THE DEAN OF THE FACULTY OF SOCIOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW
invites applications for one full-time position of Assistant Professor (research) for a definite period
- INSTITUTION: Faculty of Sociology, University of Warsaw
- CITY: Warsaw, Poland
- POSITION: Assistant Professor (research); one full-time job; from 01.10.2023 to 31.03.2026
- DISCIPLINE: sociological sciences
- POSTED: 16.06.2023
- APPLICATION DEADLINE: 16.07.2023
- WEBSITE: http://www.uw.edu.pl/kategoria-praca/job-offers/
- KEYWORDS: migrations, Central and Eastern Europe, social sciences, comparative study
The competition is open to persons who meet the conditions set out in Art. 113 of the Act of July 20, 2018 Law on Higher Education and Science (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 742, as amended) and the Statute of the University of Warsaw (UW Monitor of 2019, item 190, as amended). Candidates will be evaluated according to the Statute of the University of Warsaw, the European Charter for Researchers, The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code), Ordinance No. 106 of the Rector of the University of Warsaw of September 27, 2019 (Monitor UW of 2020, item 388)
CANDIDATE PROFILE:
We are looking for a post-doctoral researcher to join a National Science Centre (NCN)– funded project entitled ‘Engagement from afar. A multi-sited ethnography of the Ukrainian diaspora’s responses to war’ (Engage) at the Faculty of Sociology at the University of Warsaw. The hired person will join an international research team, whose goal will be to understand how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has affected Ukrainian diasporas in the United States, Israel and Poland. The ENGAGE team will explore individual and collective gestures of solidarity, material and symbolic forms of support, participation in protest, instances of volunteering at the Ukrainian borders, joining military ranks and others. The research will be based on the innovative research techniques – the biographic interviews will be followed by a visual ethnography and multisensory participant observation of the individual and collective diasporic
practices and accompanied by a digital ethnography of Ukrainian diasporas online engagement. The results of the research will deepen the understanding of diaspora engagement with the countries of origin as the ‘host’ destinations.
WE OFFER:
· Employment at the Faculty of Sociology of the University of Warsaw as a full-time Assistant Professor for a period of 30 months;
· Work on an international research project in an experienced team that values partnership, professionalism, and work-life balance;
· Opportunity to develop skills in conducting research using innovative research techniques - visual and multi-sensory methods and social network analysis;
· Participation in the dissemination of the research results in academic publications and using other forms with the aim of engaging wider audiences (e.g. in the form of an exhibition or film);
· Opportunity to participate in national and international scientific conferences and seminars;
· Ongoing mentorship to support post-doctoral researcher’s development within and beyond the scope of the project
· Possibility of continuous improvement of knowledge and skills (e.g. training programs)
· Possibility of participation in the academic life of the community of the Faculty of Sociology of the University of Warsaw and especially the Department of Social Anthropology, Ethnic and Migration Studies;
REQUIREMENTS
· A PhD degree in sociology, visual sociology, political science, cultural studies or anthropology or a related field under the following condition:
- the candidate has obtained a doctoral degree in an institution other than the institution in which the employment in this position is planned or has completed at least 10-month, continuous and documented postdoctoral fellowship in an institution other than the institution implementing the project and in another country than the country of obtaining the doctoral degree;
· Research achievements documented by academic publications: articles in peer-reviewed journals, book publications, chapters in peer-reviewed collective volumes and/or artistic works in accordance with experience
· Experience in conducting qualitative research: especially in recruitment, conducting and analyzing in-depth individual interviews, and/or conducting ethnographic research (e.g. participant observations);
· Research interest in international mobility (for instance, transnational dimensions of migration, diaspora), and/or transnational civic and political activism (e.g. long-distance nationalism, international solidarity movements, etc.);
· Desirable experience in using visual methods in research or practice (e.g. working with film, photography, participatory methods, and other creative methods) or
· Desirable experience in conducting qualitative research in the digital area (e.g. digital ethnography, social media analysis);
· Fluency in English that allows flowless communication in the daily work of the team and in writing academic publications (a necessary condition, documented by language certificates or publications in English);
