Postdoc in IMER within the ERC project GIVE RIGHTS

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We are looking for a

Postdoc in the research project GIVE RIGHTS and the subject of IMER (International Migration and Ethnic Relations) at the department of Global Political Studies, Faculty of Culture and Society.
Subject area

Scholars within IMER study, among other subjects, the national, regional, international, and global causes and effects of migration in both the society of origin and destination on a structural, institutional, collective, and individual level. IMER is an inherently multi- and interdisciplinary subject, in which sociology, political science, cultural geography, anthropology, economic history, economics, social work, history, ethnology, religious studies, gender studies, and cultural studies are represented.
Job description

As a postdoc at Malmö University, you will be able to develop your independence as a researcher after completing your doctoral degree and enable additional qualifications. The position is primarily intended to allow attainment of research qualifications. Teaching may also be included in the duties, though only at most one-fifth of working hours. The position is also to provide the opportunity for educational qualifications and higher education teaching training.

The position's duties include research of at least 90 % and teaching of at most 10 % within IMER or other relevant subjects at GPS.

The postdoc will be responsible for the Italian case study in the GIVE RIGHTS project. This includes conducting a media study of Italian news outlets and an interview study with Italian unions and professional associations. The planned tasks include expert interviews with union and professional association representatives and group interviews with welfare professionals. The postdoc will also support the distribution of a European-wide survey in Italy. A five-page summary of the project plan can be found here . (In the project plan, the position this call relates to is called "PD2".) Additional tasks within the project may also be allocated to the postdoc that is not mentioned in the project summary, such as organising seminars or workshops and communicating research findings amongst other things. Apart from the tasks appointed to the postdoc in the GIVE RIGHTS project, it is also expected that the postdoc develops one's own research beyond the immediate needs of the project. In your application, it is important that you both describe how you will be able to conduct the tasks planned for the position in the project and also explain what additional research interests you want to pursue through the duration of the postdoc position - and how these two parts are connected.
Qualification requirements

Qualification requirements refer to requirements that must be met for an applicant to be considered for employment.

Candidates for the position of postdoc are required to have a PhD or have a foreign degree assessed as equivalent to a PhD. Scientific/artistic expertise is a qualification requirement for employment as a postdoc.

First and foremost, individuals will be considered who received their doctorate a most three years prior to the end of the application deadline. In special circumstances, the PhD can have been completed more than three years earlier.

Special circumstances refers to leave due to illness, parental leave, clinical service, service as a trade union representative, or similar circumstances. It is a general qualification requirement for teachers at Malmö University that the candidate is appropriate for and have the ability in general required to fully complete the duties of the relevant position.

A postdoc may be employed permanently, but for a maximum period of at least two and a maximum of three years. The position may be extended under special circumstances. Special circumstances refers to leave due to illness, parental leave, clinical service, service as a trade union representative, or similar circumstances.

An individual who has previously been employed at Malmö University as a postdoc for more than one year may not be employed at the university as a postdoc again within the same or related subject area.

It is a general qualification requirement for teachers at Malmö University that the candidate is appropriate for and have the ability in general required to fully complete the duties of the relevant position.
Additional qualification requirements for this position are:

• Documented proficiency in the Italian language.

Assessment criteria

Assessment criteria refer to criteria for assessing how well an applicant meets a certain qualification requirement and criteria that have otherwise been deemed significant for the position.

For employment as a postdoc, research expertise are the primary criteria for consideration. The overall assessment includes teaching expertise, collaborative expertise, academic citizenship, leadership and administrative expertise.
The assessment criteria for research expertise are:

• research in the field relevant for the position in question;
• active participation and being well-established in the scientific community;
• ability to initiate, plan, develop, independently implement and lead high-quality research with international impact and of significant scope;
• capable of international research collaboration;
• capable of attracting competitive external research funding in light of the subject area's unique characteristics and traditions;
• ability to apply principles for open science; and
• ability to communicate research within and outside of the scientific community.

For this position, the following will also be assessed:

• Documented research experience in, or proven knowledge of, the Italian socio-political context.
• Experience of doing research about, and creating networks among, unions and professional associations as well as other civil society actors.

The assessment criteria for teaching expertise are:

• ability to plan, develop, implement and lead high-quality teaching using different teaching methods on the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels;
• experience of educational development work and reflection on one's own educational philosophy and application;
• ability to integrate research into bachelor's, master's and doctoral education both in terms of content and educational methods;
• capable of participating in and leading international educational collaborations;
• experience of doctoral programmes, such as solid experience of planning, admissions, work with syllabuses and course development, summative assessments, supervision up to defence of doctoral thesis, and experience as the main doctoral supervisor, in light of the subject area's unique characteristics and traditions.

Assessment criteria for collaborative expertise are:

• ability to initiate, develop and expand collaboration and mutual exchange with relevant public organisations at the local, national and international levels to strengthen the quality, relevance and benefit of research and education;
• ability to communication research and education to external target groups; and
• ability to translate research and education into innovation and apply them practically (utilisation).

