Two-year Postdoc, Department People & Organisations

Erasmus University Rotterdam; Rotterdam; On-site; EUR 55,000 - 75,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Home office by arrangement

Generous holiday allowance

Pension (ABP)

Professional development

Job summary

Erasmus University Rotterdam invites applications for a two-year postdoctoral fellow position within the Department of People and Organisations at RSM. The project partners with SINA across multiple countries, offering a rich empirical context for ethnographic research and theory development.

The role emphasizes independent research trajectory, strong qualitative methods, and collaboration with international experts to produce high-impact publications and societal impact.

Qualifications

• PhD in management, organisation studies, sociology, anthropology, political economy, or related qualitative field.
• PhD completed or in final year with clear plan for completion.
• Experience with ethnographic fieldwork and interviews.
• Part-time 0.8 FTE (30.4 hours/week) starting early 2027 for two years.

Responsibilities

• Conduct organisational ethnography across SINA field sites.
• Co-create research questions and study design with project partners.
• Collect, manage and analyze qualitative data; write papers for leading journals.
• Collaborate with Bex Hewett, RSM, ERIM and other collaborators.

Skills

Qualitative methods

Ethnography

Fieldwork

Education

PhD in social sciences

Job description

Job description

This two-year postdoc is an exciting opportunity for an early career researcher to continue to develop their research skills and grow their research pipeline in an interesting and rich field context.

You will work closely with Dr Rebecca (Bex) Hewett on a longitudinal study in partnership with the Social Innovation Academy (SINA), a network of academies supporting disadvantaged young people to become social entrepreneurs. The fieldwork in this project will take place in one or more SINA academy; based across multiple African countries (originating in Uganda), Nepal, and soon Germany.

This position offers you an intellectually open environment, strong methodological support and the freedom to develop an independent research trajectory while contributing to a coherent, high‑impact project. If you enjoy working with rich data, care deeply about theory, and want your work to have both scholarly and societal impact, this role is for you.

As a postdoctoral fellow you will be part of the department of People and Organisations (www.rsm.nl/faculty-research/departments/people-and-organisations/) at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) (www.rsm.nl/). We are an exceptionally supportive, research-focused, international group of faculty and PhDs.

We take pride in our supportive, high-performance research culture. Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) (www.eur.nl/en) ranks third in Europe in terms of 2020-2024 UTD top journal output. RSM’s faculty members routinely publish in top-tier journals like the Academy of Management Journal , Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Management, Organization Science and Management Science. Additionally, RSM faculty members regularly serve as editors and associate editors of top journals like Academy of Management Journal , Academy of Management Review , Journal of Management and Journal of Management Studies.

We are also proud of our outstanding PhD programme, which has a strong record of placements at institutions like MIT, INSEAD, HEC, Cambridge University (Judge), University of Warwick, University of South Carolina (Moore), Aalto University, BI Norwegian, and McGill University.

Job description

SINA provides a rich empirical context to explore many potential questions, puzzles, and phenomena. Our research could draw on democratic organisation and participation, the experiences of young people, their learning processes, community dynamics (within SINA and more broadly), social entrepreneurship, the functioning of this network organisation as a whole, or social and institutional dynamics in the local context. Bex Hewett became interested in SINA via their strong focus on decentralised organising and the principle of “freesponsibility” (freedom and responsibility) that both guide the learning experiences of young people. Bex has a particular interest in exploring process and system dynamics.

The focus of the project will be driven partly by the interests of the successful candidate, with SINA as active partners in the research. We will work together to co-create research questions, study design, and developing conclusions. Throughout the project you will be working closely with Bex and collaborators at RSM and elsewhere (TBD based on the decided focus of the project). The research culture and resources set by RSM’s research institute, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM) (www.erim.eur.nl/), aim to provide you with the best conditions in which to conduct outstanding research.

The project aims to create scholarly impact (via conference presentations and high impact journal publications); practical impact via recommendations to SINA; and broader societal impact via knowledge dissemination activities.

