You will be working in the project ‘Regional Heterogeneity in Labour Market Careers of Entrepreneurs’. Entrepreneurship is considered a crucial driver of regional economic growth. Also, it can be a great way of capitalizing on personal skills and experiences outside of regular wage employment. At the same time, there is a lot of heterogeneity in entrepreneurship. Some firms hardly contribute to the regional economy. Similarly, entrepreneurship may be forced rather than a voluntary choice as for some people alternatives are not available. This project aims at understanding the heterogeneity in entrepreneurship in terms of labour market careers. What is the background of entrepreneurs and what are their prospects after entrepreneurship. Also, are there regional differences in these patterns? Eventually, these insights lead to regional and individual profiles of entrepreneurs. Such profiles may help policy makers and intermediary organizations to tailor policies and advise to the needs of local entrepreneurs.

A PhD thesis is based on 4 first-authored articles at the level of international scientific journals, an introduction and a discussion. It will be written in English. Presentations at (inter)national conferences are part of the job as well. Also, the position involves contributing to the progress in the INTERREG project Futures by Design. Teaching can take up to 15% of your time.

You have:
• a (research) master’s degree in a field of study relevant to the topic of the project (e.g. geography, economics, labour market studies, sociology), to be completed before 1 September 2019
• good writing skills and fluency in English; preferably experience in academic writing
• strong conceptual thinking with the desire and capacity to relate theoretical topics to practical challenges and solutions, also in policies
• excellent skills in quantitative research methods and data handling
• a strong motivation, good communicative skills in different settings (scientific and in the policy arena), and a proactive and independent work attitude.
Given the data to be used a passive understanding of Dutch is preferred.

We are looking for you with the following competences:
• conceptual capacity & abstract reasoning
• communicative skills (presenting for diverse audiences)
• planning & organizing
• drive & enthusiasm.

Fixed-term contract: 12 months.

Do you meet our qualification criteria? If yes, your application should include:
• a motivation letter (1 page, in English)
• a curriculum vitae (including a list of publications if any)
• a copy of your master diploma and transcripts
• the contact details of two referees whom we may contact for a recommendation.

Please submit your application until 1 July 2019 23:59 h / before 2 July 2019 Dutch local time by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university website).

Interviews will take place on 11 July 2019.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our University. We are committed to building a diverse faculty so you are encouraged to apply. Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP), https://nvp-plaza.nl/download/?id=7714 and European Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers, https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code

Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated.

Faculty of Spatial Sciences

Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has enjoyed an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative centre of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Balanced study and career paths in a wide variety of disciplines encourage the 31,000 students and researchers to develop their own individual talents. Belonging to the best research universities in Europe and joining forces with prestigious partner universities and networks, the University of Groningen is truly an international place of knowledge.

The Faculty of Spatial Sciences consists of approximately 100 members of staff, 100 PhD students and around 1000 undergraduate students. We focus on high quality teaching and research in the fields of social and economic geography, demography, and spatial planning. With a single collective research theme of 'towards Wellbeing, Innovation and Spatial Transformation' (tWIST), it is our mission to produce research which is world leading, distinctive, and policy-relevant. With two bachelor and eight master programmes, we provide a wide range of courses within the fields of geography and spatial sciences.

You will be based in the Department of Economic Geography. The department offers teaching and training at different levels, including the master’s programme ‘Economic Geography’ and its specialization ‘Economic Geography: Regional Competitiveness and Trade’. The research agenda of the department focuses on regional aspects of labour market dynamics and entrepreneurship, well-being and socio-economic disparities, transport and mobility and Real Estate. This position contributes to our research programme on regional labour market dynamics and entrepreneurship. More specifically, it contributes to the INTERREG project ‘Futures by Design’ which aims to assist SMEs located in peripheral areas to increase their innovation capacity. Apart from the Netherlands, the project includes partners from Sweden, Germany, UK and Belgium. The project will be supervised by Dr Sierdjan Koster and Prof. Jouke van Dijk.