Vacancy Notice for a Research Assistant in Florence, Italy

Published by Ivona

Deadline: 4 April 2018
Open to: international applicants
Benefits: 2 000 EUR monthly salary

Description

The Mercator Dialogue on Asylum and Migration (MEDAM), conducts new research on some of the most pressing public policy issues related to asylum, migration, and mobility in the European Union. To support MPC’s work on the MEDAM project, they are seeking to recruit a post-doctoral researcher with strong quantitative skills and experience in cross-country analysis of issues related to asylum, migration and/or associated public policies. The selected candidate will become a “Research Associate” at the Migration Policy Centre (MPC). The Research Associate will work with Professor Martin Ruhs (Deputy Director of the MPC) to analyze the nature and determinants of political conflicts between EU member states about how to respond to the increased inflows of asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants in recent years. The project will specifically investigate the role of cross-country variations in national institutions (especially welfare states, labor markets, and related normative attitudes) in contributing to disagreements across EU countries about how to create more effective common policies in this area. The project will include quantitative analysis of large-scale datasets covering different EU member states as well as qualitative analysis including in-depth interviews with policy-makers in selected EU countries. Project outputs will include academic publications, blog posts, and policy briefs.

Eligibility

Essential:

  • Ph.D. in Politics, Social Policy, Economics or a related social science discipline;
  • Strong quantitative research skills;
  • Knowledge of research literature on determinants of public policies;
  • Research experience in the political economy (broadly understood) of asylum/refugees, immigration, and/or related public policy issues;
  • Excellent communication skills.

Desirable:

  • Experience with using qualitative research methods;
  • Knowledge of comparative welfare state literature;
  • Experience with comparative cross-country analysis;
  • Experience with engaging in public policy debates.

Benefits

  • The basic net monthly salary after taxes is approx. 2,200 EUR;
  • Annual leave entitlement of 2 days/month for full-time contracts (proportionally reduced for part-time contracts), to be taken in agreement with the supervisor and an average of 17 days of EUI holidays per year;
  • Flexible working hours to be agreed with the supervisor;
  • EU Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme for contract holder and dependent  family members;
  • Accident and occupational disease insurance coverage for contract holder;
  • Travel Expenses on Entry/Termination of Service (if the place of recruitment different from Florence);

How to Apply?

Fill in the online application form and upload documents as requested. The documents to be uploaded are:

  • Maximum two pages CV (including a list of publications, working papers, job market papers, etc.);
  • One academic paper, book chapter or policy report;
  • Cover letter.

For more information please visit the official call.