Postdoctoral Research Fellow (f/m/x)

For its Global Governance department in the research area International Politics and Law (Director: Prof. Dr. Michael Zürn), the WZB Berlin Social Science Center is seeking to hire a

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (f/m/x)

for an appointment starting on 01 September 2021 (negotiable) until 31 August 2024, with the possibility of extension. The appointment is made at 100% of the regular working hours (currently 39 hours/week).

The WZB (www.wzb.eu) is a publicly funded research institute and a member of the Leibniz Association, engaging in research of fundamental societal questions from the perspectives of different disciplines. It is one of the most renowned institutions in the social sciences. Our scientists come from such fields as sociology, political science, economics, law, and psychology. The findings of WZB research are directed at the scientific community and the interested public, as well as experts dealing with political and economic issues, media, and society.

The Global Governance department analyses political cooperation beyond national borders along three interrelated clusters focusing on the political authority of international institutions, on normative tensions and coordination conflicts in the international system, as well as on the politicization and the challengers of governance arrangements beyond the nation state.

Your tasks:

• The research fellow will work independently and jointly with other members of the department, designing and implementing research projects and producing high-quality publications related to the department’s research programme.
• The position is part of a wider WZB effort to strengthen research in the area of digitalization, both as a substantive research topic and as a methodological tool. Candidates for this position should thus demonstrate a research agenda that links societally relevant questions on digitalization with the politics beyond the nation state, broadly construed. Exemplary topics include, but are not limited to, regulation of digital technologies by international institutions, digital diplomacy and/or social media usage of inter- and supranational actors, market power of digital service providers and ‘weaponized interdependence’, or transnational political mobilization via social media.
• The research fellow is expected to engage in the collaborative exchange within the Global Governance department and the institute as a whole. Part of the job assignment (~20%) will be consulting, assisting, and collaborating with colleagues in tapping into digital data sources and analyzing them quantitatively.

Your qualifications:

• Applicants must have completed a PhD in political science, international relations, political sociology, data science and statistics, or a related social science discipline by the time the position starts, and should showcase a vibrant and creative research agenda that broadly fits to the themes sketched above.
• Excellent English writing and communication skills are required. German is not required but may be an asset (in-house language courses are available).
• Applicants should have demonstrated skills in collecting, analyzing, and visualizing information from digital sources.

Our offer:

• Remuneration in accordance with EG 14 TVöD Bund (in accordance with German Wage Agreement for Public Service),
• Integration into the scientific community in the form of colloquia and conferences, and the possibility to teach courses at universities in Berlin,
• Research support by student assistants and travel funding, as well as opportunities to invite external collaborators and visiting research fellows,
• Flexible working hours and a good work–life balance (our engagement has been certified by the audit Work and Family and the European Commission’s Human Resources Strategy for Researchers).

Equally well-qualified applicants with disabilities will be given preference. We value diversity and welcome all applications – irrespective of gender, nationality, ethnic or social origin, religion, disability, age, or sexual orientation. WZB expressly encourages women or persons with migration background to apply.

Candidates are kindly required to send their application documents in English (including a letter of motivation, a short sketch of a research plan of 2–3 pages, tabular curriculum vitae, copies of relevant certificates, PhD certificate) per e‑mail, in the form of one single PDF file, no later than 31 May 2021 to:

Barçın Uluışık, gg.applications@wzb.eu

Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin
für Sozialforschung gGmbH (WZB) /
WZB Berlin Social Science Centre
Reichpietschufer 50
10785 Berlin