Postdoc positions in Political Science, focusing on political parties and governments - Befattningen är under tillsättning eller redan tillsatt, och det är inte längre möjligt att lämna in en ansökan

The Department of Political Science offers postdoc positions focusing on political parties and governments. The positions will be placed at the Department of Political Science at Umeå University. Starting date June 1 2022 or by agreement.

The employment

The position is a full-time employment on a fixed term of two years and includes own research. Teaching and supervision at the undergraduate/advanced level can amount to a maximum of 20% of full-time.

The employment as a postdoctoral fellow follows the Agreement on fixed-term employment as a postdoctoral fellow which applies from February 1, 2022.

You will be placed at the Department of Political Science in Umeå and are expected to contribute to the research environment at the department and within the infrastructure project Representative Democracy (REPDEM).

REPDEM is part of the larger research infrastructure DEMSCORE. Earlier, related research projects and data collected can be found on the website erdda.org.

The postdoctoral research fellow will conduct their own research within the scope of the REPDEM project's main themes - political parties, government formation, coalition governance and/or government stability - in collaboration with other researchers in the team. More specifically, (s)he will collect and code data, provide analyses, data management and publish original research within the project. The postdoctoral research fellow is expected to be an active and collaborative participant in the research environment.

The planned research within the project must be described in a research plan (see below under Application).

As a postdoctoral research fellow you will also be part of one of the Department's five broader research groups: Representative Democracy – institutions and political parties in Sweden, Europe and the EU. Read more about the research group here. For more information about the research at the department, see here and for teaching assignments, see here.

Eligibility

Eligible to be employed as a postdoctoral researcher is a person who has completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree considered comparable to a doctoral degree. The degree must be completed no later than by the time of the appointment decision.

For this position, applicants must have a doctoral degree in political science or equivalent scientific competence that is considered relevant in relation to the research project.

Priority will be given to candidates who have completed their doctoral degree no more than three years before the end of the application closing date. A candidate who has completed their degree prior to this may be considered for the position if special circumstances exist. Special reasons refer to leave due to illness, parental leave, clinical service, positions of trust within trade unions or other similar circumstances, as well as service/assignments relevant to the subject area.

A requirement is proficiency in spoken and written English, good knowledge in written and spoken Swedish is a merit.

Assessment criteria

The most important assessment basis is the researchers’ scientific skills and the research described in the research plan. The contribution to the project is also seen as an important assessment criteria.

Ability to conduct independent research and to participate in national and/or international research collaborations are also important qualifications.

Teaching can be included as part of the employment and documented experience of teaching, on undergraduate and advanced levels, as well as completed pedagogical education are therefore a merit. However, because conducting independent research is the main responsibility of a postdoctoral researcher, research qualifications outweigh pedagogical and educational competence in the assessment of the applicants' qualifications.

Other assessment criteria include good collaborative skills, as well as competence and suitability in general that is needed to fulfill the tasks well.

Application

The application must contain:

• A cover letter, summarizing your qualifications, your scientific interests and your motives for applying for the job (maximum two pages)
• CV / curriculum vitae
• A critical reflection on your own previously conducted research (max 1000 words)
• Maximum 3 scientific publications
• Certified copies of grades and diplomas
• Research plan (maximum 2500 words including references) that describes the research you plan to conduct within the framework of the employment
• Any other merits of relevance for the position (optional)
• If you plan to complete your doctoral degree after deadline for applying, please upload information about the planned examination and expected examination date

Apply via our recruitment system Varbi. The deadline for applying is February 28, 2022.

Further information is provided project managers Torbjörn Bergman, torbjorn.bergman@umu.se 090-786 76 17 and Johan Hellström, johan.hellstrom@umu.se 090-786 78 91, Head of Department Magnus Blomgren, magnus.blomgren@umu.se or Malin Eklund Wimelius, malin.wimelius@umu.se.

About the Department of Political Science

The Department of Political Science at Umeå University has just over 70 employees. The department conducts undergraduate education and research in political science and peace and conflict studies. For more information, see https://www.umu.se/en/department-of-political-science/

We look forward to receiving your application!