The position comprises the following tasks:

• Conducting innovative research within the framework of the research project TransEuroWorkS;
• Present papers at international conferences;
• Submit research results for publication in academic journals;
• Being part of Leiden University's team, coordinating the consortium and collaborating with partners, for example in the design of a large European public opinion survey;
• Propose and test policy innovations in the field of social protection, present the findings to policy-makers, and engage stakeholders;
• Organise and participate in seminars, workshops and conferences of the programme.

Selection Criteria

• A PhD in comparative political economy, economics, political science, sociology, public administration or another discipline that is relevant for TransEuroWorkS;
• Excellent research qualities which are relevant for the research profile of TransEuroWorkS, demonstrated for example by international publications;
• Experience with analysing and/or constructing welfare state indicators is considered an advantage;
• Experience with public opinion surveys and (survey) experiments is considered an advantage;
• Experience with labour force and household surveys is considered an advantage;
• Experience with project coordination is considered an advantage;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and the ability to effectively communicate with external audiences;
• You are a team player.

Terms and conditions

• We offer two (2 x 1.0 fte) full-time positions (38 hours per week) for four years;
• Salary ranges from €55,460 to €75,906 gross per year for a full-time position (scale 11), in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. This includes holiday (8%) and end-of-year bonuses (8.3%). Salary depends on education and experience;
• Start date: 1 November 2022 (some flexibility is possible);
• The selected candidates will have the opportunity to participate in the teaching programme and to develop teaching experience;
• Leiden University offers an attractive benefits package with training and career development (including, for example, language courses, teaching courses and project management courses). Our individual choices model gives you some freedom to assemble your own set of terms and conditions. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break;
• For more information on the terms and conditions of employment, click here.

Diversity and inclusion
Fostering an inclusive community is a central element of the values and vision of Leiden University. Leiden University is committed to becoming an inclusive community which enables all students and staff to feel valued and respected and to develop their full potential. Diversity in experiences and perspectives enriches our teaching and strengthens our research. High quality teaching and research is inclusive.

Research Project TransEuroWorkS

Research Project TransEuroWorkS: Transforming European Work and Social Protection - A New Proactive Welfare State Fit for the Future World of Work
Social protection systems can do more than what they achieve today by constructively addressing future transformations' effects on social inclusion, cohesion, and political support at the national and European levels. Notably, today, each new environmental, health or economic crisis stirs up discussion on European welfare states' role, responsibilities, and beneficiaries. Which workers should be protected, and to what extent should companies be covered for their risks? Conflicts about visions of the goals of social protection policies at the national and the EU-level represent increasingly sharp political divides that can challenge democratic systems. How the EU and member states respond to such contentious and complex transformations will clearly impact social cohesion and governability, and thus, their capacity to respond to new challenges in the future. TransEuroWorkS responds to such issues by providing new knowledge on political attitudes towards social protection systems to ensure better political sustainability of new and existing policies.

A consortium of 10 European universities and other research institutions has received funding from Horizon Europe for a large-scale, multi-disciplinary research project on the future world of European work and social protection. TransEuroWorkS will provide new, more integrative understandings of how fundamental changes to the labour market and European context can be better and more proactively managed through national and European Union (EU) level social protection policies. At the centre of this research are three structural labour market transformations, i.e., green transition and decarbonisation, technological change (automation and digitalization), and the internationalisation of the workforce (through intra-European mobility and immigration). The selected post-doctoral researchers will have the opportunity to work on these key transformations and their socio-political and economic consequences at the cutting edge of the current comparative political economy policy and research agenda.

Leiden University is the coordinating team of the TransEuroWorkS project and the selected post-docs will be involved in multiple roles in doing research and collaborating with all other partners. For example, Leiden University will be involved in analysing 1) how fixed-term contracts and migration explain the developments in income inequality and the redistributive effects of taxes and transfers; 2) as part of the TransEuroWorks public opinion survey, we will co-design a survey module to study citizens' expectations, preferences, and reservations concerning a greater Europeanisation of the social policy; 3) analysing the budgetary and fiscal dimensions of an increasingly coordinated EU social policy. We will pay particular attention to intra and extra EU migration and the net fiscal impact of the foreign workforce on national social protection systems.

Partners
The TransEuroWorkS consortium consists of Leiden University, University of Geneva, University of Barcelona, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), University of Kent, University College Dublin, University of Copenhagen, Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI), TU Delft, and Zabala Innovation.

Department of Economics

Our Department
In the broad field of applied economics, the activities of the Department of Economics are concentrated on socio-economic policy, law and economics, and the economics of taxation. The department provides courses for a number of study programmes, such as political science, public administration, liberal arts, and law. Moreover, the department participates in a dual bachelor's programme (Economics, Governance and Management) and a dual master's programme (Economics and Governance) with Leiden University's Institute of Public Administration, located in The Hague.