The Netherlands Institute for the Near East (NINO) is pleased to offer a postdoctoral fellowship for a fixed period of two-year, hosted at Leiden University. The fellowship is aimed at candidates of any nationality who completed their doctorate (PhD) within the last four years and who have proven their potential to conduct and publish research at an international level. Applications are invited from all relevant fields within NINO’s focus areas, including the archaeology, history, languages, and cultures of Egypt, the Levant, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Persia from the Neolithic to c. 600 CE. The fellowship comes with full-time employment at the Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University and with access to facilities at NINO (private office space, computer, libraries and collections). The fellow is expected to reside in or near Leiden during the appointment and to participate in the intellectual life of the Institute. All applicants are expected to seek additional affiliation to relevant researchers or research groups in the Netherlands (Leiden or elsewhere).

Key responsibilities

• Conduct original research on a topic relating to the ancient Near East; the planned research should result in a major publication or another significant contribution to the field;
• Design and teach a graduate course on ‘Methods and Concepts in Ancient Near Eastern Studies’, which is offered at a national level to advanced students from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds;
• Convene an international academic conference on a topic relevant to the candidate’s own research, taking into consideration the research interests represented at the NINO and/or other institutes and universities in The Netherlands. A conference budget of € 12,000 is available. The proceedings of this conference will be published (after peer-review) in one of NINO’s book series;
• Disseminate research results to (non-)academic parties through appropriate channels.

• A PhD degree in a relevant field of study, completed between January 2016 and February 2020;
• A research and publication record that is commensurate with career stage;
• Commitment to high-quality research, publication, and dissemination;
• Excellent communication and organization skills;
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team.

We offer a fixed-term position from September 2020 through August 2022. The salary range for a postdoctoral researcher is from € 3.637,- to € 4.978,- gross per month (pay scale 11 in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities). Depending on qualifications, the researcher may start at the appropriate step in scale 10 until s/he fully meets the requirements for scale 11 as specified by the Faculty of Humanities, particularly with regard to the number of years of relevant work experience.

Leiden University offers an attractive benefits package with additional holiday (8%) and end-of-year bonuses(8.3 %), training and career development and sabbatical leave. Our individual choices model gives you some freedom to assemble your own set of terms and conditions. For international spouses we have set up a dual career programme. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break. More information can be found at our website.    

Diversity
Leiden University is strongly committeed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from members of underrepresented groups.

Leiden University

The Faculty of Humanities is rich in expertise in fields such as philosophy, religious studies, history, art history, literature, linguistics and area studies covering nearly every region of the world. With its staff of 995, the faculty provides 27 master’s and 25 bachelor’s programmes for over 7,000 students based at locations in Leiden and in The Hague.

Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS)  is comprised of a School of Asian Studies and a School of Middle-Eastern Studies, with international staff and student populations. The institute is committeed to a present-day vision of area studies, integrating disciplinary and regional-historical perspectives on a solid foundation of excellent language skills. Current staff  in LIAS has expertise in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, art studies, buddhist studies, film studies, history, international relations, language pedagogy, law, linguistics, literary studies, material culture studies, performance studies, philology, philosophy, political economy, religious studies, sociology, and visual culture studies.

The Netherlands Institute for the Near East is a research centre located at the Faculty of Humanities. NINO aims to advance knowledge of the history of the ancient Near East (incl. Egypt), its archaeological remains and its cultural heritage. Its research community consists of researchers based in Leiden as well as in other Dutch universities. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to engage with this community while in residence. The fellowship grants privileged access to NINO’s specialist library and its various collections.