low, the environmental impacts are often massive. 

The applicant will independently design and pursue their own research project described in the research plan, which should be submitted as part of the application. 

The postdoctoral researcher will also carry the main responsibility for organizing workshops, team-based fieldwork trips, an online speaker series and other joint activities. The postdoctoral researcher will work closely with the other project researchers. They will jointly pursue publications and creative forms of public dissemination.

The postdoctoral researcher will conduct a total of 6-8 months of ethnographic fieldwork in/around cargo ports. Fieldwork should ideally be carried out in one waste-sending and one waste-destination country, depending on the candidate’s regional/language competencies. In Europe, potential ports could be those of Hamburg or Rotterdam. Turkey has recently emerged as the primary hub for waste trafficking from the EU. The Port of Tema (Ghana), the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia), or the Port of Jakarta (Indonesia) could serve as sites. These are suggestions only and with the final decision depending on the candidate’s regional expertise. For questions regarding ports and selection of field site, please contact the Project Leader. 

Selection criteria 

• Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree (PhD) in Social Anthropology or a closely related discipline.
• Applicants must have prior research experience that includes long-term ethnographic fieldwork. 
• Experience with maritime anthropology, global circulations and/or cross-border crime/green crime, as well as language skills and prior research experience in the chosen field site(s) will be emphasized. 

• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English.
• Enthusiasm for interdisciplinary group work and commitment to shared efforts. Prior experience with teamwork and/or project management will be an advantage.
• An interest in dissemination of research results.
• Personal suitability and motivation for the position

What are we looking for in you? 

• A collaborative, friendly, and team-oriented style of work.
• Ability to join interdisciplinary academic communities.
• Creativity and ability to work independently.

We need different perspectives in our work 

UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO’s work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no.

We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We are looking for great colleagues—could you be the next one?

We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.

If you have a disability, we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal.  In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (Norwegian).

The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports.

More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here.

We hope you will apply for the position with us. 

Why should you choose us?

• Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development.
• Salary in position as Postdoctoral Fellow, position code 1352 in salary range NOK 635 000 - 672 000 , depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund.
• Good welfare schemes.
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours. 
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes.

Read more about the benefits of working in the public sector at Employer Portal.

Application

The application must include:

• A cover letter describing your research interests and motivation for the position (1-2 pages)
• CV with a complete list of education, positions, pedagogical and administrative experience, publications, and other qualifying activities. 
• Research plan outlining how the candidate envisages completing the work to be undertaken during the term of appointment (maximum 4 pages).
• One writing sample (a published article or a dissertation chapter, ideally)
• List of reference persons: two references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone number)
• Copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only). If original certificates are not available in English or a Scandinavian language, a certified translation must be attached.

Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for the position" before March 20th 2026.

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

General information

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews. 

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we cannot, you will hear from us.

Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian) and Guidelines concerning appointment to post doctoral and research posts at UiO.

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.