PhD Position on Designing and Managing Digital Work for Inclusion

This fully-funded, 4-year PhD research position is part of the project "Don't Forget the Forgotten! Towards a Platform-Based Approach for Sustainable Employment of Workers with a Disability". This project, funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), addresses the challenge of limited sustainable employment opportunities for workers with disabilities by studying and co-designing socio-technological innovations.

The PhD project that we are currently hiring for, builds on the notion that novel forms of digital work (such as data annotation, online content creation, or software testing) provide chances for social enterprises – i.e. mission-driven business that prioritize societal impact above maximizing profit, such as sheltered workplaces (in Dutch: sociaal ontwikkelbedrijven) and work integration enterprises – to include marginalized groups of workers into the labor market. These organizations however need to overcome various challenges to realize these opportunities: they need to convince clients to outsource digital work to them (rather than to low-wage countries), they are dependent on other stakeholders (e.g. software developers, domain experts) that they haven’t worked with before, or need to overcome prejudices that their workforces are not capable of performing digital work.

Accordingly, this PhD project aims to develop (i) new theoretical insights on sheltered digital work as a ‘nascent occupation’ as well as (ii) actionable knowledge that supports social enterprises to organize and manage novel forms of sheltered digital work as a driver the inclusion of individuals that are estranged from the labor market.

As a prospective candidate, you are expected to:

• Perform and publish high quality and internationally visible research;
• Study the opportunities and challenges associated with developing novel forms of digital work for inclusion by sheltered workplaces and other social/work integration enterprises;
• Collaborate with societal partners to institutionalize digital work as a source of labor market inclusion;
• Work in a team with two other PhD researchers from the engineering and social sciences;

You will receive mentorship by an experienced, international team of senior scholars with expertise in digital work, online platforms, labor markets, and AI systems at work.

You hold or will soon hold a Master's degree (or equivalent) in management, organization studies, human resource management, business administration, work and organizational psychology, communication science, sociology (of work), disability studies, or a related field.

You have excellent proficiency in speaking and writing in both Dutch and English (C1; above IELTS 7 or equivalent) or are able to develop towards this level of proficiency within 6 – 9 months. Dutch proficiency is necessary/required to ensure effective collaboration with the social partners that are part of the project.

You have an interest and some experience in one or more of the following topics: work and technology, nascent occupations, work design, human resource management, institutional change, labor market inclusion, disabilities at work, organizations and organizing, inter-organizational or -professional collaboration, responsible management, business modelling, or value propositions.

You have experience in or the interest to develop skills in qualitative empirical research (with vulnerable and marginalized groups of workers).

You have good communication skills, excellent conceptual and analytical skills, and you have an interest in working in a multidisciplinary research environment.

Affinity and/or experience with collaboration and/or community building with societal partners such as employers, employees, government representatives.

Wish to tackle societal problems and make societal impact.

As a PhD researcher at the University of Twente, you will be appointed to a paid, full-time position for four years, within a very stimulating and exciting scientific environment

You will receive mentorship and career guidance by an experienced, international team of senior scholars with expertise in digital work, online platforms, labor markets, and AI/technology at work

You will be part of a high-profile, multi-year, multi-stakeholder research project that has been funded by the Dutch Research Council

Access to a broad network of academic and societal partners inside and outside the project. Your supervisors have already secured access to the research participants (i.e. sheltered workplaces and other social enterprises)

You will have a training programme as part of the Twente Graduate School where you and your supervisors will determine a plan for a suitable education and supervision

Ample financial opportunities to attend international conferences and (PhD) workshops for developing your skills and building your network

Your salary and associated conditions are in accordance with the collective labour agreement for Dutch universities (CAO-NU);

• You will receive a gross monthly salary ranging from € 3.059,- (first year) to € 3.881,- (fourth year);
• There are excellent benefits including a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%, and a solid pension scheme;
• The flexibility to work partially from home;
• A minimum of 232 leave hours in case of full-time employment based on a formal workweek of 38 hours. A full-time employment in practice means 40 hours a week, therefore resulting in 96 extra leave hours on an annual basis;
• Free access to sports facilities on campus.

You will join the “Professional Learning & Technology” (PLT) section of the Faculty of Behavioural, Management & Social Sciences. The PLT section specializes in research on professional learning in and across disciplines and organisations. Its members study formal and informal learning of (future) employees, including the use of technology to measure and support professional learning. More broadly, we also study professional learning in relation to the collaboration and innovation processes of professionals, particularly so in multidisciplinary settings and new forms of organizing (such as learning communities or living labs). Our studies often take place in the high-tech, health, and educational sectors with the intention to understand, evaluate, and optimize (inter)professional and (inter)organizational learning, collaboration, and innovation in these various contexts. Increasingly, the settings we study revolve around grand challenges and wicked problems, such as the transitions to green energy and circularity or matters of digital transformation. To contribute to these challenges, we also design and evaluate (technology-based) interventions to optimize professional learning, innovation, and collaboration. In our research group, we combine expertise from a range of disciplines (e.g., educational sciences, psychology, business administration, organization studies, communication science).

Are you interested in this position? Please send your application via the 'Apply now' button below by March 31, 2026, and include:

• A letter of application in which you explain both your motivation and the relevance of your skills and experience for the research project. The motivational letter should be on-topic.
• A full Curriculum Vitae including your publications (if any) and working experience. Your CV should demonstrate the scope of your work and education and indicate a good fit with the stated requirements for the position.
• An academic transcript of BSc and MSc education (or equivalent), including grades.
• Your MSc thesis or the latest draft in English (or alternatively if your MSc thesis is not in English, a 5-page summary of your MSc thesis in English).
• References (contact information) of two scientific staff members (one of whom would preferably be the supervisor of your MSc thesis/final project) who are willing to be contacted by us.

The first round of interviews will be held on April 8, 2026.

Preferred starting date of position: September 2026.
For more information regarding this position, you are welcome to contact Dr. Jeroen Meijerink (j.g.meijerink@utwente.nl).