Job position

2 POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS (R1) 

Applications are invited for two research assistants to work on a 5- year project ‘Who Counts? Incorporating a ‘missing minority’ to reexamine the profile, drivers and depth of poverty across Europe’. Funded by the European Research Council, WHOCOUNTS aims to improve understanding of the nature and prevalence of poverty across Europe. The successful candidates will work in collaboration with the PI (Dr Daniel Edmiston) and the postdoctoral research team (Dr Joaquín Alcañiz Colomer and Dr Laman Orujova) to collect and analyse data on those currently ‘missing’ from income surveys used to construct official statistics on poverty and disadvantage. Specifically, the two research assistants will:

- Contribute towards the systematic compilation, cleaning and synthesis of data on the non-private-household population: homeless people and those residing in care homes, hospitals, military accommodation, immigration removal centres, communal student establishments, mobile accommodation, prisons, hostels and temporary accommodation.

- Review surveys, national accounts and administrative data, as well as undertake literature reviews on the non-private household population.

- Conduct expert informant meetings on relevant population subgroups for several European countries (online).

- Contribute towards data imputation activities to improve the accuracy of poverty estimates.

- Support analysis of adjusted and unadjusted datasets to examine poverty trends, profiles and determinants.

- Collaborate with the rest of the project team on research and dissemination activities.

- Contribute towards authorship of research outputs.

- Carry out additional academic or administrative duties associated with the project.

- Support the organisation of academic events and seminars during the project.

The project will be carried out at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) – the top University in Spain according to the QS World Rankings 2023 – which offers excellent facilities and opportunities for career development. You will be based in the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology and affiliated to the Institute of Government and Public Policy (IGOP).

The successful candidates will preferably start between September and December 2024 depending on their availability and residency status. The posts are available for 1 year with the option of extension. The successful post-holders will benefit from an excellent research environment. A dedicated training budget is also available to support the professional development of post-holders

Job position requirements (skills/languages/required experience)

(E = essential, D = desirable)

• Hold a PhD in a relevant field (such as Social Policy, Demography, Sociology, Political Science or a related discipline within the Social Sciences) by the start date of the post. (E)

• Knowledge and experience of applying (advanced) quantitative methods in social science research, drawing on statistical programmes such as STATA, R and SPSS. (E)

• Experience in handling data, especially data wrangling and merging datasets.(E)

• Experience of collecting and synthesising information from multiple data sources across European countries. (D)

• Familiarity and experience with cross-national datasets such as EU-SILC and LIS. (D)

• Familiarity with live debates within poverty analysis and/or comparative social policy. (D)

• Familiarity with live debates surrounding the measurement of poverty and living standards.(D)

• Familiarity with open science research processes (e.g., writing and reviewing code for storage in public repositories, etc.). (D)

• Ability to work independently, use your initiative and collaborate effectively as part of a larger project team. (E)

• Excellent organisation and time-management skills to be able to complete tasks in a timely manner. (E)

• Excellent written communication, presentation and interpersonal skills. (E)

• An excellent command of English to collaborate with wider project team. (E)

• Proficiency in any of the following languages is welcome: French, Greek, Finnish, Swedish, Hungarian, Italian or Portuguese (D)

• Demonstrated ability to disseminate research findings to academic and non-academic audiences. (D)

Benefits

Gross salary €31.000, social security...

Eligibility criteria:  Out of 100 points

• Academic record – 30 points

Doctorate in Social Policy, Demography, Sociology, Political Science or a related discipline within the Social Sciences. (30); Generic Doctorate (5)

• Relevant research experience – 25 points

Demonstratable research autonomy and leadership through highquality, independent academic research. And familiarity and experience with cross-national datasets such as EU-SILC and LIS (25), Some experience of research autonomy and leadership through acadèmic research. And familiarity with cross-national datasets such as EU-SILC (5)

• Languages – 10 points

English B2 (5), English C1 or higher (10)

• IT Skills – 10 points

Advanced knowledge of applying quantitative methods in social sciences, based on statistical programs such as STATA, R and SPSS (10)

• Interview – 25 points

Minimum score: 80

Selection process:

1st phase – Assessment of applications

2nd phase - Interview (Only candidates who exceed 65 points in the 1st Phase)

To validate this request, you must validate the form that is accessed at the URL https://seleccio.uab.cat/. Any application that is not submitted in this way will not be included in the selection process.

In addition, candidates can send their applications, along with the requested documentation in an integrated pdf to Dr. Daniel Edmiston Daniel.Edmiston@uab.cat

Please write ”WHOCOUNTS Application” in the subject line. Interested candidates are encouraged to submit informal enquiries to Dr. Daniel Edmiston directly, and apply as soon as possible.