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.
Starting date as soon as possible from 1st October 2022 and preferably no later than 1st January, 2023.
About the project/work tasks:
The successful applicant will conduct research within the research project Legitimate Crisis Management and Multilevel Governance (LEGITIMULT) which is financed by the European Commission (Horizon Europe). LEGITIMULT assesses the impact of the measures taken by various international, national and subnational governments on multilevel institutions and intergovernmental relations in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The project analyses the effect of these measures on democratic governance, highlighting to what extent multilevel governance influences their impact on democracy, favouring a model of legitimate crisis management.
We are looking for a postdoctoral research fellow who can help with the development of a coding scheme on intergovernmental relations between national and subnational governments and the collection of decisions taken by national and subnational governments in 31 European countries in relation to the Covid-19 crisis. The successful applicant will also help us to build and analyse a dataset that includes variables from existing datasets on multilevel governance institutions and democratic governance.
LEGITIMULT consists of eleven partner institutions from across Europe who will help with applying the coding scheme and with the collection of decisions taken in relation to the Covid-19 crisis. The postdoctoral fellow will be based at the Department of Comparative Politics and will be a member of the research team of the project Strengthening Regional Democracy (SRD) Strengthening Regional Democracy (SRD) that consists of PI Arjan Schakel, one postdoc, two PhD candidates, one research assistant, and one MA-student.
Qualifications and personal qualities:
- 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 have experience in applying quantitative methods and preferably has experience with building and analysing large-scale datasets with mainstream statistical packages (e.g., Stata or R).
- Should be able to work independently as well as in a team.
- It is preferable that the candidate has some research experience within one or more themes that relate to the project, for example, intergovernmental relations, federalism, local and regional governance, multilevel governance, institutions, policy making, policy implementation.
- Is capable of collaborating on an international level and of contributing to an international collaborative network.
- Is willing to disseminate research results beyond the academic community.
Potential candidates may be invited to the department for an interview and might be asked to hold a trial lecture on a given topic.
Applicants are advised to familiarize themselves with the teaching and research profile at the Department, please see Department of Comparative Politics | University of Bergen (uib.no)
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. Individuals may not be hired for more than one fixed-term period as a postdoctoral research fellow at the same institution, and the person who is employed for this position must work in Bergen.
Outlines of the SRD- and LEGITIMULT-projects can be obtained by contacting, Arjan Schakel, arjan.schakel@uib.no
There is 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 from the SRD- and LEGITIMULT-projects.
We can offer:
- A good and professionally challenging working environment.
- Salary at pay grade 61 (code 1352) on the government salary scale upon appointment (equivalent to NOK 553 500 per year). Further promotions are made according to length of service in the position. A higher salary may be considered for a particularly well qualified applicant.
- 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.
- 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 (or official confirmation that the doctoral thesis has been submitted).
- Relevant certificates/ references.
The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at Jobbnorge.
The closing date is: 15.08.2022
The application has to be marked with 2022/6491
Applications sent by e-mail will not be evaluated.
General information:
Detailed information about the position can be obtained by contacting the PI of the project: Arjan Schakel – arjan.schakel@uib.no
Practical questions about the application process should be directed to HR – Senior Executive Officer Hanne Cappelen – hanne.cappelen@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.
The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at all times.
About The University of Bergen (UiB)
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 at Faculty of Social Sciences. Read more about the faculty and departments.