Tilburg Law School is looking for an ambitious PhD researcher in the field of Private, Business, Labour and/or Tax Law within our research program ‘Connecting organizations in a Sustainable Society’. 

The research mission of Tilburg Law School (TLS) is to understand and improve the role of law in tackling societal problems now and in the future, particularly those connected with globalization and rapid economic, social, cultural and technological change. TLS-research is organized in four signature plans: Connecting Organizations, Global Law & Governance, Regulating Socio-Technical Change, and Law and Security. Two TLS Departments collaborate  within the Signature Plan Connecting Organizations: Department of Private, Business, and Labour Law (PBLL) and Fiscal Institute Tilburg (FIT).

Connecting Organizations
Ensuring a sustainable society is today’s greatest challenge. In this Signature Plan, we investigate how new models and strategies of organizing business and economic activities (e.g. platforms, networks, blockchains) are regulated by the law and whether that regulation needs rethinking in the light of modern society, in which sustainability, technology and servitization become ever more dominant drivers of change.

The sustainability challenges have fundamentally changed our understanding of the relationships between organizations and their various stakeholders, including employees and trade unions, consumers, suppliers, local communities, tax authorities, governments, but also the broader society. These relationships take place in a variety of networks and other formal and informal structures. Examples are multinational companies (MNCs) with their global value chains, but also cooperatives and governmental authorities that cooperate in fair trade certification structures. These organizational forms are facilitated by and often even only possible because of modern digital technologies. 

We aim at a better understanding of how the law enables, supports and challenges organizations to connect with their stakeholders in a sustainable manner. We consider new connecting organizational structures enabled by new technologies that may foster and challenge sustainable activities, using three interrelated themes: sustainability, servitization and technology.

We invite candidates to write an open research proposal within the context of this signature plan. More information about these three interrelated themes and examples of research topics that are covered in this Signature Plan can be found here.  
We invite candidates with an interdisciplinary socio-legal background as well as researchers who prefer a more doctrinal approach to submit a research proposal on one or more of these underlying questions. Candidates with proposals that focus on Dutch law are encouraged to apply.

On the webpage of the departments that hosts the signature plan, the department of Private, Business and Labour Law & the Fiscal Institute Tilburg, you will be able to find researchers who might be willing to act as supervisors of the PhD research you propose. You need at least a senior research (either an associate professor or a full professor) to support your application with a letter of support. This person might also give you feedback on a draft proposal. However, if you find another researcher whose work interests you, you might reach out to them first. Please do inform yourself well about the person you contact and make sure you know what you would want to research, but do not wait too long either, as the process of developing a proposal and receiving feedback needs time. The deadline for reaching out to a (potential) supervisor is January 21st, 2023.

What do we ask? 
Tilburg University is curious about how you can contribute to our research, education, impact, and to the team you will be part of. Therefore, we would like to get the best possible picture of your knowledge, insight, skills, and personality. Below you can find the qualifications we consider important for the position.

• You are an outstanding student with an excellent command of English. 
• You have completed (or will complete by the end of August 2023) a Master in Law or a Master in adjacent fields such as Law and Economics, Law and Technology or Politics and Public Administration.
• You have a strong interest in doing research and are able to formulate views, ideas and concepts based upon complex information, as well as construct conceptual frameworks or models. 
• You have excellent writing and presentation skills, you can easily transfer your conducted knowledge to all kinds of target groups.
• Good planning and organizing skills are necessary to complete your PhD research in the total period of time. You must be able to plan your activities and set goals and priorities. The Tilburg Graduate Law School (TGLS) and your promotor(s) provide help and guidance in the PhD process.
• You are flexible, proactive, and able to work both independently and as part of a team. You are willing to contribute to the research community within our Law School.
• Finally, PhD researchers at TLS generally work four days per week (0.8 fte) on their research, while one day a week (0.2 fte) is dedicated to education or other tasks for the department.

To maintain a vibrant and active university community, it is important that researchers meet each other regularly. Therefore, the premise is that all staff members carry out their work in the Netherlands and that lecturing is done physically.

What do we offer?
Tilburg University offers excellent terms of employment with attention to flexibility and room for (personal) development. We recognize and reward our employees and encourage the use of talents and strengths.

