Tilburg Law School is looking for an ambitious PhD researcher in the field of Public Law and Governance within our research program ‘Global Law and Governance’. 

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).

Global law and Governance
The research you propose will be part of the signature plan Global Law and Governance (GLG) and what you propose will thus be evaluated in terms of its fit with this program. GLG is an open research program, hosting and facilitating a range of projects and initiatives in the area of law and governance. Global Law and Governance takes as its starting point fundamental societal challenges such as: climate change, further (economic) globalization and increasing inequalities, the growing importance of social media, the Covid pandemic, and migration. These challenges and problems necessitate rethinking law and governance issues such as the role of human rights, democratic practices, and the regulation of non-state actors. GLG researchers, independently and in collaboration with others, develop and execute state of the art research that helps to improve our understanding of and advance our societies. 

The focus of research in the program is on the way institutions, networks, organizations and professionals in law and governance deal with, adapt to, and are resilient in the face of fundamental challenges. Our research aims to understand changes internal to law and governance and those crossing and forming their boundaries and the way law and governance actors deal with or aggravate challenges. We investigate not only to understand, but also to critique and improve practices that confront these challenges. GLG entails inquiry oriented to articulating a “grammar” of law and governance which does not consider the state as the norm but thinks of law and governance in terms of a network of interacting, competing, and overlapping normative orders - from the local to the global. GLG speaks to a pluri-centric approach to law and governance in which the global manifests itself locally and the local is the breeding ground for the globalization of law and governance. We draw inspiration from and compare across different sites, constitutional frameworks and jurisdictions. In GLG we make use of a range of disciplines, research strategies and methods. Disciplines include (various areas of) law, sociology, history and philosophy, as well as multidisciplinary fields such as urban studies and public administration. Strategies include case studies, doctrinal research, and interpretive analysis. To improve the quality and relevance of our research, we build transdisciplinary collaborations with a large range of actors, including local governments, ministries, civil society actors, international institutions and other universities.

We advise you to look at examples of our projects on our website. This might help to inspire or orient you. Besides what you find there, specific topics that we are working on include human rights and globalization (contact dr. Daniel Augenstein or prof. Nicola Jägers), urban constitutionalism (contact prof. Maurice Adams, prof. Dave De ruysscher or dr. Gert-Jan Leenknegt), the global legal professional (contact prof. Morag Goodwin or dr. Phillip Paiement), constitutionalizing in the Anthropocene (contact dr. Phillip Paiement), realigning democratic rule of law institutions (contact prof. Frank Hendriks or prof. Ingrid Leijten), governance of the energy transition (contact prof. Martijn Groenleer) and International authority across space and time (contact prof. Nik Rajkovic). 

On the webpage of the department that hosts the signature plan, the department of Public Law and Governance, 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 Public Administration, or a Master in adjacent fields such as Law and Economics, Law and Technology or Political Science.
• 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.
• You have good planning and organizational skills and are 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;
• A wide range of amenities and facilities and various arrangements to create an optimal work-life balance.

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. 

Department of Public Law & Governance (PLG)

The Department of Public Law & Governance (PLG) is a unique collaboration of researchers in the fields of International Law, European law, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Public Administration, Legal Philosophy, Political Science, Legal History, and Jurisprudence. Collaboration within the Department is very much inspired by joint research interests.