The position is part of the research project 'Understanding old-age inequality: The impact of work, family and health trajectories on post-retirement economic, social and psychological well-being across Europe', funded by Instituut Gak. The primary goal of this project is to better understand inequality in old age, which might be increasing due to current policies to promote longer working lives. As a PhD candidate, you will examine how work, family and health trajectories prior to retirement affect inequality in people's retirement transitions and their post-retirement economic, social and psychological well-being. You will also study how labour market, pension and welfare policies aggravate or cushion the influence of work, family and health trajectories on old-age inequality. 
You will innovatively build on theoretical insights derived from the life course perspective, namely the notion of path dependency, the cumulative advantage/disadvantage mechanism and the principle of agency, to arrive at new and testable hypotheses. These will be tested by applying advanced analysis techniques to high-quality panel and retrospective SHARE(LIFE) data of more than 90,000 people from 29 European countries.

As a PhD candidate, you will be expected to write scientific articles and to complete a dissertation within four years. Moreover, you will collaborate with researchers in the Sociology department and with external (including international) scholars, participate in conferences and contribute to teaching. You will also be expected to enrol in the highly reputed ICS graduate school.

• A Master's degree in social sciences (preferably a Research Master’s degree).
• Affinity and/or experience with the topic.
• Knowledge of and skills in (advanced) quantitative research.
• Excellent command of spoken and written English and Dutch.
• Aptitude for learning and developing new skills.

Fixed-term contract: You will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years.

• Employment: 40 hours per week (1.0 FTE).
• The gross starting salary amounts to €2,395 per month, and will increase to €3,061 in the fourth year (salary scale P).
• In addition to the salary: an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• Duration of the contract: you will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years.
• The intended start date is 1 April 2021.
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services. Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment  and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Have a look at our excellent employment conditions. They include a good work-life balance (among other things because of the excellent leave arrangements), opportunities for development and a great pension scheme.

Radboud University

We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 22,000 students and 5,000 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!

Faculty of Social Sciences

The position will be embedded in the Sociology department of the Faculty of Social Sciences. The research in this position will align with the research programme of the Radboud Social Cultural Research (RCSR) Institute. The faculty's ambition is to become one of the top social science institutes in Europe, providing high-quality research and study programmes that rank among the best in the Netherlands. The Faculty of Social Sciences is the largest faculty at Radboud University, with a total of around 4,500 students from three education institutes. The overall aim of the RSCR is to contribute innovative knowledge to the scientific and social community by performing comparative research. The rationale behind this focus on comparative research is that it puts societal phenomena and processes into perspective and therefore provides insights into, and explanations of, similarities and differences. RSCR consists of two research groups in sociology, and cultural anthropology and development studies, respectively. Both groups host researchers from the Gender & Diversity group.