PhD position "Improvising security: subsistence in contemporary Dublin" (1.0 FTE)

PhD position "Improvising security: subsistence in contemporary Dublin" (1.0 FTE)

Job description We are hiring a PhD researcher who will participate in the NWO/Vidi project Improvising Security: Subsistence in Contemporary Urban Europe and write a dissertation based on urban ethnographic research in Dublin, Ireland. 
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic began, Western Europeans were navigating new insecurities in work, care, and access to basic infrastructures, arising from economic shifts and welfare reforms. This project addresses how people achieve solutions to the everyday challenges raised by these new insecurities. It examines how urban Europeans and Rotterdammers and Dubliners, specifically, improvise what is conceptualised as subsistence security in their everyday lives through combinations of practices, for example, working several jobs, cohabiting, or creating informal care arrangements. The PhD researcher will use qualitative ‘go along’ interviews, itinerary drawing and artistic methods. Their findings will permit the selection of cases for further in-depth ethnographic research. The PhD researcher will collaborate with a PhD researcher that does a comparative case study in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and with dr. Marguerite van den Berg (also the supervisor of the PhD project), in the context of a design-driven study.
Host institute and team
The project will be carried out in the context of the larger project Improvising Security, of dr. Marguerite van den Berg. The PhD researcher will be employed at Utrecht University School of Governance (USG) and participate in the Graduate School of the faculty of Law, Economics and Governance (LEG ) and the PhD programme of the Netherlands Institute for Governance (NIG). Coaching; a good support structure; as well as extensive training and education opportunities are part of the strengths of USG’s PhD programme. The PhD researcher will be involved in the research community of USG. The envisioned start date is September 1, 2022, with some flexibility. 

Qualifications We encourage applications from candidates who:

• Have a substantive interest and/or experience in urban studies and feminist research;
• Have experience with or an interest in artistic methods;
• Have experience with ethnographic methods;
• Have good writing skills;
• Have excellent English language skills;
• Are team players.

Offer This is an appointment of 1.0 FTE for the duration of 18 months. After a positive evaluation the contract will be extended for 2.5 years. 
The gross salary starts with €2,443 per month in the first year and increases to €3,122 per month in the fourth year of employment (scale P according to the Collective Employment Agreement of the Dutch Universities) for a full-time employment. 
Besides that, you will receive a holiday allowance of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3%. Utrecht University also has an appealing package of terms of employment , including the choice for a good balance between work and private (a good arrangement for leave, among other things), possibilities for development and an excellent pension scheme. More information on working at Utrecht University can be found here.

About the organization A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major societal themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Sustainability.
The Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance is a faculty at the heart of society, with a strong focus on social issues. Our subjects of Law, Economics and Governance give us a strong mix of academic disciplines that complement and enhance each other. This is a unique combination and a mark of our faculty's strength.
The Utrecht University School of Governance (USG) is one of the three departments of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance of Utrecht University. USG studies public issues and public organisations in their interaction with the developments in politics and society. The key question in this is how public organisations and private organisations with a public task deal with current social issues, how they shape their public responsibilities and deliver public value. Our academic research is renowned both in the Netherlands and abroad. It focuses on the key themes of accountability, professionalism, public service performance, organisational change, innovation and public leadership. We pay particular attention to public organisations such as the European Union, central and local governments, the police, the armed forces and the judiciary, and private organisations with a public task, such as hospitals, schools, housing corporations, sports organisations and cultural institutions.

Additional information

For more information about this position and the research project plan, please contact:

Marguerite van den Berg (Associate Professor, PI), via [email protected] .

Apply To apply, please send your curriculum vitae, including a letter of motivation via the ‘apply’ button.
Everyone deserves to feel at home at our university. We welcome employees with a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives.

The application deadline is 20/06/2022