Postdoctoral Researcher Private Law

We are looking for someone with a specialisation in private law and a strong interest in sociological jurisprudence for participation in an ERC-funded research project on global value chains.

The selected candidate will join the team of the CHAINLAW project led by Prof. Dr. Anna Beckers.

CHAINLAW – Responsive Law for Global Value Chains – is a five-year project running 2023-2028 that is funded as an ERC Starting Grant. The project team will consist of five researchers, the Principal Investigator Anna Beckers, 2 postdocs and 2 PhD researchers. The core aim of CHAINLAW is to develop a novel conceptual and normative legal language for Global Value Chains (GVCs). It will do so by a combination of theoretical, doctrinal, empirical, technical, and normative analysis on the law of GVCs. Methodologically, the project works with the ideas of sociological jurisprudence and it focuses on three categories of rules, namely formal rules, private regulation and technical systems (doctrine, documents, and data). The theoretical perspective taken is grounded in the concept of socio-legal institutions. More information on the project can be found here.

The recruited postdoctoral researcher should have a background in law, preferably with a specialisation in private and economic law. In the project, they will have the task to lead research on how formal legal rules make sense of and institutionalise global value chains. For this purpose, knowledge in comparative and doctrinal methods is needed. The postdoctoral researcher will investigate the legal areas of company, contract, tort and private international law and should have a dedicated research interest in private law theory, in particular in connecting legal doctrine with social-legal theory.

The position is a full-time research position and gives the postdoc the possibility to develop their own ideas on the topic. The expectation is to complete two high-quality publications related to the project during the period of employment. Moreover, the postdoc will participate in the overall project management and become involved in supervision and mentoring of students and PhDs.

What we offer
As Postdoctoral Researcher at Faculty of Law, you will be employed by the most international university in the Netherlands, located in the beautiful city of Maastricht. In addition, we offer you:

• Good employment conditions. The position is graded in scale according to UFO profile Onderzoeker, with a corresponding salary scale based on experience between €4.332 and €4.929 gross per month (based on a full-time employment of 38 hours per week). In addition to the monthly salary, an 8.0% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus apply.
• An employment contract for a period of 24 months with a scope of 1,0 FTE.
• At Maastricht University, the well-being of our employees is of utmost importance, we offer flexible working hours and the possibility to work partly from home if the nature of your position allows it. You will receive a monthly commuting and internet allowance for this. If you work full-time, you will be entitled to 29 vacation days and 4 additional public holidays per year, namely carnival Monday, carnival Tuesday, Good Friday, and Liberation Day. If you choose to accumulate compensation hours, an additional 12 days will be added. Furthermore, you can personalize your employment conditions through a collective labor agreement (CAO) choice model.
• As Maastricht University, we offer various other excellent secondary employment conditions. These include a good pension scheme with the ABP and the opportunity for UM employees to participate in company fitness and make use of the extensive sports facilities that we also offer to our students.
• Last but certainly not least, we provide the space and facilities for your personal and professional development. We facilitate this by offering a wide range of training programs and supporting various well-established initiatives such as 'acknowledge and appreciate'.

The terms of employment at Maastricht University are largely set out in the collective labor agreement of Dutch Universities. In addition, local provisions specific to UM apply. For more information, Click here

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The Faculty of Law at Maastricht University is a top-quality provider of challenging and rewarding Dutch and European legal education at bachelor’s, masters and PhD-level. A true pioneer in small-scale education and the teaching of legal skills for a broad range of future legal professionals.

The clear research focus on European and international aspects of law and technology. On the empirical dimension of law provides both students and staff with a stimulating work environment. The faculty values its open and inclusive community, which contributes to creating a productive and pleasant place for work and study.

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