PhD in the field of Labour Migration and Career Outcomes of Migrant Workers

Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has enjoyed an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative center of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Belonging to the best research universities of Europe and joining forces with prestigious partner universities and networks, the University of Groningen is truly an international place of knowledge.

Faculty of Economics and Business
The Faculty of Economics and Business offers an inspiring study and working environment for students and employees. International accreditation enables the Faculty to assess performance against the highest international standards. It also creates an exciting environment of continuous improvement. FEB's programmes, academic staff and research do well on various excellence ranking lists.

FEBRI, the graduate school and research institute of the Faculty of Economics and Business has one PhD position in the field of Labour Migration and Career Outcomes of Migrant Workers available.

Project description
In an era of demographic shifts, economic globalization, and labour market transformations, labour migration has become an increasingly vital area of scholarly and policy concern. For decades, migrant workers have played (and continue to play) a critical role in sustaining key sectors of the Dutch economy, and have become (and will continue to be) part of the Netherlands. The project explores how migrant workers navigate the Dutch labour market. The central aim is to examine how work-related and societal factors jointly influence their long-term career paths. The project addresses how migrants cope with key challenges, including but not limited to cultural differences, reduced employment protection, social network building, socio-economic instability, and so on. Are you interested in joining us in this unique opportunity to engage with a critical social issue and shape research with societal impact?

The PhD position is embedded in the research programme at the Department of Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour of FEB’s Research Institute. The project will be supervised by Floor Rink, Ngoc Hân Nguyen and Wendy Smits.

We are looking for a candidate who is ambitious, highly motivated, wishes to make a career in research, and meets the following criteria

Essential
- A completed Master’s degree (MSc or Research Master) in Business Administration, Labour Economics, Sociology, Psychology, HRM/OB or a related discipline with excellent results in the master's phase.
- Strong interest in labour migration, employment conditions, network building and career development topics.
- Proven experience with quantitative research methods and data analysis.
- Solid analytical and critical thinking skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively within an interdisciplinary research environment.

Desirable
- Experience with statistical software such as Stata, R, SPSS, etc.
- Familiarity with large datasets (e.g., labour force surveys, administrative data).

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

- A temporary full-time appointment for a period of four years, under the condition of a positive assessment at the end of the first year. The gross monthly salary is € 2,901, which increases yearly to a maximum of € 3,707.
- Based on the gross salary an additional 8% holiday allowance each year in May, and an additional 8.3 % end of year bonus in December. PhD candidates contribute 20% of their time to teaching in years 2-4.

Starting date: Between September 2025 and January 2026, but preferably on 1 September 2025

For more general information
febphdvacancies@rug.nl

Ngoc Hân Nguyen (for more information on this specific project)
n.h.nguyen@rug.nl