· Desirable knowledge of Ukrainian and/or Russian or readiness to learn to a level that will allow reading materials in Ukrainian
· Organizational achievements (e.g. co-organizing scientific conferences or conference sessions, coordinating the work of teams);
· Knowledge of the MS Office work package and other tools facilitating teamwork in an online environment (eg Miro, Trello or others)
· Knowledge of Maxqda or other qualitative data coding software;
· Sharing the team's value system: friendliness, commitment, respect for others, a welcome distance to oneself, and a sense of humour;
JOB DESCRIPTION
The hired person will form the core research team working closely with the Principal Investigator and a PhD Student and the support of two Co-Investigators on the implementation of the 3-year ENGAGE project. The detailed scope of duties will involve:
· Coordination of the research activities in Poland (one of the three research locations);
· Cooperation with the PI on the implementation and analysis of the visual and multi-sensory components of the project in other research locations (WP2-WP3 - visual methods) or
· Collaboration with team members on the WP4 work package (social network analysis) in all research locations (online component);
· Coordination of the team's effort in the WP5 work package (synthesis) – conducting analysis between locations and across the components;
· Creation of at least 2 publications from the project in recognized scientific journals;
· Preparation and participation in the ‘public’ dissemination of research results (e.g. preparing an exhibition, setting up a film screening);
· With other team members, coding and analyzing transcripts of the interviews, notes, and visual materials from all locations;
· Readiness for regular presence at the Faculty of Sociology (hybrid formats possible);
EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS
· Job title: Assistant Professor;
· Staff group: research;
· The main research field and discipline: social sciences, sociological sciences;
· Salary: 8853 PLN gross/month for 30 months as a full-time salary plus the so-called ‘thirteenth’ salary;
· The employment will start on October 1, 2023, and run for 30 months on a full-time basis.
THE APPLICATION SHOULD INCLUDE:
1. An application letter addressed to the Vice-Rector of the University of Warsaw, Prof. Sambor Grucza;
2. A motivation letter addressed to the Head of the Selection Committee, Dr Dominika Blachnicka-Ciacek demonstrating how the candidate meets the lessential and desirable criteria listed in the job advert – max 2 pages.
3. Based on the information about the project which could be found here: https://ws.uw.edu.pl/projekty/zaangazowanie-na-odleglosc-wielostanowiskowa-etnografia-reakcji-diaspory-ukrainskiej-na-wojne/ a short description of an approach and a research tool that that could be used to implement WP2, WP3 (visual components) or WP4 (social network analysis online) – max 500 words
4. A curriculum vitae with a list of publications
5. Contact details to up to two persons who can offer references (i.e. former supervisor, line manager, PI)
6. A personal questionnaire (downloadable from the University of Warsaw website, https://bsp.adm.uw.edu.pl/en/forms-to-download/);
7. A scan of a PhD diploma or certificate
8. A declaration that the University of Warsaw will be the candidate's primary place of work (downloadable from the University of Warsaw website, https://bsp.adm.uw.edu.pl/en/forms-to-download/);
9. Information on the processing of personal data (information clause and consent clause) constituting an attachment to the announcement (downloadable from the University of Warsaw website, https://bsp.adm.uw.edu.pl/en/forms-to-download/);
10. If deemed necessary, documents confirming information in the application documents (command of foreign languages, participation in research projects, foreign internships; etc.);
11. a declaration confirming that the candidate has read and accept the rules of conducting competitions for the position of academic teacher as attached as Appendix no. 1 to the announcement https://monitor.uw.edu.pl/Lists/Uchway/Attachments/5592/M.2020.388.Obw.25%20EN.pdf
Attention! Only complete applications that fulfil the formal requirements will be processed. The applicants will not receive additional time to complete their application documents. The application should be sent by e-mail to
In the e-mail title, please write: NAME_Engage_NCN_postdoc
SELECTION PROCEDURE
The selection procedure will happen in two stages. In the first stage, the Selection Committee will perform an initial evaluation of the candidates’ profiles based on the submitted documents. The highest-ranked candidates will be invited to a job interview, which will be the second stage of the selection procedure. Invitations to the interview will be sent to the candidates by e-mail. Interviews will be conducted electronically (via Google Meet or Zoom, under UW licenses).
Attention! The university does not provide accommodation.
The interviews are scheduled for July 2023
Candidates will be informed about the outcome of the interviews up to 7 days after the interview.
The selection procedure will formally close in September 2023
The information on the results will be delivered to the candidates via e-mail.