Department

Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences

Organisation

University of Groningen

Job description

Working towards resilient societies, transparent science and alignment with the job market: these are three of the themes that Social and Behavioural Sciences faculties at Dutch universities are focusing on. We are implementing the national sector plan for the social sciences ‘From insight to impact’, for developing solutions to urgent social issues and strengthening the impact of science.

Therefore, we are looking for 4 motivated and enthusiastic Assistant Professors with a PhD degree in the field of social sciences. With other colleagues, your research and teaching will contribute to one of the following topics:

• Resilience in Youth

One position (0.8 FTE) is available in the department of Special Needs Education Learning and Development (https://www.rug.nl/gmw/pedagogical-and-educational-sciences/)

Job description: Focus on understanding, explaining, and influencing resilience in young people with and without support needs, and the interplay between the environment, such as the family (family resilience), peers, and society, and individual factors (e.g., genetic factors, additional problems or disabilities) (application form: https://www.tangram-tis.nl/10378/kandidaten/inschrijven/00347%2d02S000A5XP).

For more information about Resilience in Youth - Tina Kretschmer, email: t.kretschmer@rug.nl

• Mental Health

One position (1.0 FTE) is available in the department of Organisational Psychology (https://www.rug.nl/gmw/psychology/research-units/organisational-psychology).

Job description: The position combines teaching and research in the field of organizational psychology. The research focusses on work stress and mental health (broadly defined) as predictor and/or outcome of work behavior and should link to our active research programmes (https://organizational-psychology-groningen.nl/research/) on power and leadership, creativity and innovation, personality and assessment, occupational health, and aging at work and career development. We particularly welcome candidates interested in coaching as an individual-level intervention, for instance to manage work stress and/or support employees with mental health or career-related issues. (application form: https://www.tangram-tis.nl/10378/kandidaten/inschrijven/00347%2d02S000A5YP)

For more information about Mental Health - Peter de Jonge, email: Peter.de.Jonge@rug.nl

• Educational Sciences

One position (0.8 FTE) for the theme of Educational Sciences is vacant with consideration given to the candidate's background and proper embedding in our faculty.

Job description: The current societal problems and teacher shortages require rethinking of the role of teachers. The research will focus on the role of teachers in promoting equity, literacy, and inclusive education, as well as on the consequences of these developing roles for teacher training programs and teacher professionalization. The starting point is the pursuit of quality improvement in education and thus that the learners (pupils, students) benefit. Note that the majority of the teaching tasks in this job require a sufficient level of Dutch speaking skills. (application form: https://www.tangram-tis.nl/10378/kandidaten/inschrijven/00347%2d02S000A5ZP).

For more information about Educational Sciences - Hanke Korpershoek, email: h.korpershoek@rug.nl

• Communication, information, and social inequality in a digital world.

One position (1.0 FTE) for this cross-sectional theme is vacant with consideration given to the candidate's background and proper embedding in our faculty. This position implements a cross-sectional theme from the national sector plan for the social sciences ‘From insight to impact’, for developing solutions to urgent social issues and strengthening the impact of science. Within the national sector plan, the cross-sectional theme focuses on communication, information, and social inequality in a digital world.

Job description: Candidates applying for this position are expected to conduct research, for instance, on how new technologies enable online communication and digital sharing of information. A potential application could be the role of these technologies on the availability of scientific publications (open access) and of scientific data (open data) as a means to further social equality in academia. Relevant questions pertain to when, and for whom, digitalization and online communication and information sharing are effective, and to what are potential negative effects. With colleagues from other faculties within the social sciences and humanities, your research and teaching will contribute to improving communication and information, and reducing social inequality, with respect to digitalization. (application form: https://www.tangram-tis.nl/10378/kandidaten/inschrijven/00347%2d02S000A60P).

For more information about Cross-sectional theme: Communication, information, and social inequality in a digital world, Don van Ravenzwaaij, email: d.van.ravenzwaaij@rug.nl

All available positions are for a period of one year with the prospect of permanent employment. The topics connect with the research programmes within our faculty's research institutes.

