TILEC, a Center of Excellence at Tilburg University and a global leader in the study of economic governance, is looking for an Assistant Professor working in the broader field of transnational private regulation and governance. TILEC consists of some 40 committed members working on economic law and regulation as well as institutional, behavioural and experimental economics. In addition, Tilburg University is a social science specialized institution, hosting various research groups on topics covering multiple aspects of transnational, comparative and global law from a theoretical and empirical viewpoint.

The selected candidate, preferably of a political science or legal background, will play a leading role in the execution of a 5-year project on ‘The Resilience and Evolution of Economic Activism and the Role of Law’ (REVEAL), funded by the European Research Council Consolidator Grant (ERC-2016-CoG 725798) and led by Professor Panos Delimatsis. REVEAL aims to identify the conditions, means and strategies that allow for the birth, continuation, evolution and change of non-State bodies, focusing in particular on their rule-making and standard-setting activities used to absorb crisis events and similar episodes overtime. In this regard, practices within non-State bodies in the area of manufacturing and finance will be closely examined. The project will also analyse the impact that State legislation and the interaction with selected State supervisory authorities may have on the functioning of those non-State bodies. REVEAL will test empirically the ability of transnational rule-makers to reinvent themselves in the aftermath of turning moments in economic history and aims at building a new theory of the resilience of private collective action. Thus, a substantial part of the tasks of the selected candidate will focus on the design of empirical research (including case studies and field observation), the collection of data and their classification in a dynamic database.

Applicants must:

• Hold a doctoral degree in political science or law (PhD), or at least have submitted the manuscript of their dissertation, with the approval of their supervisor. Post-doctoral research in an academic institution and/or an early professional experience in empirical work on regulatory matters and private governance would be an asset.
• Have expertise in economic regulation with a focus on private regulation at the European and transnational level, as evidenced by their Ph.D., publications and other activities. Previous empirical work on the broader area of standard-setting and/or rule-making would be an asset.
• Be results-oriented and have demonstrated ability to produce and publish research in internationally renowned journals in their respective field.
• Be familiar (or be willing to rapidly learn to work) with empirical research tools such as event studies, interviewing and dataset design, case studies, field observation, process tracing. Mastering such methods as evidenced by work in previous projects would be an asset.
• Be interested in (and preferably used to) working in an interdisciplinary academic environment.
• Be able to deliver high-quality undergraduate and/or postgraduate teaching.
• Be able to undertake certain administrative duties autonomously (e.g. organization of workshops, management of empirical projects, run a website and newsfeed etc).
• Be able and willing to work in a team and to travel for the purposes of fieldwork.
• Be proactive and accountable, able to prioritize across responsibilities, and manage varied commitments in accordance with the rules of academic independence.
• Have excellent interpersonal and strong and effective communication skills.
• Have perfect command of English. Command of Dutch would be positively considered but is not required.
• Be present at Tilburg University during working hours, and commit to integrate in the environment provided by TILEC, REVEAL and the Tilburg Law School.

Fixed-term contract: 4.5 years.

Tilburg University is rated among the top Dutch employers and has excellent terms of employment. The selected candidate will initially be appointed for a fixed period of 4.5 years. Selected candidates will be ranked in the Dutch university employment system (UFO). Depending on the candidates’ experience, the starting gross salary will vary between € 3,475 and € 4,757 per month (for a full-time appointment) based on scale 11 of the Collective Labour Agreement (CAO) Dutch Universities. Researchers from outside the Netherlands may qualify for a tax-free allowance equal to 30% of their taxable salary. The university will apply for such an allowance on their behalf. The university offers very good fringe benefits (it is one of the best non-profit employers in the Netherlands), such as an options model for terms and conditions of employment and excellent reimbursement of moving expenses.

Tilburg Law School (TLS) is a modern and specialized university. With a broad variety of international programmes and innovating research, the Tilburg Law School stands for high quality. Research at the Tilburg Law School is conducted in an organisation that fosters diversity. The Tilburg Graduate Law School is responsible for the training and guidance of its Research Master students and of the Faculty’s PhD researchers. With its open and inspiring atmosphere, this school is a congenial working environment.

Tilburg Law School