The post-doctoral researcher will be part of the project “The Nature of Political Representation in Times of Dealignment” hosted at the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University. The project investigates the responsiveness of legislators to constituents in times of electoral dealignment. The post-doctoral researcher is expected to actively participate in team work, including the collection, management, and analysis of textual data on the behaviour of legislators, as well as writing project papers and presenting research at online or offline conferences.

The project is part of an international network that is funded by the 5th Open Research Area Call (ORA), which is a collaborative research scheme initiated by the British (ECRC), Dutch (NWO), French (ANR), and German (DFG) national research funding agencies. It draws together researchers from Goethe-University Frankfurt, King’s College London, Leiden University, and other affiliated institutions across Europe. This context offers to the successful applicant an excellent opportunity to work in a team with a strong focus on legislative politics, quantitative research, and international collaboration.

• Applicants must hold (or be near completing) a PhD in political science or in a relevant discipline;
• Applicants must have a strong background in quantitative methods. Experience with methods of quantitative text analysis is a strong advantage;
• Applicants must have a good command of English. A working understanding of the Dutch language is a strong advantage.

The position preferably starts on 1 January 2021. The appointment will be made on a fixed-term contract of 12 months. Salary range from € 3,746.- to € 5,127.- gross per month on a full-time basis (pay scale 11, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities).

Leiden University offers an attractive benefits package with additional holiday (8%) and end-of-year bonuses (8.3 %) and training and career development. Our individual choices model gives you some freedom to assemble your own set of terms and conditions. For international spouses we have set up a dual career programme. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break. For more information, see the website.

Diversity
Leiden University is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from members of underrepresented groups.

Leiden University

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences comprises four institutes: Education and Child Studies, Political Science, Psychology and Cultural Anthropology & Development Sociology. The Faculty also includes the Centre for Science and Technology Studies. The Faculty is home to 5,000 students and 600 members of staff. Our teaching and research programmes cover diverse topics varying from adoption to political behaviour. For more information, see the website,

The Institute of Political Science has a strong research tradition in various areas of comparative, Dutch and international politics, as well as political theory. The Institute has around 80 academic staff, including many non-Dutch scholars, and houses a number of editorships of international refereed journals and book series. Members of the Institute are also involved in a number of the University's multi-disciplinary research centres, including Central and East European Studies, International Relations, Political Parties and Representation and Political Philosophy. The Institute is based in Leiden but a large and growing part of the teaching is done nearby in The Hague.