PhD Candidate: Ethnographic Research on the Techno-Securitisation of Nature Conservation in Kenya and East Africa

PhD Candidate: Ethnographic Research on the Techno-Securitisation of Nature Conservation in Kenya and East Africa
PhD Candidate: Ethnographic Research on the Techno-Securitisation of Nature Conservation in Kenya and East Africa

Published	Deadline	Location
today	18 Sep	Nijmegen

Job description

Do you want to explore the relations between technology, security and nature conservation and their political consequences in Kenya and East Africa? Are you interested in working at the intersection of Human Geography and Science and Technologies Studies? Come and work as a PhD candidate on the project NatureSecurities: The Techno-Securitisation of Nature Conservation in Kenya and East Africa. 
As a PhD candidate you will conduct ethnographic fieldwork in Kenya and/or East Africa and write a PhD thesis on the social and political consequences of techno-securitisation practices in wildlife and nature conservation programmes (in Kenya and East Africa). You will be expected to write an article-based dissertation within four years and contribute to the department's teaching activities at the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels. Your teaching load is 120 hours per year for the first three years.
The increasing relevance of private actors (both commercial and non-profit) and the use of ever diverse sets of technologies in the management and protection of natural reserves and national parks are characteristic of a globally spread phenomenon that deploys military and security tactics in environmental management programmes. In this project you will unpack such phenomena. You will study how differences between - for instance - legitimate hunters and poachers, or between those who have access to natural resources and those who do not are made in practice, and beyond formal and legal rights and definitions. You will interrogate how these practices contribute to processes of political subjectification and explore the socio-political processes through which spaces of wildlife and biodiversity become places of inequalities and securitised inclusions and exclusions; and how they bring to the fore ongoing neo-colonial relations between different countries and between different groups of people within the same country. NatureSecurity adopts an interdisciplinary approach at the crossroad of human geography and science and technology studies and intervenes in timely debates about the neo-colonial nature of environmental conservation practices.

Specifications

• €2541—€3247 per month
• Nijmegen View on Google Maps

Radboud University

Requirements

• You hold a Master’s or Research Master’s degree (or comparable qualification) in human or environmental geography, anthropology, political ecology, science and technology studies or related discipline.
• You have a demonstrated research interest in wildlife and environmental conservation and/or security practices. 
• You have excellent oral and writing skills in English, as demonstrated in a thesis and/or other publications.
• Knowledge of East African languages (particularly Kiswahili) and familiarity with the context are an advantage.
• You have experience in conducting ethnographic research.
• You are able to work independently and flexibly, taking initiative where needed.
• You are able to communicate and collaborate effectively in a team setting.
• You are interested in and committed to teaching and supervising Bachelor's students.

Conditions of employment

Fixed-term contract: You will be employed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract).

• It concerns an employment for 1.0 FTE.
• The gross starting salary amounts to €2,541 per month based on a 38-hour working week, and will increase to €3,247 in the fourth year (salary scale P ).
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will be employed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract).
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services . Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Working for us means getting extra days off. In case of full-time employment, you can choose between 29 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the legally allotted 20.

Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions . You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.
Employer
The Nijmegen School of Management enables students, institutions and companies, societal actors and governments to play their part in a transformation towards sustainable societies. In doing so, the faculty is committed to the Radboud University’s mission of contributing to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. In the context of our 'Responsible governance for sustainable societies' mission, we address scientific and societal challenges from a good governance perspective. Our work focuses on the topics Beyond Economy, Climate, Inclusivity, Safety, and Democracy. By building, questioning and extending the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG's), we acknowledge their interrelatedness and focus on a number of grand challenges within society. On topics such as inequality, gender, decent work and poverty, we contribute to innovation and sustainable growth. Furthermore, we address environmental and climate challenges, seeking to contribute towards resolving them. 
At the Nijmegen School of Management, academic research and teaching are carried out in challenging educational programmes. These programmes are offered in the fields of Business Administration; Economics and Business Economics; Geography, Planning and Environment; Political Science; and Public Administration. Academic research takes place within the Institute for Management Research (IMR). Research is carried out within the above-mentioned domains and in interdisciplinary research groups: the Hot Spots. The Nijmegen School of Management currently has 350 FTE staff and approximately 5,000 students.

Radboud University
We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 24,000 students and 5,600 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!
Additional information
For questions about the position, please contact Francesco Colona, Assistant Professor of Geography of Conflict at [email protected] .
Radboud University

We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all.

You have a part to play!

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Application procedure
You can apply until 18 September 2022, exclusively using the button below. Kindly address your application to Francesco Colona. Please fill in the application form and attach the following documents:

• A letter of motivation.
• Your CV including the names and contact details of two academic references (one of which should be, preferably, your MA thesis supervisor).
• A 1500-word research proposal in which you elaborate on how you envision to approach the research project.
• Your MA thesis or another academic writing sample (e.g. an article or chapter).

The first round of interviews will take place on Thursday 29 September. The second round of interviews will take place on Wednesday 5 October. You would preferably begin employment on 1 January 2023.
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