Postdoctoral Research Fellow position at the Department of Comparative Politics
Jobbnorge ID: 188140
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow position
There is a vacancy for a 3 year postdoc position at the Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen. The Department of Comparative Politics offers an exciting place for research and education on political institutions, organizations, processes and behaviour at local, national and international levels. The Department offers bachelor's and master's programmes in comparative politics, as well as a bachelor's programme in European studies. The staff participates actively in national and international cross-disciplinary research. The Digital Social Science Core Facility (DIGSSCORE) is an infrastructure for advanced social science data collection and multi-disciplinary research at the University of Bergen.
Tentative starting date in the position is October 1, 2020
About the project/work tasks:
The successful applicant will conduct research within the research project "Strengthening Regional Democracy - Contributing to Good Democratic Governance" funded by the Trond Mohn Foundation (TMS) and the University of Bergen (UiB). This research project sets out to identify the conditions which facilitate good democratic regional governance.
We are looking for a postdoctoral research fellow who can contribute to the overall research project and conduct independent research linked to important questions of governance and democracy at the regional level. The postdoctoral research fellow can work with a regional election survey dataset which includes 410 regional elections surveys conducted in 68 regions in 8 countries. In addition, the successful candidate can field questions to a panel of regional and local voters and a panel of regional and local politicians on an annual basis. Furthermore, the successful candidate will have access to aggregate election data for 392 regions in 23 European countries for 1950 to 2020.
There is ample opportunity for the postdoctoral research fellow to develop their own research agenda within the broad framework of the project. Applicants are asked to write a research proposal of maximum three pages with an outline on how the applicant would like to contribute to the overall goals of the project and how the applicant would like to pursue an own research agenda. Funding will be dedicated towards the professional training of the candidate, for example summer school courses for training in statistical methods. There is plenty of opportunity to collaborate with the other team members and the successful candidate will also have the opportunity to carry out visits to the Centre on Constitutional Change at the University of Edinburgh and the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University.
A full outline of the project can be obtained by contacting the principal investigator, Arjan Schakel, arjan.schakel@uib.no
Qualifications and personal qualities:
The applicant:
- Must hold a PhD within social sciences (e.g. political science, public administration/policy, sociology, economics), or must have submitted his/her doctoral thesis for assessment prior to the application deadline. It is a condition of employment that the PhD has been awarded.
- Should be proficient in both written and oral English.
- Should be interested in applying quantitative methods and preferably has experience with mainstream statistical packages (e.g. SPSS, Stata, SAS, or R).
- Should be able to work independently as well as in a team.
- Has research experience within one or more themes that relate to the project, for example, democracy (elections, voting behaviour, political parties, representation) or governance (institutions, policy making, policy implementation, multilevel governance).
- Is willing to disseminate research results beyond the academic community.
- Is capable to collaborate on an international level and to contribute to building an international collaborative network.
Potential candidates will be invited for an interview in September. Candidates will be asked to deliver a presentation during which they present their research plans and their potential contribution to the research project (see below).
About the position of postdoctoral research fellow:
The position of postdoctoral research fellow is a fixed-term appointment with the primary objective of qualifying the appointee for work in top academic positions. The fixed-term period for this position is 3 years. Teaching is a possibility but not a requirement. Individuals may not be hired for more than one fixed-term period as a postdoctoral research fellow at the same institution.
About the application:
The application must include a research proposal of maximum 3 pages. The proposal should outline how the applicant would like to contribute to the overall goals of the project and how the applicant would like to pursue an own research agenda. There is plenty of opportunity within the project for the team members to develop and advance their own research objectives. The proposal should contain a timeline and milestones as well as a publication plan. It is a requirement that the project is completed in the course of the period of employment. The budget of project enables the team members to enrol in summer school courses such as training in advanced statistical methods.
We can offer:
- A good and professionally challenging working environment.
- Salary at pay grade 59 - 62 (code 1352) on the government salary scale upon appointment (equivalent to NOK 523 200 to 552 800 pr. year). Further promotions are made according to length of service in the position.
- Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.
- Good welfare benefits.
- The city of Bergen - a unique mix of vibrant cultural life and extraordinary nature.
Your application must include:
- A cover letter detailing the applicant's research interests and motivation for applying for the position (1-2 pages).
- A CV.
- A research proposal (up to 3 pages).
- A list of a maximum of five publications to be considered in the assessment (co-authored publications must be accompanied by declarations of co-authorship).
- A reference list including all works of a scientific nature (e.g. PhD-thesis, blogs, etc.).
- The names and contact information for two references.
- Transcripts and diplomas and official confirmation that the doctoral thesis has been submitted.
- Relevant certificates/letters of recommendation.
The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at www.jobbnorge.no
The closing date is August 17, 2020, and the application has to be marked with: 20/5468
Applications sent by e-mail will not be evaluated.
General information:
Detailed information about the position can be obtained by contacting: Arjan Schakel, Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen: arjan.schakel@uib.no
Practical questions about the application process should be directed to Adviser - HR, Even Michal Endresen, e-mail: even.endresen@uib.no
The state labour force shall reflect the diversity of Norwegian society to the greatest extent possible. Age and gender balance among employees is therefore a goal. It is also a goal to recruit people with immigrant backgrounds. People with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.
We encourage women to apply. If multiple applicants have approximately equivalent qualifications, the rules pertaining to moderate gender quotas shall apply.
The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions.
Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.
Further information about our employment process can be found here.
Se annonsen og søk på stillingen www.jobbnorge.no
Om bedriften
The University of Bergen is a renowned educational and research institution, organised into seven faculties and approximately 54 institutes and academic centres. Campus is located in the centre of Bergen with university areas at Nygårdshøyden, Haukeland, Marineholmen, Møllendalsveien and Årstad.
There are seven departments and three centres at Faculty of Social Sciences. Read more about the faculty and departments.