Are you looking for an exciting postdoc position that enables you to both conduct innovative interdisciplinary research on physical, cognitive, language and social development in early childhood and lead outreach activities for children, parents, professionals, stakeholders or societal partners?

The Department of Languages, Literature and Communication, together with the Department of Education and Pedagogy and the UMC Utrecht Birth Center Neonatology, at Utrecht University seeks to hire a postdoctoral researcher for advancing research and initiating outreach within the University's strategic theme Dynamics of Youth (DoY).

The post is a 0.8 FTE position for 3 years, of which approximately 50% shall be allocated to research and capacity building, and 50% to organization and outreach.

The postdoctoral researcher will work with other researchers active in the domain of ‘Early Childhood’ and other domains of DoY, societal stakeholders, community-based partners, youth, and educational institutes, and play a key role in the organization and outreach of the domain ‘Early Childhood’.

The current startup phase of the domain offers ample opportunities for discussing and creating challenging goals, new structures, pioneering projects, and building strong communities. The domain will also provide ‘free playtime’ for (young) researchers to inspire and get inspired by other scholars from different disciplines, and by practitioners and learners with different backgrounds and from various (geographical) contexts.

The tasks include:

• developing and conducting innovative interdisciplinary research projects on early childhood in close collaboration with domain chairs;
• organization and outreach, including coordination of the domain, teambuilding and networking, collaborating with a diverse set of parents, professionals, stakeholders and societal partners, project management tasks

The ideal candidate brings the following:

• a PhD by the starting date in humanities, pedagogy, medicine, education, psychology, or a related field;
• a high level of written and oral fluency in Dutch and English;
• experience carrying out quantitative and/or qualitative research;
• demonstrated ability to publish in peer-reviewed journals;
• expertise in aspects of early child development;
• affinity and experience performing research with young children in families, childcare or educational contexts;
• demonstrable sense of group dynamics and teamworking
• project development skills such as being pro-active, creative, playful, flexible, and curious;
• organizational and project management skills.

We offer a temporary research position (0.8 FTE) that combines high-quality academic research, societal impact and project management, beginning on March 1, 2023 and ending on June 30, 2026. The position includes networking and support for personal growth and career development, and membership in a vibrant research and educational community. The gross salary is €3,703 (scale 10.5 according to the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities) per month for a full-time employment. Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year.

In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). For more information, please visit working at Utrecht University.

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major societal themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Sustainability.
The Faculty of Humanities has around 9,000 students and 1,100 staff members. It comprises four knowledge domains: Philosophy and Religious Studies, History and Art History, Media and Culture Studies, and Languages, Literature and Communication. With its research and education in these fields, the Faculty aims to contribute to a better understanding of the Netherlands and Europe in a rapidly changing social and cultural context. The enthusiastic and committed colleagues and the excellent amenities in the historical city center of Utrecht, where the Faculty is housed, contribute to an inspiring working environment.

The research is conducted within the Language, Logic and Information (LLI) group of the Institute for Language Sciences (ILS, formerly Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS, UiL OTS). Other research groups at the ILS focus on Language Acquisition, Processing and Disorders, Language Variation, Language and Education, Language and Communication. The ILS research staff comprises approximately 20 full professors, a dozen postdocs and roughly 40 PhD students.

With its research and education in these fields, the Faculty of Humanities aims to contribute to a better understanding of the Netherlands and Europe in a rapidly changing social and cultural context. The enthusiastic and committed colleagues and the excellent amenities in the historical city centre of Utrecht, where the Faculty is housed, contribute to an inspiring working environment.

The Department of Languages, Literature and Communication offers BA and MA programmes in literary studies, linguistics, communication studies, translation, as well as Dutch, English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish (uniquely in the Netherlands).