Postdoctoral researcher

Your duties

We are looking for two postdoctoral researchers who will work on investigating the technological breakthroughs enabling the next era of understanding, identification and mitigation of radicalisation and extremism, and will work together with the PI. The prospective postdoctoral researchers will investigate and analyse data from law enforcement to produce knowledge, foster collaboration, and develop specific approaches against gender-related radicalisation activities. You will work to prepare deliverables geared towards capacity building through training materials and resources tailored to practitioner needs, and policy and practice innovation by integrating gender-sensitive perspectives into counter-radicalisation strategies.

The successful candidate will advance AMALTHEA’s research and engagement agenda in collaboration with project partners.

• Engage with law enforcement agencies, NGOs, and community partners to capture evolving challenges and needs of counter-extremism.
• Conduct qualitative research and discourse analysis; ensure that diverse societal perspectives are represented in findings and outputs.
• Publish results in peer-reviewed journals and contribute to policy-oriented publications and practitioner guidance.
• Contribute to seminars, workshops, and knowledge mobilisation activities across the project network.

Your profile

• A PhD degree in organisational ethnography or related discipline (anthropology, human geography, sociology, political science, legal studies, etc.). The degree must have been obtained prior to the employment start date.
• A record of publications appropriate to the career stage, which demonstrates the ability to conduct research and publish in internationally recognised journals.
• Strong background in gender analysis, including familiarity with feminist or intersectional approaches.
• Proven experience with qualitative research methods and content or discourse analysis.
• Ability to work with sensitive topics and populations under strict ethical standards; legal expertise is an advantage.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English; another spoken language is considered an advantage, especially Greek, Romanian, and Spanish.
• Capacity to work independently and collaboratively in international and interdisciplinary teams.

What do we offer?

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

• a salary of minimum € 3.546,00 (Scale 10) and maximum € 5.538,00 (Scale 10) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Researcher 4. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
• a position for at least 0.4 FTE. Your employment contract will initially last 18 months. Afterwards, there is no prospect of a permanent contract.

We also offer attractive fringe benefits and a competitive work environment. Some examples:

• A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• solid pension scheme (ABP)
• possibility to save holiday hours, for sabbatical leave
• discount on (and occasionally exclusive access to) theatre performances and courses at the Griffioen Cultural Center

About us

The research project AMALTHEA: enAbling a Model driven deep understAnding of the roLe of gender Towards a Holistic solution against Extremism and radicalisation Activities is funded by the European Research Executive Agency (REA) under the Horizon Europe (Grant Agreement No. 101225661) and led by Dr Ioana Vrăbiescu.

This Horizon Europe research initiative brings together a consortium of fifteen partners, including academic institutions, technical and civil society organisations, and law enforcement agencies (LEAs), from across Europe and Canada, to better understand the causes and manifestations of violent extremism and mitigate its practices. The project critically examines the relationship between gender and extremism, investigating gender specific factors for radicalisation such as community belonging, social connections, trauma, and empowerment narratives.

AMALTHEA addresses the challenge of limited access to knowledge, collaboration, and unified approaches to counter gender-related radicalisation through in-depth research and innovation in three complementary areas. Knowledge creation for law enforcement agencies, civil society organisations, educators, and prevention practitioners. Despite the importance of the role of gender in radicalisation and CVE initiatives, research and practice in this field have remained mainly gender blind. AMALTHEA seeks to move beyond traditional approaches by generating gender-sensitive empirical evidence, integrating feminist and intersectional insights into the design and implementation of preventive measures and technical tools, and providing actionable knowledge for practitioners and policymakers.

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

A better understanding of ourselves and social communities, values and meaning, through social sciences and humanities. That is the aim of The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. No single discipline can do this alone. The SSH disciplines are characterised by an open way of thinking and the natural urge to seek coherence and connection.

The faculty consists of nine academic departments within three schools: School of Religion & Theology (SRT), School of Social Sciences (SSc) and School of Humanities (SH).

Are you interested in joining Social Sciences and Humanities? You become part of a dynamic academic community with approximately 900 staff members, over 5,000 regular students and more than 5,000 course participants. In an inspiring and collegial environment, we work together on education and research with impact.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely - a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research.

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility. Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.