Postdoc: Labour Migration & Institutional Change

KU-CENTER FOR SUNDHED OG SAMFUND; København; On-site; DKK 405,000 - 485,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Copenhagen’s Employment Relations Research Centre (FAOS) invites applications for two fixed-term postdoctoral researcher positions focusing on labour migration and institutional change. The project conducts cross-national, cross-sector studies across multiple countries, with a mix of qualitative interviews, archival work, and process tracing.

The positions include a 1½ month research stay in each case country and a 10% teaching obligation, starting 1 March 2027, with salary and

Qualifications

• PhD in Sociology, Political Science, or related field (completed or near completion).
• Expertise in qualitative research methods, especially case study analysis and interviews.
• Knowledge of political economy, labour market institutions or migration.
• Fluency in English and either German and Dutch or Swedish; Danish is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Conduct comparative case studies of migrant labour in three sectors across two countries.
• Use process-tracing to analyze link between migrant labour inflow and deviant business practices.
• Carry out interviews with company representatives, unions, labour inspectors and other authorities.
• Gather statistics, archival data, media sources, policy documents to reconstruct historical development.
• Compare cross-national and cross-sector variations in how divergent business strategies and labour migration co-develop.
• Write academic articles based on findings for submission to top sociology and political science journals.
• Present findings at international conferences (e.g., SASE, CES, EPSA, ESA).

Skills

Qualitative research

Comparative case studies

Qualitative interviews

Academic collaboration

English fluency

Education

PhD in Sociology or related field

Job description

University of Copenhagen’s Employment Relations Research Centre (FAOS) invites applications for two fixed-term postdoctoral researcher positions focusing on labour migration and institutional change. The project conducts cross-national, cross-sector studies across multiple countries, with a mix of qualitative interviews, archival work, and process tracing.

The positions include a 1½ month research stay in each case country and a 10% teaching obligation, starting 1 March 2027, with salary and