Student Assistants (f/m/d)

The “Transformations of Democracy” department at the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) is looking for two

Student Assistants (f/m/d)

on a temporary basis, from September 15, 2021 (or later) for a duration of six months (extension is possible) for up to 19 hours per week.

The WZB Berlin Social Science Center is a publicly financed research institution that conducts leading edge social science research (http://www.wzb.eu/en ). The WZB hosts a diverse group of international researchers working across social science disciplines such as sociology, political science, economics, law, and psychology. A member of the Leibniz Association, WZB’s research is directed at the science community, policy makers, the media and the general public.

Our research unit focuses on transformations in democracy. It analyses the emergence of and contemporary challenges to democracy, increasing levels of political polarization and the development of radical political forces. We try to come up with novel and innovative means that help to cope with new pressures on democracy around the world.

We are looking for support in two different areas:

Position A

Your tasks and duties

• Supporting the director and researchers with tasks such as research and review of literature
• Data collection, preparation, and analysis
• Minor editorial tasks

Your qualifications profile

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s student in Social Sciences (Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology) or a student with strong background in applied statistics
• Successful participation in courses on quantitative analysis or applied statistics (or prior experience in said fields)
• Knowledge of R or Stata (and willingness to learn R)
• Very good command of English and German
• Sound knowledge of MS Office applications, especially Excel

Desired qualifications:

• Hands-on experience in research design and execution
• Survey designs, experimental designs, methods of causal inference
• Additional Programming skills (i.e. HTML, Python, Matlab, or other)

Position B

Your tasks and duties

• Supporting the director and team with tasks such as research and review of literature, data collection and preparation, editorial work on manuscripts, website maintenance, organization of events

Your qualifications profile

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s student in Political Science, Sociology, or a related discipline
• Very good command of written and spoken English and German
• Sound knowledge of MS Office applications
• Experience with and interest in website maintenance and social media (Twitter)
• Experience with (web) Content Management Systems, preferably Drupal

Desired qualifications:

• Knowledge of R or Stata (and willingness to learn R)

Our offer

• Remuneration in accordance with TV Stud. III of the state of Berlin (currently EUR 12.68 per hour)
• A well-equipped workplace in the center of Berlin
• International, cooperative, and diversified working environment
• In-depth integration into the scientific community at WZB in the form of colloquiums and conferences
• Active involvement in the daily research process, as well as thorough instruction and guidance
• Flexible working hours
• We promote a good work-life balance, and our engagement has been certified by audit workandfamily and the European Commission’s Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R)
• Cafeteria and modern recreation facilities

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 and persons with a migration background to apply.

If you have any questions regarding the job opening, please contact Julia Jann.

Job interviews will likely take place on August 11 and 12 via Zoom.

For more information about the research group “Transformations of Democracy,” follow https://wzb.eu/en/research/dynamics-of-political-systems/transformations-of-democracy .

Have we sparked your interest?

In that case, we are looking forward to receiving your online application (consisting of a letter of motivation, CV, transcript of records, copies of relevant certificates, and certificate of enrolment as ONE PDF file) by August 4 via email. Please let us know which position(A or B) you would be (especially) interested in and why.

Thank you!

For more information about WZB, see www.wzb.eu .