The Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) is the research institute for the Communication Science department at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. The Institute for Information Law (IViR) is one of the leading research institutes in information law worldwide, and part of the Amsterdam Law School. 

For our interdisciplinary research initiative we are seeking a postdoctoral researcher with a communication or social science background to work on the effects of AI and automation in the media sector on citizens.

What will you be doing?

You will conduct research in the ICDS-team. The research is group based in Amsterdam, and you will be part of a larger community of communication science and legal scholars as well as ethicists and computer scientists.

You will:

• work with existing data sets (survey data, interview, tracking data);
• design and collect new data fitting within the project themes;
• work in the broader ICDS team;
• complete scientific papers on this topic;
• contribute to the public debate, and organise outreach activities of the project;
• contribute to fundraising activities at the ASCoR/IvIR and the project.

• A clear research interest in the topic of the project (documented by publications and grant applications);
• a relevant background in communication science or other relevant social science area like political science, sociology or psychology, with strong empirical methods training;
• the ability, willingness, and commitment to do autonomous work in a multidisciplinary team, including communication scholars, legal scholars, and data scientists;
• experience with writing grant applications and project proposals;
• experience with organising workshops, lecture series, and similar events;
• strong communication skills and experience with speaking to relevant national and international policy forums and media;
• an excellent written and spoken command of English, as demonstrated by publications in English-language journals (written and spoken command of other languages, including French, German and/or Dutch are a plus);
• a relevant PhD degree. Candidates who are due to submit their dissertation before 1 February 2021 are welcome to apply.

Our offer

The position concerns a temporary employment contract of 38 hours per week for a term of one year. If the candidate proves suitable, barring unforeseen organisational developments and assuming sufficient FTE availability, we intend to extend the term of employment with one year.

Salary depends on past education and relevant work experience, with a minimum salary of €3,746 and a maximum salary of €5,127 gross per month based on a full-time employment contract for a 38-hour working week (in keeping with scale 11, Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities). We additionally offer an extensive package of secondary employee benefits, including a generous holiday scheme and year-end bonus. Because we value your continued personal development and professionalisation, we also offer excellent opportunities for study and development.

What else can we offer you?

A challenging work environment with a variety of duties and ample scope for individual initiative and development within an inspiring organisation. The social and behavioural sciences play a leading role in addressing the major societal challenges faced by the world, the Netherlands and Amsterdam, now and in the future.

To work at the University of Amsterdam is to work in a discerning, independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.