The postdoctoral researcher will be working as part of a team on a project aimed at improving the way in which public bodies communicate (open) data to citizens. We do this in an interdisciplinary manner (administrative law, public administration, information visualization, sociology, philosophy and ethics) and with an emphasis on visualization of data. This research team is supported by a large group of affiliates from academia and practice, including visualization expertise from Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and private companies. The tentative findings of these visualization tools will be tested in experimental field lab settings in order to support governments in communicating their data through visuals in a meaningful way. The postdoc will have a leading role in designing these field labs and putting them into practice. The postdoc is expected to work on his or her own publications on the topic of the project and join collaborative publications, among which practice-oriented papers.

Tilburg University believes that academic excellence is achieved through the combination of outstanding research and education, in which social impact is made by sharing knowledge. In doing so, we recognize that excellence is not only achieved through individual performance, but mostly through team effort in which each team member acts as a leader connecting people. 

We are looking for a colleague who:

• Has an interest in information visualization (visual design / infographics / data visualization / computer-human interaction). A background in this field is an asset but is not required;
• Is able to carry out both fundamental and practice-oriented research independently;
• Is a team player with excellent communication skills for sharing knowledge and expertise in a multidisciplinary research team;
• Is in the possession of a PhD or else will obtain a PhD in the near future;
• Has a very good command of both the Dutch and the English language.

Fixed-term contract: agreement of 18 months.

Tilburg University offers excellent terms of employment. We believe flexibility, development, and good employee benefits are very important. We make clear agreements on career paths and offer all kinds of facilities and schemes to maintain an optimum balance between work and private life. Tilburg University fosters diversity and inclusion; that is why we pursue an active policy for inclusive teams where diverse talents can flourish. 

The starting gross salary varies between € 2,790 and € 5,127 per month (full time) based on scale 10/11 of the Collective Labor Agreement Dutch Universities. Tilburg University actively promotes equal and transparent salary between men and women by strictly applying predetermined parameters based on the candidate’s experience. Employees recruited from abroad may be eligible for the 30% tax facility- this means that 30% of your salary will be paid as a tax-free reimbursement.

Tilburg University offers you an employment agreement for a fixed period of 18 months and 0.7 / 1.0 FTE, partly depending on your specific qualities as a researcher. 

You are entitled to a holiday allowance amounting to 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% of your gross yearly income. If you work 40 hours per week, you receive 41 days of paid recreational leave per year.

Please visit Working at Tilburg University for more information on our employment conditions. 

Tilburg University

Under the motto of ‘Understanding society’, Tilburg University’s more than 1,500 employees develop knowledge, transfer it to others, and bring people from various disciplines and organizations together. In this way, we want to contribute to solving complex social issues. Our focus areas are economics, business and entrepreneurship, social and behavioral sciences, law and public administration, the humanities and digital sciences, and theology. Tilburg University is internationally known for its high standards in education and scientific research, as well as its good support facilities. The Tilburg University campus offers both quietness and connectivity as it is located in a wooded park, ten minutes away from the city center, main highways, and railways. A mid-sized city of 200,000 inhabitants in the South of the Netherlands, and in proximity to cities like Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and London, Tilburg is situated at the very heart of Western Europe. 

Tilburg Law School

Tilburg Law School offers highly ranked national and international education and research in law and public administration. Currently, almost 4,000 students are enrolled at Tilburg Law School. Students in Tilburg can choose from five Bachelor's programs, one of which is taught in English (Bachelor Global Law) and ten Master's programs, eight of which are taught in English. The international orientation of Tilburg Law School is reflected in these Bachelor's and Master's programs. The research conducted within Tilburg Law School is aimed at social relevance and provides students with the tools and skills to study and deal with current issues at an academic level. The research within Tilburg Law School is organized into five cross-departmental research programs: 1) Global Law and Governance; 2) New Modes of Lawmaking and Governance in a Multilayered Order; 3) Law and Security; 4) Sustainable Business Law and Taxation; and 5) Law and Technology. 

The Department of Public Law & Governance is a unique collaboration of researchers in the field of Public Law and Public Administration, in which various disciplines work together: International Law, European law, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Public Administration, Legal Philosophy, Political Science, Legal History and Jurisprudence. Whereas many scholars in the fields of Public Law and Public Administration primarily focus on their internal dynamics, the Tilburg scholars are driven by a primary focus on both their context and foundations. The overarching theme that inspires our research is to rethink the concept and the practice of publicness in a globalized, hyper-complex world characterized by mult-layered modes of law and governance that go from the local to the global.