Postdoctoral Researcher

Summary

• Topic Job Offer — Postdoctoral Researcher
• When Jul 22, 2025 to Aug 18, 2025 (Europe/Berlin / UTC200)
• Where Göttingen — Germany
• URL https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/644546.html?filters=%7B%22vollzeit%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22befristet%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22gruppe%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22besoldGrp%22%3A%5B%5D%7D&details=76033
• Download date as file event_note get iCal file

Description

At the University of Göttingen -Public Law Foundation-, Institut für Ethnologie, there is a position as

Postdoctoral Researcher (all genders welcome)

Entgeltgruppe 13 TV-L/50% to be filled. Starting date is 10/1/2025. The position is limited to 2029/09/30.

FOR5903 is a DFG Research Unit with a wide interdisciplinary and international scope, covering diverse dimensions of global urbanization processes under the novel framework of “Sustainable Rurbanity – Resources, Society, and Regulatory Systems”. For further information please refer to the project website www.uni-kassel.de/go/for-5903.

In the context of this project, a doctoral position is available addressing RurbanLivestockSystems - Building rurban livelihoods through livestock which integrates research approaches from Social Anthropology and Animal Sciences. The position cannot be shared. The main place of service is Göttingen, but extended field work in Ghana’s Greater Accra region for several months per year will be required. Fitness for service in an urban agglomeration of the Global South is therefore mandatory.

Your tasks

• Preparing, conducting and coordinating anthropological field work according to the theoretical approach of the Research Unit “Sustainable Rurbanity” and the work program of its subproject “RurbanLivestockSystems - Building rurban livelihoods through livestock”
• Ethnographic research on in/formal governance of livestock businesses and entrepreneurship in Accra, Ghana
• Supporting PhD students and guiding their research activities in Ghana
• Further developing the project’s theoretical framework (assemblage, social-ecological systems) and implementing it in its research design
• Close cooperation and communication with academic partners in Ghana, Germany, India and Morocco
• Participation in project-related seminars and workshops, and in international conferences by presenting achieved results
• Integrating analysis, synthesis and theory building from the subproject’s and the project cluster’s results. Presentation and publication of results in project reports and scientific articles
• Contribution to writing of follow-up proposal
• General project management and administration

We offer you

• An inspiring, dynamic and multifaceted working environment that allows you to grow academically and personally in an international, inter-disciplinary research environment
• The possibility of pursuing a postdoctoral academic qualification such as habilitation with dedicated mentorship making you part of the Institute of Social Anthropology and its worldwide scientific networks
• The chance to do long-term ethnographic fieldwork endowed with adequate resources and based in local structures of mutual cooperation, support and exchange
• Attractive working conditions that allow you to reconcile family responsibilities and professional obligations
• An interdisciplinary and committed team of junior and senior scientists that values and engages with the ideas you contribute to the research
• Possibly (when available) and if desired expansion of position to 75 or 100 percent

Requirements

Obligatory

• Excellent PhD in social anthropology or a related discipline
• Fluency in English language
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability and willingness to work in a dedicated interdisciplinary team with an international and intercultural background (coming from the fields of agronomy, ecology, geography and using, e.g. GIS/ mapping and quantitative surveys)
• Willingness to travel and conduct field work in Ghana for several months per year
• Experience in anthropological fieldwork (participant observation) in the Global South
• Versed in dealing with social theory and inter-/transdisciplinary approaches (social-ecological systems, assemblage thinking)

Desirable

• Academic achievements in the form of publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at international conferences
• Experience in a collaborative anthropological or interdisciplinary research project
• Knowledge in several of the following thematic and theoretical domains: political anthropology, economic anthropology, urban anthropology, pastoralism, sustainability, practice theory, assemblage thinking and social-ecological systems research
• Knowledge of the German language
• Research experience in West Africa

The University of Göttingen is an equal opportunities employer and places particular emphasis on fostering career opportunities for women. Qualified women are therefore strongly encouraged to apply in fields in which they are underrepresented. The university has committed itself to being a family-friendly institution and supports their employees in balancing work and family life. The University is particularly committed to the professional participation of severely disabled employees and therefore welcomes applications from severely disabled people. In the case of equal qualifications, applications from people with severe disabilities will be given preference. A disability or equality is to be included in the application in order to protect the interests of the applicant.

Please upload your application in one pdf file including the usual documents until 8/18/2025 on the application portal of the university using this link: http://obp.uni-goettingen.de/de-de/OBF/Index/76033. For more information get in touch with Ute Westphal directly via E-Mail: ute.westphal[ at ]sowi.uni-goettingen.de, Tel. +49 551 39-27890.

Please note:

With submission of your application, you accept the processing of your applicant data in terms of data-protection law. Further information on the legal basis and data usage is provided in the Information General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)