Postdoctoral Research Fellows (f/m/x) sociology, social science

The research units Skill Formation and Labor Markets (Director: Professor Heike Solga) and Health and Inequality (Head: Professor Jan Paul Heisig) at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) are looking for

All appointments are at 100% of the regular working hours (currently 39 hours/week). The workplace of these positions is Berlin.

The WZB Berlin Social Science Center is a publicly financed research institution that conducts leading-edge, theory-based and problem-oriented social science research (www.wzb.eu/en ). WZB researchers come from across the globe and work across social science disciplines, including sociology, political science, economics, law, and psychology. As a member of the Leibniz Association, WZB’s research is directed at the science community, policymakers, the media, and the general public.

The advertised positions are within the Einstein Center Population Diversity (ECPD), a collaboration of several Berlin universities and research institutions coordinated by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The newly founded ECPD will study the consequences of increasing population diversity for social inequality and health disparities with a focus on the growing diversity of families, including changing conceptions and boundaries of the family itself. The ECPD seeks to transcend disciplinary silos by integrating biomedical and social science perspectives, a goal reflected in the Center’s individual work packages, to be implemented by interdisciplinary teams of principal investigators, postdoctoral researchers, and doctoral students. For more information about the ECPD, see: https://medizinsoziologie-reha-wissenschaft.charite.de/en/research/aging_research/einstein_center_population_diversity/

The WZB is looking for postdoctoral research fellows in the following thematic areas:

Postdoc position 1 (PI: Professor Heike Solga)

The position is located in the work package “Evaluating the relation between family diversity and educational inequalities”. The work package explores how, and through which mediating channels, family diversity influences children’s educational success. Mechanisms of particular interest include (a) economic, social, cultural, and emotional resources in the family, (b) parents’ and children’s health, and (c) genetic nurture.

The position is full-time (39 hours per week) for four years, starting on 1 April 2024, upon confirmation of the awarding authority.

Postdoc position 2 (PI: Professor Jan Paul Heisig)

This position is located in the work package “Elucidating interdependencies between physical and mental health and pathways into multimorbidity in changing family systems”. The overarching goal is to better understand the biopsychosocial pathways underlying disease trajectories and multimorbidity emergence. In line with the overall goals of the ECPD, a major focus will be on the role of diverse families in buffering and coping with disease risks, including genetic susceptibility, and on potential spillovers of diseases on the health, development, and well-being of family members. Empirical work in the package will be primarily quantitative and focus on secondary analysis of longitudinal cohort studies and register data.

The position is full-time (39 hours per week) for four years, starting on 1 April 2024, upon confirmation of the awarding authority.

Postdoc position 3 (PI: Professor Jan Paul Heisig)

This position is located in the work package “Understanding mental health in migrant families”. The work package studies the causes and consequences of post-traumatic stress disorder, dementia, and other mental health conditions in migrant families, with a focus on transnational family arrangements. Research in this work package will use multimodal approaches, integrating qualitative exploratory research and real-world laboratories with quantitative analysis of cohort studies and register data, possibly enhanced with original surveys. While the WZB team will be actively involved in the qualitative parts of the work package, the primary emphasis will be on quantitative approaches.

The position is full-time (39 hours per week) for two years, starting on 1 April 2024, upon confirmation of the awarding authority.

Your tasks and duties

• Contributions to the conceptual, theoretical, and empirical development of the work packages described above and to the overall mission of the ECPD
• Design and implementation of original research to advance the goals of the work packages described above, including, but not limited to, the empirical studies based on secondary analysis of complex survey and register data as well as original data collection efforts
• Close interdisciplinary cooperation with all project participants, both within and across work packages of the ECPD
• Publication of research output in international peer-reviewed journals, usually in cooperation with co-authors from the ECPD
• Presentation of project results at workshops and conferences
• Participation in dissemination activities targeting scientific and non-scientific audiences
• Coordination with project partners, both within and across work packages

Your profile

All applicants are expected to have:

• An excellent Ph.D. in sociology or a social science discipline, on a topic related to the work package targeted by the applicant
• Excellent academic writing skills, demonstrated by publications in international peer-reviewed journals
• Excellent skills in quantitative methods and the analysis of complex data (e.g., longitudinal data, multilevel data, register data)
• Excellent writing and communication skills in English
• Advanced organizational skills, as well as the willingness and capacity for teamwork

The following qualifications will be considered a plus, depending on the position(s) targeted by the candidate:

Postdoc position 1:

• Expertise in the fields of sociology of education, social mobility, and family sociology
• Knowledge of socio-genomics and social-biological explanations of health is desired
• Experience in register data or big data handling is desired

Postdoc position 2:

• Expertise concerning the integration of social and biological explanations for health and health inequalities (e.g., social-to-biological transitions, socio-genomics)
• Expertise/experience in the design and implementation of quantitative surveys

Postdoc position 3:

• Expertise in the fields of migration, mental health, and their intersection
• Expertise/experience in the design and implementation of quantitative surveys and/or field experiments
• Expertise/experience in the design and implementation of qualitative studies (e.g., qualitative interviews, focus groups)

Our offer

• Remuneration in accordance with EG 14 TVöD Bund
• Additional benefits for public service employees (VBL U)
• A well-equipped workplace in the center of Berlin
• An international, cooperative, and diverse working environment
• A commitment to career development through regular training opportunities and further measures, as specified in the WZB Code of Conduct for career development
• The opportunity to teach courses at universities in Berlin
• Flexible working hours

Equally 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 backgrounds to apply.

Further information

Job interviews will likely take place on February 28 and 29, 2024.

For more information about the research units, follow these links:  https://wzb.eu/en/research/dynamics-of-social-inequalities/skill-formation-and-labor-markets and https://wzb.eu/en/research/dynamics-of-social-inequalities/health-and-social-inequality . For more information about WZB, see www.wzb.eu .

If you have any questions regarding the job opening, please contact Heike Solga (heike.solga(at)wzb.eu ) for position 1 and Jan Paul Heisig (jan.heisig(at)wzb.eu ) for the positions 2 and 3 with “postdoctoral fellow application” in the subject line.

Application procedure

If we have sparked your interest, please submit your online application by February 7, 2024. Please make sure to clearly indicate which of the three offered position(s) you are applying for. Applications for more than one position are permitted.

Candidates are requested to submit a CV, a list of publications, a cover letter (in English), relevant certificates, and contact information for three references. Materials should be submitted as one integrated PDF document.