Assistant Professor in “societal transitions and behavioural change”

Join Our Team at Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences

The Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB) has intensified its research and education in the area of societal transitions and behavioural change. Are you a social or behavioural scientist with a PhD degree and experience with large scale projects and would you like to work in an interdisciplinary environment? Come join our behavioural resilience team as an assistant professor. At Erasmus University Rotterdam we offer impact-focused research and education in a dynamic and inspiring working environment.

Job Description

As an Assistant Professor in “societal transitions and behavioural change” you will develop your own innovative research line. Your focus is on health psychology and behaviour change and you are interested in how individual and system approaches contribute to achieving tangible impact on people’s health and wellbeing. Possible themes of interest are health and sustainability behaviors, resilience and (mental/relational) health, and digital technology and interventions. You will work together with social and behavioural scientists in the interdisciplinary BRAVE (Behavioural Resilience in Action for Vital Existence) team and will also collaborate with scholars from other ESSB teams. Societal transitions and behavioral change require a transdisciplinary approach. This implies both an interdisciplinary approach of scientific disciplines and an orientation on societal collaboration and impact.

In addition to your research work (40%), you will be participating in educational activities (60%): teaching in the Bachelor’s program Psychology and/or Pedagogics and in the international Master’s degree program Health Psychology. You co-develop and teach in courses on these themes. Additionally, you will supervise bachelor and master theses and internships.

The core tasks include:

• Participating in teaching in one or more of our programmes at Bachelor’s and Master’s level. Teaching involves individual supervision of research internships and theses, lectures and workgroups;
• Participating in the graduate school;
• Publishing and presenting research findings for academic and non-academic audiences;
• Contributing to the acquisition of external research funding.

Job Requirements

The following job requirements apply:

• A PhD degree in a relevant discipline (Psychology, Pedagogical Sciences, Behavioral Science, Health Sciences, Social Sciences, or related);
• Strong affinity with societal transitions and behavioural change;
• Experience in carrying out interdisciplinary research projects including, multistakeholders;
• Preferably experience with both qualitative and quantitative research methods;
• Experience with and committed to engaged, impact-driven research;
• Experience in academic teaching in the social or behavioural sciences, with an eye for innovation in teaching methods, and the ability to contribute to various of our educational programmes (broad employability);
• Candidates who don’t have a formal teaching qualification, are expected to acquire it within two years (according to University Teaching Qualification (BKO) standards);
• Ability in, and preferably experience with, acquiring external research funding;
• Motivated to contribute to open and transparent science;
• Excellent communication skills, teamplayer, development-oriented;
• Excellent proficiency in Dutch and English (both at least at level C1 of the Common European Framework).

Employment Conditions and Benefits

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

The start date of this position is as soon as possible and you will be based at Campus Woudestein - Rotterdam in Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB). This position is for 0.8 fte - 1 fte. The salary is dependent on your experience and knowledge and ranges from a minimum of € 4.537 to a maximum of € 6.209 gross per month scale 11 on a fulltime basis (38 hours), in accordance with the CAO-NU. The contract is offered for a period of 1 year and can be converted into an employment contract for an indefinite period if suitability is proven and if continued in the same position, if (financial and/or organizational) circumstances remain the same.

Employer

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 4,100 academics and professionals and almost 33,000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities.

Faculty / Institute / Central Service

Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences

The Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences is home to a vast diversity of scientific disciplines: public administration, pedagogical sciences, psychology and sociology. In addition, the Erasmus University College, IHS, and two research institutes RISBO and DRIFT are linked to the faculty. This also reflects in the content of the (international) bachelor's and master's programs and in research. Our activities are always focused on people and society. At the ESSB fundamental, internationally oriented research is of paramount importance. In addition, social research for professionals, policy makers, and the society is part of our research activities. ESSB offers a stimulating research environment where major national and international research grants are received. Appealing guest researchers and ambitious PhD candidates come along to conduct their research. Our education is small-scale and works with innovative forms of education such as Problem-Based Learning (PBL). Both the Dutch and English programs are highly ranked by students and alumni. ESSB is home to over 4,000 students and more than 400 staff-members. The different disciplines are supported by the Faculty Office.

Group

Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies (DPECS)

Our department consists of 6 teams covering the disciplines of Psychology, Educational Sciences and Pedagogical Sciences; three closely related disciplines with each their own profile. The different psychological specialization areas of DPECS focus on understanding cognitive, physical, and social functioning and well-being in the context of mental health, education, and work. The educational sciences focus on issues regarding effectiveness and inclusion in primary, secondary and tertiary education. The pedagogical sciences focus on issues related to everyday as well as problematic development and upbringing within families, at school and in youth care. The disciplinary perspectives of DPECS complement each other and share the mission to generate societal impact with high-quality scientifical research on timely societal issues, and with the use of innovative methods and techniques and open science. The bachelor and master programs of DPECS build on this mission and educate students to become scientifically trained professionals for the society of the future.

Our department also has access to an excellent laboratory for research and education purposes. The Erasmus Behavioural Lab offers state-of-the art facilities, including video observation, EEG, eye-tracking, virtual reality, experience sampling, and biofeedback.

Department

BRAVE

We apply behavioural science expertise to facilitate societal transitions to create resilient and inclusive communities, through inter- and transdisciplinary research and collaboration with societal stakeholders. Our team consists of 20 scholars. Our core values are ​compassion, purpose, transparency and teamwork, to realize a tangible impact on the health and well-being of individuals and systems. Our research focuses on behavioural change and societal transitions in metropolitan areas. We combine psychological, sociological and technological approaches to promote resilience and well-being. Key themes include multidimensional wellbeing, youth resilience, relational and sexual development and education, social inequality, digital technology, AI and behavioural interventions. We work closely with national and international partners, such as governments, healthcare institutions, and NGOs, and we apply an open science approach to achieve maximum impact. We offer a Master's track in Health Psychology, focusing on behavioural change and digital interventions. Our educational approach combines scientific theory with practice-oriented skills and real-life project assignments. In addition, we offer various electives and minors, and we participate in other psychology and pedagogical sciences courses. Students can collaborate with societal partners in healthcare and sustainability through internships and research projects.