Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences

Postdoctoral Fellow

About the position

The Department seeks to recruit an excellent social scientist (from political science or a related field) to work full time as a postdoctoral researcher on the project 'Party-Interest Group Relationships in Contemporary Democracies: Character, Causes and Consequences'. The project is co-financed by the Research Council of Norway and the University of Oslo (via a scheme called 'Young Research Talents').

The project's point of departure is the common view that the relationship between parties and interest groups shapes the nature of democratic governance. How parties and interest groups behave towards each other may tell us what kinds of interests parties primarily represent and how interest group influence policy-making. However, the relationship between them has been largely overlooked by political scientists to date and taken for granted across different countries, institutional make­ups, types of party systems, and sectors. Our research project will advance the state of the art in this field by seeking to systematically examine (1) the nature, (2) the shaping factors and (3) the consequences for policy-making of party-interest group relationships in long-established democracies across the world. In this way, we also hope to expose the broader role of party-group relationships in democratic governance. The project will be designed as a genuine comparative study of the varieties and impact of party-group relationships on a scale hitherto unparalleled within the social and political sciences. It will break new ground by examining party-group links from both sides rather than using either groups or parties as starting point.The project will be carried out by a cross-national research team of specialists on both parties and interest groups in Europe and the United States (see project webpage) and will be managed at the University of Oslo, Norway.The postdoctoral fellow will be a part of this research group and is expected to contribute scientifically to the research project in all its phases. The tasks include supervision and coordination of the data collection in different countries – conducted by local research assistants – together with the project manager. The successful candidate will also be involved in the organization of project workshops. Hence, the position provides the successful candidate with a great opportunity to get valuable project management and publication experience at the international level.

The appointment is for a fixed, non-tenured term of 4 years. The appointee will have a 25% teaching requirement. Successful applicants must therefore be prepared to teach Bachelor and Masters level courses within the Department's course portfolio as well as tutor Master's students. Teaching can be conducted in English. The Department organizes teaching into five sections: public policy and administration, comparative politics, political theory, international relations, and research methods.

Qualifications

A comprehensive assessment of the applicant's scientific qualifications forms the basis of appointment. Successful applicants must have handed in their PhD thesis for evaluation before the application deadline, and must have achieved a relevant PhD degree before taking up the post. We would hope to see a record of publications, especially in peer-reviewed international journals.

The candidate should, in the application letter, explain how his/her research profile and agenda will contribute to the goals of the project. It would be considered an advantage if the candidate is able to contribute in particular to project goal number 3 (the study of patterns of party group influence and the impact of party-group links on public policy).

Moreover, we are especially interested in candidates with formal competence and experience in data-management and statistical analysis. Desired qualifications are also strong administrative and organizational skills and very good command of English. Experience in collaborative international research would be an asset. Finally, the applicants' teaching experiences and qualifications and personal suitability for the position will also be taken into consideration.

Applications

Applications should be submitted electronically with the following:

• Letter of application
• CV
• A complete list of publications

Please note! Publications should not be submitted with the application; the most promising candidates will be invited to submit their publications, as well as their educational certificates and diplomas, later in the process.

We offer:

• salary according to "SKO 1352 postdoctoral research fellow", pay grade 57-65, NOK 482 800 - 559 600 per year
• budget for travel and research assistance
• a pleasant and stimulating working environment
• a good pension scheme through the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• excellent welfare schemes, including places at the University kindergarten

Please note

Applicants, who at the time of appointment cannot provide documentary evidence of basic formal teaching competence, must acquire such competence within two years by completing a mandatory pedagogical course provided by UiO.

The University of Oslo has an Acquisition of Rights Agreement for all employees for the purpose of securing intellectual property rights to research results, etc.

Pursuant to section 25, of the Freedom of Information Act, information concerning the applicant may be disclosed to the public, even if the applicant has requested not to appear on the list of applicants.

As a state institution, we have a personnel policy goal of a balanced age and gender composition of our staff and to recruit persons with an ethnic minority background.