The selected candidates will contribute to the Constitutionalizing the Anthropocene research project situated within the Global Law research group at Tilburg Law School. This interdisciplinary project incorporates philosophical, legal and governance research on the necessary transformations required in order for contemporary legal systems to meet the challenges of the Anthropocene. The selected candidate will contribute to one or more of the project’s three research questions:

1. How do the conditions of the Anthropocene affect, conceptually and normatively, the legal subjectivity of nature and future generations within democratic decision-making, and, epistemologically, the political, scientific and legal modes of representation through which the legitimacy and effectiveness of regulatory and legal governance is evaluated?
2. Which emergent (regulatory) technologies constitute legitimate instruments in the Anthropocene, and which accountability frameworks are necessary for managing their effective, yet potentially destructive, capabilities?
3. Which governance structures are capable of facilitating, in a reflexive and responsive manner, the system complexities associated with the Anthropocene, and what (new) forms of political and legal representation are available in such structures?

 
This six-year project is financed through the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science’s Sector Plan for Dutch Law Schools. For further information on the project and its associated researchers, please visit our website.
 
Research (0,8 fte)
The selected candidates are expected to substantively contribute to the Constitutionalizing the Anthropocene research project in the following ways:
 

• Conducting academic research related to one or more of the main research questions of the projects both autonomously and in collaboration with senior members of the research project.
• Assisting in the organization of research events, development of an international network of researchers concerned with legal and political challenges posed by the Anthropocene, and the preparation of joint publications. 
• Pursuing academically path-breaking research leading to excellent publications, in terms of originality, significance and rigor, as measured by international standards.  
• Pursuing external research funding grants for individual and/or collaborative research within the ambit of the project, and, if applicable, conduct contract research autonomously or jointly with other project members.
• Participating in research group events and activities, including presenting and discussing research output among colleagues and outside Tilburg University.

Teaching (0,2 fte)

The selected candidates are expected to fulfill active teaching roles in the educational programmes provided by the Tilburg law School. Depending on the candidates’ profiles, this could include developing new course material and teaching at either the Bachelor or Master level in one or more of the following fields: EU law, international law, public law, environmental law, legal philosophy, jurisprudence, public administration, and legal sociology. This may include teaching in one or more of the following programmes: Global Law LLB, Rechtsgeleerdheid LLB, Public Governance BSc and MSc, Bestuurskunde BSc and MSc, European Law and Global Risk LLM, and International Law and Global Governance LLM.

Applicants must:

• Hold a doctoral degree PhD, or at least have submitted the manuscript of their dissertation with the approval of their supervisor before the start date.
• Have demonstrated the ability, or strong potential, to produce and publish research related to the project’s themes in highly regarded international forums.
• Have demonstrated the ability, or strong potential, to provide quality education in one or more of the fields listed above.
• Be able and willing to work in a team and to undertake certain administrative task, such as the organization of workshops or the management of research projects, autonomously.
• Be proactive and accountable, able to prioritize across responsibilities, and manage varied commitments.
• Have strong and effective interpersonal and communication skills.
• Have an excellent command of English; knowledge of Dutch would be an asset, but is not required.
• Be available to start working ideally in January 2020.
• Offer a track record of – or a clear potential for – seeking and obtaining funding opportunities to support one’s own research and, if applicable, work on contract research autonomously or jointly with other project members.

Fixed-term contract: 3 years.

The appointment will be for a fixed period of three years. Depending on the candidates’ experience and qualifications, the starting gross salary will vary between € 3,637 and € 4,978 per month (full time) based on scale 11 of the Collective Labour Agreement (CAO) for Dutch Universities.

Tilburg University is rated among the top of Dutch employers, offering very good fringe benefits, such as the possibility to determine your benefits individually through a labor choice model and reimbursement of moving expenses. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a tax-free allowance equal to 30% of their taxable salary.

Tilburg University

Serving and enhancing society to help citizens. That is what drives us. It was the opinion of Tilburg University’s founding father, Martinus Cobbenhagen, that those who want to understand society should be actively and consciously involved in it.

This philosophy is still at the basis of what our university wants to contribute. Under the motto of ‘Understanding society’, its 2,000 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 values a culture of openness and inclusion. We unite people from many nationalities and backgrounds and embrace the diverse range of perspectives this brings about. We strongly focus on (gender) diversity and offer equal opportunities for all.

Additional information about Tilburg University, Tilburg Law School and DPLG can be found on https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/.

Tilburg Law School

Tilburg Law School offers highly-ranked national and international education and research in law and public administration. Tilburg Law School is ranked among the highest as 'Top International Law School' by the American Social Science Research Network (SSRN).

Currently, 3,000 students are enrolled at Tilburg Law School, who are doing a degree program in law or public administration. 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.

For those who aspire a career as legal researcher, there is the Tilburg Graduate Law School. Students can take the two-year Research Master's program in law or public administration or can obtain their doctorate (PhD) by doing a doctoral research project and writing a PhD thesis (three or four years).