Tilburg University is committed to an open and inclusive culture, embracing diversity, and encouraging the mutual integration of groups of staff and students. We create equal opportunities for all our staff and students so that everyone feels at home in our university community. 

We work in a pleasant and lively (work) environment on our beautiful campus, close to the forest and easily accessible by public transport. We are committed to a sustainable society and challenge you to make an active contribution to this. 

For this position, we offer:

• A position based on 1.0 FTE (40 hours a week);
• A salary of €2,541 gross per month for full time employment, based on UFO profile PhD Researcher and salary scale P of the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. Tilburg University uses a neutral remuneration system for salary scaling.
• Vacation allowance (8%) and a year-end bonus (8.3%);
• Vacation days (41 days for a 40-hour work week);
• Options Model for benefits and reimbursement of moving expenses;
• Employees from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a tax-free allowance of 30% of their taxable wages. We will apply for this reimbursement for you;
• You will be enrolled in the General Pension Fund for Public Employers (ABP) through us;
• Various training courses, for example in leadership skills, personal effectiveness, and career development.

The total duration of the PhD trajectory is four years (48 months). The candidate will initially be appointed for a fixed period of 16 months. After 12 months, an evaluation will take place. If the performance evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended for the remaining period of 32 months.

Visit working at Tilburg University for more information on our terms of employment.

Tilburg University

Tilburg University's motto is Understanding Society. Based on this vision, our more than 1,500 employees conduct research, inspire more than 19,000 students of 110 nationalities, and bring people from different disciplines and organizations together to learn from each other. In this way, we want to contribute to solving complex social issues. In doing so, we work from the fields of economics, business and entrepreneurship, social and behavioral sciences, law and public administration, humanities and digital sciences, and theology. We seek the connection between the various disciplines to find solutions to the major issues we face as a society. Our students are educated to become responsible and entrepreneurial thinkers, driven by solidarity, a sense of responsibility, and empathy, who are able to influence and give direction to a rapidly changing society in an innovative way. Tilburg University has a culture of collaboration and co-creation, at local, regional, national, and international level.

Since its founding in 1963, Tilburg Law School has become one of the leading law schools in Europe.  Through top research and the provision of high-quality university education, the School contributes to society. Tilburg Law School is organized into five Departments: Public Law and Governance; Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, Markets and Society; Private, Business and Labour Law; the Fiscal Institute Tilburg; and Criminal Law. The mission of the School is to understand and improve the role of law and public administration in addressing the social problems of today and tomorrow. Through research and education, our scholars contribute to that mission. 

More than 4,000 students pursue a Bachelor's, pre-Master's or Master's degree at Tilburg Law School. Through this education, we train students in law, public administration, and data science. The Tilburg Educational Profile (TEP) is unique in the Netherlands. Central to it are three core concepts: knowledge, skills, and character. A university education provides students with the latest substantive knowledge and trains them to be critical thinkers and resilient professionals. In addition, the School is committed to innovative educational concepts and, partly in response to the coronavirus crisis, has invested heavily in the quality of online education and in innovative didactic tools to make and keep students inquisitive. 

Tilburg Law School's research is highly regarded nationally and internationally. The Tilburg Law School Departments work closely together in their research in four signature research programs: 1) Global Law and Governance; 2) Law and Security; 3) Connecting Organizations; and 4) Regulating Socio-Technical Change. 

The Department of Private, Business & Labour Law (PBLL) consists of approximately eighty researchers, lecturers, and staff engaged in education and research in Private Law in its broadest sense. The inspiring and open culture makes working there a pleasure. 
You will be part of an enthusiastic team of experienced lecturers who will guide you through everything that is involved in providing (online) education. In addition, a knowledgeable support team is ready to assist you with all practical matters related to providing education. 

The Fiscal Institute Tilburg (FIT) has been providing academic education and conducting research in the field of Dutch and international taxation for more than fifty years. It is a partnership of scholars affiliated mainly with TLS and TiSEM, who focus on tax law (TLS), fiscal economy, and public finance. Both education and research focus not only on national and international tax law but also on European and global tax law, on comparative law with other legal systems, and on adjacent fields of science such as data science, criminal law, civil law, public law, philosophy, psychology, management, business economics, and general economics.