The Department of Communication Science invites applications for an Assistant professor position in Youth & Media Entertainment, starting in September 2020. As an assistant professor, you will be part of the program group of  Youth & Media Entertainment (chaired by dr Jessica Taylor Piotrowski).

What are you going to do?

The new assistant professor will participate in the program group of Youth & Media Entertainment. Teaching is conducted in the field of Entertainment Communication, taking a media psychological approach to explain how individual differences influence media preferences, media responses, and media effects. Here media is conceptualized broadly and includes a strong focus on digital media and emerging technology. Coursework in the bachelor track includes courses such as the domain-module 'Entertainment Communication' and special topic course 'Emerging communication technologies and their impact on us and society' while courses in the Master track include courses such as 'Developing Media Entertainment', 'Clashing Views on Media Effects', and 'Digital Media Lifestyles'. Research is closely linked to teaching, yet the focus is more closely on the relationship between youth and media entertainment, with particular attention to differential susceptibility in the new media space.

Our new colleague will:

• teach courses in the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, particularly in the field of Entertainment Communication;
• supervise internships, bachelor theses, and master theses;
• conduct research within the group Youth & Media Entertainment of the ASCoR research program;
• be active in grant acquisition and collaborate with stakeholders;
• participate in committees, groups and projects in the program group Youth & Media Entertainment.

You have:

• a PhD in communication science or a related discipline;.
• strong knowledge of communication science as proven by previous academic activities and publications in international peer-reviewed journals; publications in top-communication journals is a plus, but not required;
• a strong empirical-analytical research profile that fits in the Youth & Media Entertainment research program; for example, candidates with multi-methodological skills that have been applied via a media psychological framework to aspects of media entertainment, including experience with computational or digital methods of data collection;
• an interest in topics associated with the digital society, digital entertainment, or communication technology (or a related field), and the implications of these topics for young audiences.
• teaching experience, specifically experience in general Communication Science courses as well as courses specific to the domain-course Entertainment Communication (taught in the Bachelor);
• the Master programs and part of the Bachelor program are taught in English, as such, evidence of English proficiency in the form of publications, presentations, or for example, research-visits to English-speaking institutions should be demonstrated;
• willingness to engage in departmental or University committee-based work;
• the qualities and plans to apply for competitive grants; demonstrated grant-writing experience is a plus;
• a relevant network in Communication Science.

Fixed-term contract: two years.

Our offer

The position is a temporary contract for a term of two years. If a candidate proves suitable, barring unforeseen organisational developments and assuming sufficient FTE availability, we intend to offer the candidate a permanent employment contract. Salary depends on past education and relevant work experience, with a minimum salary of €3,637 and a maximum salary of €5,656 gross per month based on a full-time employment contract for a 38-hour working week (in keeping with scale 11 or 12, as per the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities). We additionally offer an extensive package of secondary employee benefits, including a generous holiday scheme and year-end bonus.

What else can we offer you?

A challenging work environment with a variety of duties and ample scope for individual initiative and development within an inspiring organisation. The social and behavioural sciences play a leading role in addressing the major societal challenges faced by the world, the Netherlands and Amsterdam, now and in the future.

To work at the University of Amsterdam is to work in a discerning, independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences – Communication Science

Within the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Communication Science offers a Bachelor's and several Master’s degree programmes, while its research is carried out at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research. Teaching in our Communication Science programmes is interdisciplinary and internationally oriented, offering tracks taught in both English and Dutch.