Are you a (nearly) graduated law student and do you want to start your university career as a passionate, enthusiastic PhD student? Then we have the job you are looking for. The Faculty of Law at the University of Groningen offers you the opportunity to work for four years as a researcher.

As a PhD researcher, you will carry out independent scientific research under the mentorship of supervisors, which will result in a dissertation (PhD thesis). The research you conduct is part of a broader research program financed by Instituut Gak, entitled “A dignified existence in social security” https://www.rug.nl/rechten/news/archief/2023/a-dignified-existence-in-social-security-ug-receives-grant-for-research-on-strengthening-the-ro The PhD research is specifically about the German legal doctrine regarding the right to an “Existenzminimum” as developed by the German constitutional court. The intention is to analyse this legal doctrine and to see to what extent it offers starting points for strengthening the human dimension in social security.

The Groningen Graduate School of Law (GGSL - https://www.rug.nl/research/gradschool-law/phd/phd-project-descriptions-law-2023) offers a training program to help carry out this research. Your training program will be tailored to your interests, and needs for development. During your appointment, you will publish and present (partial) results of your research in academic and professional journals and participate in academic activities and events, such as conferences and seminars.

There are also limited opportunities to teach in various fields of law.

Organisation
The University of Groningen is an internationally-oriented university that has partnerships with world-class international universities such as Uppsala, Göttingen and Ghent. We have around 34,000 students and 6,000 staff members from The Netherlands and abroad. We work together with partners in society on the themes of Healthy Ageing, Energy and Sustainable Society.

The Groningen Faculty of Law is a modern, (inter)nationally-oriented organization with both a broad and classic profile. Even though it has a four-century-long tradition, it continues to innovate its education in order to train broadly-oriented lawyers. Our research largely transcends legal fields and is multidisciplinary in nature. With almost 5,000 students and 500 staff, it is a medium-sized faculty of the UG.

The faculty consists of six departments. You will work at the Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Public Administration (SBB) department. The SBB department employs more than 50 employees, of whom approximately 30 are permanent staff. They work as a PhD candidate, lecturer, researcher or professor and teach and conduct research. More information about SBB can be found here: https://www.rug.nl/rechten/organisatie/vakgroepen/sbb/

You must have a (nearly) completed Master’s degree, preferably in law and/or a related domain that is relevant to the execution of the research proposal. Master degree students intending to graduate in December 2023 are also encouraged to apply.

The ideal candidate has the following competences:

• creativity
• an analytical mind
• results-oriented
• a critical research attitude
• perseverance.

Other requirements:

• affinity with public law
• knowledge of the German language
• good didactic and relational skills
• good command of English and a minimum level of Dutch, depending on your field of research
• flexible availability during examination periods
• work attitude focused on teamwork, flexibility and communication.

Fixed-term contract: 48 months.

In accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities, we offer:

• a gross starting salary of at least € 2,770 during the first year with a maximum of € 3,539 in the 4th year
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus over the annual gross salary
• attractive leave and opportunities to follow training courses
• a temporary employment contract of 4 years.

Starting date: as from 1 December 2023