The Department of Political Science at Aarhus BSS, Aarhus University, invites applications for one 2-year fulltime postdoctoral positions to join a new research project on working conditions of politicians in Denmark. The project is directed by professor, Helene Helboe Pedersen.

The starting date is May 1st, 2024 but can be flexible subject to mutual agreement.
 

The research project

The position is part of the project “POLPRESS”. In the 3-year project funded by Trygfonden (2.9 million DKR), we aim to describe the experiences of harassment and stress among Danish local and national politicians and to understand the consequences of such experiences for the individual politician and democracy. Unfortunately, political harassment and stress appear to be on the rise in many democracies. The experiences of harassment and stress are unequally distributed across politicians depending among other factors on gender, public visibility, and political attitudes. The prominence and uneven distribution cause concerns regarding democratic recruitment and representation. We will initiate a research that will develop ways to measure experiences of harassment and stress and to study how politicians are assisted in handling such experiences and thus how to potentially moderate the possible consequences of silencieng or pushing politicians out of politics.

Methodologically, the project plans to combine survey, biographical, and social media data to describe experiences of harassment and stress in politics and to understand variation across politicians and their coping strategies. Furthermore, we will run surveys among voters to study their perceptions of harassment and stress in politics and how this influence their willingness to participate in politics.

The project contributes to the general fields of research in representation, political parties, legislative behaviour, and political communication.
 

Job description

The postdoctoral researcher will be employed as part of a research group and is expected to engage in collaborative research with the research team. The applicant is expected to be present at the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University at least three days a week on average and participate in project meetings as well as be part of the broader research environment at the Department. 

The postdocs will be expected to take a leading role in developing, designing as well as coordinating research projects and publishing research in high impact journals.

Moreover, as part of the research group, the postdocs are expected to provide support for project-related research, organizational, and administrative tasks. Given the key importance of the survey among hard to reach politicians, experience with interacting with elite actors and designing surveys will be positively evaluated

As the empirical focus in on Danish politicians, the postdoc is expected to be able to communicate with survey respondents and organizational actors in Danish.

The successful applicants will be part of a research project of high societal and research relevance and of a vibrant and supportive research team with an informal atmosphere. There will be excellent opportunities for intellectual development and mentoring as well as developing an independent research agenda within the context of the project.

The project offers funding for conferences, additional training, and good opportunities for developing a strong academic network.

In addition to the outlined research tasks, the positions entail teaching the equivalent of one course per year. Depending on the applicants’ prior teaching experience and the need for the applicants’ teaching capacity in the relevant years, a one-year extension in return for additional teaching might be negotiable. This extension will be decided by the Head of Department no later than one year after employment. Salary is highly competitive and set according to the Danish pay schedule.
 

Your qualifications

Candidates must hold (or be close to completing) a PhD in Political Science or another field relevant to the project. In addition to this the applicant should
 

• have an interest in understanding working conditions for political representatives
• have an interest in conducting collaborative research.
• have experience with designing and administering surveys and preferably some experience in quantitative content analysis.
• have an excellent command of spoken and written English and Danish

As part of your application, you should attach a CV, proof of PhD degree (or the near completion of a PhD degree) and your best publication (could be an unpublished chapter of your dissertation, a working paper, or a published article).
 

Who we are

The Department of Political Science is one of the six departments at Aarhus BSS, one of the five faculties at Aarhus University. The department is among the largest and strongest political science departments in Europe, with particular strengths in the areas of political behavior, political psychology and political philosophy. In 2023, the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University was ranked as the top department in political science in continental Europe, according to ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking (ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects).

At the Department of Political Science, we emphasize a dynamic and flexible research and teaching profile characterized by pluralism and openness. With more than 100 academic staff members and 40 PhD students, we offer a lively, ambitious and highly collegial research and teaching environment with many international visitors and workshops and a clear international orientation. For more information about the Department of Political Science, please see: https://ps.au.dk/en.

Further information

Applicants are encouraged to contact professor Helene Helboe Pedersen, prior to submitting their application to learn more about the project, the hiring process, and/or specific tasks, E-mail: helene@ps.au.dk. 

If you need help uploading your application or have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR-supporter Line Møller Kristiansen Tel.: +4593522904 E-mail: lmkr@au.dk.

Place of work
Department of Political Science, Bartholins Allé 7, DK – 8000 Aarhus C

International applicant?

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information here:
https://internationalstaff.au.dk/relocationservice/

Please find more information about research opportunities at Aarhus University here: http://international.au.dk/research/

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it here:
http://talent.au.dk/junior-researcher-development-programme/

Terms of employment

The appointment is made in accordance with the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities as well as the circular on the Collective Agreement for Academics Employed by the State (in Danish).
The job content and qualification requirements are described in further detail in the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

Application procedure

When you apply for this position it is mandatory to attach the following:

• Application
• Curriculum Vitae. You are encouraged to declare any periods of leave without research activity, including, for example, maternity leave, since your research activities are assessed in relation to your actual research time
• Education (diploma for master's, PhD and possibly higher doctoral degree)
• List of publications (the enclosed publications must be clearly marked on the list of publications)
• Publications. Up to three publications can be included in the application. In the event of several authors the publications must be accompanied by a co-author statement concerning the applicant's share of the collaborative work with the consent of the co-authors. Please use this template
• Teaching portfolio. The specific requirements regarding the documentation can be found here

Materials which cannot be uploaded together with the application may be submitted in three copies to Aarhus BSS HR & PhD, Aarhus University, Tåsingegade 1, 2nd floor, DK-8000 Aarhus C.

Read more about how to apply for an academic post at Aarhus BSS here

The evaluation process

After the application deadline, an assessment committee is appointed. Please note that the assessment of applicants is based solely on the material received prior to the application deadline. For further information, see Guidelines for Assessment Committee, Aarhus BSS.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.