Research Group Leader (m/f/d)

Max Planck Society; Frankfurt; Hybrid; EUR 68,000 - 96,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mobile working

Flexible hours

30 days holiday

Planck Academy training

Job summary

Max Planck Society seeks a Research Group Leader for its MPILHLT in Frankfurt, affiliated with the BCDSS in Bonn. The role includes leading a research group of two PhD students, shaping a project in legal history and normativity, and coordinating across two prestigious institutions.

The position starts March 1, 2027, for 54 months with potential extensions, offering a competitive TVöD-based salary, flexible work options, and a vibrant international scholarly environment.

Qualifications

• A doctoral degree in history, law, area studies or related humanities/social science discipline.
• Excellent, internationally visible publication record in the proposed project field.
• Postdoctoral research experience; leadership or coordination of research projects is desirable.
• Willingness to relocate to Frankfurt and engage with BCDSS and MPILHLT collaborations in Frankfurt and Bonn.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead an independent research group comprising the group leader and two PhD positions.
• Coordinate with BCDSS and MPILHLT on the research agendas and timelines.
• Develop a high-impact project proposal focused on A and/or D research areas and secure funding and collaborations.

Skills

Doctoral degree

Publication record

Postdoctoral experience

Relocation to Frankfurt

Education

PhD in history, law, or related field

Job description

Scientist Frankfurt am Main

Cultural Studies Jurisprudence

Job Offer from September 24, 2026

We provide a forum for reflecting on law. We explore its theory and history in a comparative and global perspective. We address societal challenges by contributing to a deeper understanding of law.

The Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory (MPILHLT), Department “Historical Regimes of Normativity” (dir. Prof. Dr. Thomas Duve), and the Cluster of Excellence “Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies” (BCDSS) at the University of Bonn are looking to recruit, from March 1st, 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter, one Research Group Leader (m/f/d).

The successful candidate will design and lead an independent research group comprising the group leader position and two doctoral (PhD) positions, to be based at the MPILHLT and affiliated with the BCDSS.

The Research Group will be jointly embedded in the research agendas of both institutions: in the BCDSS’s Phase 2 (2026–2032) programme of Historically Informed Dependency Studies, and in the MPILHLT’s Department “Historical Regimes of Normativity”, research programme on historical regimes of normativity, i.e. the historical study of law as one – among several – competing and interacting bodies of normative knowledge, and of the processes through which such knowledge is produced, and contested, across regions and legal traditions.

Thematic Scope

Applicants Are Invited To Propose a Research Project Situated In One (or, Where Genuinely Warranted, Both) Of The Following BCDSS Research Areas (RAs)

• RA A – Transitions and Transformations: the study of how Strong Asymmetrical Dependencies (SADs) change, persist, or dissolve across the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels of societies, and how they relate to and co-determine one another over time.
• RA D – Cultural Heritage – Transitional Justice – Memory Cultures: the study of cultural heritage, memory, and (in)justice as contested fields shaped by national, regional, communal, and religious identities, including how contemporary notions of justice engage with histories of colonial dispossession, enslavement, and other forms of SAD.

Projects that combine perspectives from RA A and RA D, or that bring legal-historical and legal-theoretical questions from MPI Department II’s research programme into productive dialogue with either Research Area, are particularly welcome.

Preference will be given to projects focused on the early modern Iberian empires (Spanish and/or Portuguese, in the Americas, Africa, and/or Asia) – e.g. questions of coerced labor and their relation to ownership regimes; the production, translation, and contestation of regimes of normativity about dependency, indigenous, colonial and spiritual knowledge across empire; or the afterlives of these regimes in later memory cultures, heritage debates, and claims to (transitional) justice.

Your Profile

• a doctoral degree in history, law, area studies, or a related discipline of the humanities or social sciences, completed with distinction
• an excellent, internationally visible record of publication in a field pertinent to the proposed project
• postdoctoral research experience and, ideally, prior experience in leading, co-leading or coordinating research projects
• willingness and ability to relocate to Frankfurt and to engage actively in the BCDSS and collaborative formats of both host institutions in Frankfurt and Bonn

What we offer

• a full-time appointment (39 hours per week); a part-time appointment is theoretically possible
• a fixed-term Research Group Leader position, starting on March 1st, 2027, for a period of 54 months, with a group consisting of two doctoral researchers (65% E13 TVöD), to be selected by the Research Group Leader and the Director of the Department, starting on October, 1st, 2027, for a period of 36 months, with the possibility of extension of each contract up to 12 additional months
• mobile working and flexible work hours in accordance with our works agreement
• 30 days of holiday per year; starting 2027: 31 days; paid leave on Christmas Eve (December 24) and New Year's Eve (December 31)
• annual salary before tax will be on a scale from €67,500 (E 14 band 1) to €96,000 (E14 band 6) for a full time position. The salary is based, depending on your qualification, on the German Civil Service Collective Agreement (TVöD); the social benefits for public workers are awarded, including a pension plan (‘VBL’). Previous work experience is taken into account in determining the pay level
• access to the wide range of training courses offered by the MPG's Planck Academy
• full integration into both the BCDSS and the MPILHLT Department
• a research budget for travel, archival research, workshops, and publication
• a collegial, interdisciplinary, and international working environment with a high degree of scholarly autonomy

Application Requirements

Applications must be submitted in English and must comprise the following three documents:

• (1) Research project description: a description of the proposed research project (max. 5 pages), which must:
  • out the project’s research questions, sources, methodology, and its structure over the funding period (work packages / phases);
  • the scope of the two PhD projects: possible research questions, how they relate to and complement the group leader’s own work, and how the three projects together form a coherent research group;
  • how the project is positioned within the BCDSS research agenda, specifying its relation to Research Area(s) A and/or D and, where relevant, to other RAs, Spaces of Synergy, or the Methods Lab;
  • how the project is positioned within the research programme of MPILHLT Department “Historical Regimes of Normativity,” in particular its contribution to the historical study of historical regimes of normativity, normative knowledge, its translation, and contestation across legal, religious, or other normative orders.
• (2) Research statement / motivation letter: a concise statement (max. 1 page) explaining the applicant’s motivation, scholarly trajectory, expectations and personal fit for leading this research group in this specific institutional setting;
• (3) Curriculum vitae: including a list of publications, electronic copies of two relevant publications authored by the applicant and, where applicable, prior research funding, teaching, and supervision experience.

Equal Opportunity

The Max Planck Society and the University of Bonn are committed to employing more individuals with disabilities and especially encourage them to apply. Both institutions seek to increase the number of women in areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourage women to apply. The Max Planck Society and the University of Bonn are committed to a diverse and inclusive working environment and welcome applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of ethnic or social origin, religion, disability, age, or sexual orientation and identity.