The ideal candidate has experience conducting organisational ethnography, or at least minimum ethnographic methods (including field observation and interviews). In addition to having the required strong social and communication skills essential for ethnographic work, you will bring your experience to actively contribute across the research process, including; data collection (e.g., observation, interviewing), data management (field-note taking, archival record management), analysis, theory development, and writing papers for leading journals. It would be beneficial if you have experience of fieldwork in the Global South, particularly in one of the countries in which SINA operates, but this is not essential. We encourage you to initiate new research questions, explore methodological innovations, and develop an independent research profile that complements the broader project.

Requirements

You will bring your experience of qualitative methods to explore process and/or system dynamics across a range of potential phenomena in the context of SINA as a field site.

• You possess a doctorate degree in management, organisation studies, sociology, anthropology, political economy, or other related qualitative, social science domains.
• Your PhD research made use of ethnographic methods.
• You have completed your PhD, or you may be in your final year of dissertation research with a clear plan for completion.
• This is a part‑time (80%) temporary position with a contract for 30.4 hours per week starting early 2027 (date to be mutually agreed). The contract duration will be for two years. There may be the possibility to extend the contract to 100% via a small teaching load, but this is not guaranteed.

Conditions of employment

We offer you an internationally oriented and varied position in an enthusiastic team, with excellent employment conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU).

This position is 0.8 FTE, and the start date is early 2027. You will be based at Campus Woudestein in Rotterdam at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM).

The salary depends on your knowledge and experience, and for a full‑time appointment (38 hours) would amount to between €4,925 and €6,682 gross per month (Scale 11), in accordance with the CAO-NU.

The contract will be entered into for a period of one (1) year and, if proven suitable and continued in the same position, under unchanged (financial and/or organisational) circumstances, will be extended for a second year.

Everything else we have to offer can be found below:

Everything you need for a good work‑life balance: working from home by arrangement, 41 holiday days based on a 40‑hour working week, 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% year‑end bonus, and a significant discount on a membership at our campus sports centre.

A sustainable, inclusive and diverse working environment (https://www.eur.nl/en/about-eur/vision/inclusion-diversity-equity-access) with an open culture where you can be yourself and we look out for one another and for the world. Take advantage of our cycling allowance, for example, or participate in networks such as Young@EUR, Fame, or QuEUR.

Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: development days and a personal career budget and free access to our university library.

A good pension with ABP to which we contribute two‑thirds, discounts on various collective insurance schemes with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, Allianz, and a commuting, working‑from‑home and internet allowance.

Combining your job with parenthood, or is this something you're planning for the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid supplementary birth leave for partners, and there is a childcare facility on campus (childcare at your own expense).

Moving to the Netherlands for a job at EUR? You may be able to make use of the Expat Scheme if you meet the requirements of the Dutch Tax Authority, and our Dual Career Programme also helps your partner find a great job.

Employer

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a distinct social vision on education and research – our mission being 'Creating positive societal impact'. EUR employs over 4,100 staff and nearly 33,000 students from 140 countries follow our academic education. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way - Making Minds Matter. We are global citizens: connecting, entrepreneurial, open‑minded and socially engaged. These Erasmian Values serve as our internal compass and make Erasmus University recognisable and distinctive to the outside world. Guided by these values, with a broad perspective and an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and viewpoints, our staff collaborate closely on solving societal challenges from dynamic and cosmopolitan Rotterdam. Thanks in part to the high quality and positive societal impact of our education and research, and our characteristic mentality, EUR can measure itself against the top European universities.

Faculty / Institute / Central service

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is one of Europe’s top‑ranked business schools. RSM provides ground‑breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam – a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who can become a force for positive change by carrying their innovative mindset into a sustainable future. Our first‑class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes encourage them to become critical, creative, caring and collaborative thinkers and doers.

RSM is an equal opportunity employer and explicitly encourages applications from candidates of all genders, ethnicities, and nationalities.

Department

The Department of People and Organisations produces high‑quality research and provides excellent teaching of the management of people in organisations. Our diverse faculty apply micro‑and macro‑perspectives to understand the dynamics of organisations and their employees, and organisations’ interaction with their environment.

Making minds matter We are an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’.

Read more about Erasmus University Rotterdam