Assessment criteria for academic citizenship, leadership and administrative expertise are:

• work within academia beyond regular duties within education and research and also with external activities and assignments where academic citizenship is practiced;
• collegial initiatives at a department, faculty, or equivalent that promote a healthy work environment and academic setting, such as work on boards and committees, and in working groups, responsibility for seminars, various leadership, coordination and mentor assignments within and outside of one's own higher education institution, assessment and review assignments, and work with journals;
• experience from academic leadership and leadership positions and the ability to lead and develop an organisation and staff and to take responsibility for the organisation's quality and outcomes, and create enthusiasm; and
• ability to plan, organise, implement and follow up work, assignments and operations and the ability to work in a structured way and contribute to development of organisational processes and procedures.

Assessment of qualifications will be done based on the adopted job description for the position. An overall assessment of the applicant's qualifications and expertise based on the qualification requirements and assessment criteria will be made prior to a decision to hire an applicant.

See Malmö University's appointments procedure for additional instructions on how to conduct the assessment.
Faculty

The Faculty of Culture and Society is a multidisciplinary faculty that includes three departments: the Department of Global Political Studies (GPS) the School of Arts and Communication (K3) and the Department of Urban Studies (US). The Faculty conducts doctoral studies in the following subjects: Global Politics, Interaction Design, International Migration and Ethnic Relations, Media and Communication Studies, Organisation Studies, and Urban Studies. The Faculty hosts four of the university's nine research centres. Read more about the Faculty of Culture and Society here.
Department

The Department of Global Political Studies (GPS) is an interdisciplinary department, which incorporates approaches from both the social sciences and the humanities, and undertakes research on politics, power relations and the construction of identity in local, national, international, and global contexts. Its focus is on organisations, governance, political instruments, and decision-making processes, as well as studies of international migration and migration-related social issues. GPS offers two doctoral programmes: Global Politics and International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER) . The current position is in IMER. Read more about the Department of Global Political Studies here.
Application instructions

Apply for the position through Malmö University's recruitment system by clicking on the "Apply" button. Application documents are to be submitted electronically. Physical documents are only accepted in exceptional cases; contact hr@mau.se if you have books or other documents that cannot be submitted electronically.

All qualifications are to be documented so that both quality and scope can be assessed. You are responsible for ensuring that your application is complete in accordance with the job description and application instructions and that it is submitted no later than 2026-10-28. The application is to be written in Swedish, English or one of the other Scandinavian languages. When required, you are responsible for translating the application and any submitted documents.

For guidance on compiling qualifications, you can use Academic Qualifications Portfolio at Malmö university,
The application is to include the following:

• A short application cover letter of at most two pages that describes your experience, background and expertise related to the position and an explanation of why you are applying
• Curriculum Vitae with attachments such as degree certificates and other relevant grades certificates (maximum 10 pages attachments)
• Complete list of publications
• List of the three scientific works you wish to reference and your doctoral thesis. Provide the DOI code for each publication if there is one.
• The scientific works (maximum three)
• Doctoral thesis
• A research plan

About the research plan

As part of your application, you must include a research plan of no more than two pages (max 1000 words), including references, that is clearly linked to the specific position and clearly demonstrates how your research will advance the project's objectives.
The research plan must include a description of:

• Research questions, objectives, and goals.
• An overview of current research in the field.
• Theoretical and methodological approach.
• Timeline and expected results.
• A demonstration of your qualifications and competence to carry out the proposed research.

Note that the documents submitted or produced for this open position (such as applications, expert reports and minutes) are normally general documents and as such public documents. This means that the documents may (except for documents classified as secret) be requested and read by others.
Terms of employment

Starts: 2027-01-01 or by agreement.
Form of employment: Fixed-term employment three years according to Agreement on fixed-term employment as a postdoctoral researcher - collective agreement between the National Agency for Government Employers and OFR/S, and Saco S, 19 November 2021.

Scope of the employment: 100 %

Salary: Individual salary setting

Swedish is the primary language at Malmö University, and it is a hope that non-Swedish speaking staff will acquire enough Swedish language skills to allow them to participate in teaching and research and in common and daily work at the department but also as a way to enable them to take on academic leadership positions.
Information

Head of department, Mona Lilja, mona.lilja@mau.se

Project Leader, Jacob Lind, jacob.lind@mau.se

For questions about the recruitment process, contact HR Partner Victoria Kockum, Victoria.kockum@mau.se
Trade union representatives

Saco-S: Rebecka Johansson, rebecka.johansson@mau.se

SEKO: Anne Sundel, anne.sundel@mau.se

OFR/ST: Lutfi Zuta, lutfi.zuta@mau.se

Prior to this recruitment process, the Malmö University has determined which recruitment channels and marketing it will use. We request that no offers be made to provide advertising and recruitment help in connection with this advertisement.

We look forward to receiving your application!

You apply no later than 28/10/2026 by clicking the apply button.