The position of Assistant Professor combines teaching and research. In teaching, the candidate is expected to teach courses in the bachelor and master programmes (English- or Dutch-language). Furthermore, the candidate will supervise Master and PhD students.

In research, the candidate conducts research based on a previously defined and approved research proposal for the benefit of academic and scientific advancement, society and, where possible, the government and corporate world. The candidate is expected to develop a research-funding plan allowing her/him to attract external funding in the short/medium term.
You will set up research collaborations with colleagues both within the UG and from other Dutch Social and Behavioural faculties, in order to develop a research agenda, and draw up a substantial grant proposal within the relevant theme.

For more information about the research, please visit: http://www.rug.nl/gmw/sectorplan

For more information about the UG open science program, please visit: https://www.rug.nl/research/openscience/ug-open-science-program/

Organisation
The University of Groningen has an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative institute of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Balanced study and career paths in a wide variety of disciplines encourage our 36,000 students and 7,500 staff members to develop their own individual talents. Ranking among the best research universities in Europe and joining forces with prestigious partner universities and networks, we are truly an international place of knowledge.

The Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences excels in teaching and research in the fields of human behaviour, thinking, learning, and how people live together. We work on societal issues and problems that people experience in daily life. Central to this is individual and societal resilience and how to increase this. To this end, we focus on the topics of migration, the environment and climate, health, upbringing and education, the protection of vulnerable minorities, and sustainable partnerships.

Our research and teaching has a strong foundation in the scientific disciplines of educational sciences, pedagogical sciences, psychology, sociology, and teacher education. The Faculty offers four Bachelor’s degree programmes and over 20 Master’s tracks, including the two-year Research Master’s in Behavioural and Social Sciences. The Faculty also hosts the university teacher education programme.

Over 4,500 students and over 800 staff members study and work at the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences.

For more information about the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, see: https://www.rug.nl/gmw/

Requirements

We are looking for candidates who meet the following requirements:

• a completed PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences
• good publication record in international journals
• successful in raising grants and funding
• experience and interest in teaching students (lecturing, internship/thesis supervision)
• interest in innovative teaching methods
• has relevant teaching qualifications (such as the University Teaching Qualification) or willingness to get this in the short term
• the ability to communicate and teach in English and knowledge of Dutch (level B2 /C1) or willingness to learn this within a reasonable period
• excellent social and communicative skills and ability to work in groups
• important competences are conceptual capabilities, external orientation, result-oriented and presenting.

Conditions of employment

Contract length: 12 months.

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

• depending on qualifications and work experience, a salary of € 3,974 (salary scale 11) to a maximum of € 6,181 (salary scale 12) gross per month for a full-time position
• a holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income an 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance
• attractive secondary and market terms of employment
• the position is classified in accordance with the University Job Classification (UFO) system; the UFO profile is Assistant Professor
• a temporary contract for a period of one year. After a positive result and development interview at the end of this year the contract will be converted into a permanent one.

Intended starting date: from 1 September 2023 or as soon as possible

Job Application

Do you want to become a member of our team? Please send your application to us, by submitting the following documents:

• a motivation letter stating your motivation to apply for the position and research topic you prefer and your key qualities relevant for this position
• an up-to-date curriculum vitae
• a short proposal (max. 2 pages) sketching your potential interdisciplinary contribution to one of the four research themes you prefer and the specific research questions
• contact information of two academic references.

You can submit your application until 18 June 11:59pm / before 19 June 2023 Dutch local time (CET) by means of the application form (please use the bit.ly links in the advertisement).

The job interviews are scheduled in the first week of July.

Candidates may be asked to give a presentation.

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. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy webpage: https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/nl/sollicitatiecode

Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP): https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/nl/sollicitatiecode and European Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code

We provide career services for partners of new faculty members moving to Groningen.

Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated.

Additional information

For additional information, please contact:

the contact persons mentioned at each topic

In your application, please always include the job opening ID V23.0377