Postdoctoral position focusing on lessons from the war in Ukraine

Description of the position

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has had disastrous consequences, both for the population and for society in general. While being severely affected, the civilian Ukrainian population is at the same time making fundamental contributions to societal resilience. The civil society and the civilian population of Ukraine play a key role in maintaining resilience and endurance in support of military defence. This project aims to further scientific research and empirical lessons regarding how civil society may contribute to enhancing resilience in war. Questions of interest include: What are the drivers that influence commitment to, participation in, and resilience of civil society and what roles may voluntary organizations and emerging movements play? Overarching themes include leadership, collaboration, organizations and ways/modes of organizing.

If this sounds interesting to you and you have a PhD in social or behavioral sciences with relevance to the proposed topic, you are most welcome to apply for this postdoctoral position at the Department of Leadership and Command & Control at the Swedish Defence University (SEDU) in Stockholm.

Leadership and Command & Control is a multidisciplinary subject, which has its roots in behavioural sciences, social sciences and design science. We blend knowledge and research traditions from psychology, sociology, political science and pedagogy. We study individuals and groups, organizations, functions, and how these components interact. A common denominator for the research is our context of study: defence, crisis management and security.

Qualifications

PhD in political science, sociology, anthropology, or another subject that the employer deems relevant. The degree needs to be obtained by the time of the decision of employment. As the research is conducted in an international environment and scientific articles will be written in English, the ability to communicate in English (spoken and written) at a high level is an absolute requirement. As a central tenet of the research will be lesson-drawing from the war in Ukraine, having a command of the Ukrainian language is also a requirement.

Experience from conducting empirical (field) research in political science, sociology, governance, leadership, international relations, disaster science, and/or any related area is a strong merit, as is teaching experience. The position is within the department of Leadership and Command & Control and the applicant is expected to participate and contribute to joint activities, such as research seminars as well as teaching.

Employment

The postdoctoral position is a two-year full time position located in Stockholm. At least 80 % are dedicated to the candidate’s postdoctoral research project. 20% may be allocated to teaching or other tasks at the department.The employment may be extended by a further maximum of one year.

Candidates who obtained their PhD degree at the most three years prior to the application deadline are primarily considered for the employment. Due to special circumstances, the degree may have been obtained earlier. The three-year period can be extended due to circumstances such as sick leave, parental leave, duties in labour unions, etc.

To be able to fulfill the postdoctoral agreement, the condition is that the employee have not been employed as a postdoctor under this agreement for more than a year within the same or similar subject of study with the same employer.

Employment at the Swedish Defence University may involve a security clearance for placement in a security class, which means a security interview and record check with the Security Police.

The Swedish Defence University has a war time organization, which means that you must be prepared to be wartime posted at the Swedish Defence University if you are a Swedish citizen. If you already got a wartime posting in, for example, the Swedish Armed Forces and your skills are needed in the Swedish Defence University’s war time organization, a negotiation will take place between the relevant authority and the Swedish Defence University about where you will be posted. If you are not a Swedish citizen, the duty of service (general national service) applies.

We welcome both Swedish and international applicants.

Salary and benefits 

Salaries are set individually at the University.
Information about benefits for employees at the Swedish Defence University can be found here.

Application

Kindly submit your application through the SEDU recruitment system.
The application should entail the following documentation:

• Research plan including introduction, a problem statement and research question(s), a literature review, the research methods, the expected results, and a timetable (max. 5 pages)
• Doctoral dissertation
• Brief personal letter
• Brief description of the candidate’s pedagogical competence and teaching experience.
• CV
• Contact information for two references.

The research plan will be assessed based on (a) the applicant’s empirical and theoretical familiarity with the project’s research field, (b) the applicant’s selection of and reflection on suitable methods, (c) the project’s relevance for and contribution to the field and (d) feasibility within the period of employment.

The application is submitted via the Swedish Defence University's recruitment system by clicking on the link "Log in and apply for the job" on the advertising page. Mark your application with reference number HF/HR 78/2024.

The complete application must be received by the Swedish Defence University no later than the last day of application at midnight, CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

Contact information

For any further information about the position, please contact:

• Pär Daléus, Head of department of Leadership and Command & Control, par.daleus@fhs.se
• Stefan Borén, Head of Stockholm division, Department of Leadership and Command & Control, stefan.boren@fhs.se
• Sara Borgvall, HR-partner, sara.borgvall@fhs.se

All can be reached through the SEDU switchboard +46 (0)8-553 425 00.

Union representation

To get in contact with union representatives please send an e-mail to saco@fhs.se, OFR/O@fhs.se and OFR/S@fhs.se.

Welcome with your application at the latest 2024-04-25.