Student assistant on the effectiveness of anti-corruption strategies

Administrative corruption is one of the most pressing unresolved issues of our time, causing severe societal harm worldwide. Despite various (inter)national treaties, regulations, and procedures of good governance, anti-corruption efforts often fail on the organizational level – why?

Join us as a student researcher to help find out!

You will support the VENI-funded research project “Elevating Public Integrity by Preventing Corruption” (EPIC), led by Dr. Kristina S. Weißmüller. This project aims to discover the latent typologies and success factors of effective anti-corruption strategy design for public organizations. To find out which anti-corruption strategies work and why, the first step of the project is to conduct a systematic literature review, particularly focusing on micro and meso-level factors such as organization, accountability mechanisms, human decision-making and moral judgment, and leadership.

Your responsibilities include support for conducting this systematic literature review. This entails screening scientific databases for relevant literature, summarizing the relevant scholarly discourse, researching cases from practice, and supporting the (meta-)synthesis and meta-analysis of the selected literature.

Your Duties

• Desk research: Searching academic databases for relevant literature, summarizing relevant research on topics
• Help with preparation work for conducting the study (e.g., pre-registration in OSF) and search query engineering
• Helping with organizing, selection, and screening of relevant papers
• Descriptive and thematic coding of the selected papers (qualitative & quantitative)
• Supporting meta-analytical research on the selected papers in R

Your Profile

• Currently pursuing a bachelor or (research) master in the field of public administration, business administration, governance, organizational studies, psychology, or related social sciences
• Strong interest in academic research in general and in the above described topic in particular
• Empirical research skills, such as experience with systematic literature review, and qualitative and quantitative coding; experience in using R and Atlas.ti (or similar analytical software) is an advantage
• Very good communication skills and proficiency in English
• Reliability, diligence (eye for detail), good teamwork
• Willingness and ability to regularly be present in the office at VU Amsterdam but also work independently to some degree

As a university, we strive for equal opportunities for all, recognizing that diversity takes many forms. We believe that diversity in all its complexity is invaluable for the quality of our teaching, research, and service. We are always looking for talent with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This also means that we are committed to creating an inclusive community so that we can use diversity as an asset.

We realize that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise, and mindset. Therefore, we are happy to invite anyone who recognizes themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.

What Do We Offer?

A challenging position in a socially engaged organization. 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 € 2.870,00 (SA) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on the UFO profile Student assistant step 2, step 3, and step 4. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
• a position for at least 0.2 FTE. Your employment contract will initially last 3.5 months (13th Jan 2025 – 31st March 2025), with the option for extension.

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and regulations. 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
• a wide range of sports facilities which staff may use at a modest charge
• discount on (and occasionally exclusive access to) theater performances and courses at the Griffioen Cultural Center
• hybrid working enables a good work-life balance

About Us

Department of Political Science and Public Administration
You will be employed at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration within the Faculty of Social Sciences. This is a large and diverse department with many multidisciplinary research projects into societally relevant topics.

Faculty of Social Sciences
At the Faculty of Social Sciences, we examine the major social issues facing us today from a variety of critical perspectives. We combine sociology, anthropology, political science, communication science, administration, and organization. Because there aren’t any ready-made solutions to the complex social issues of today, they demand a multidisciplinary approach. Working together with others helps you expand your mind, come to new ways of understanding, and devise creative solutions.

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 the planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research.

Diversity is the driving force of the VU. The VU wants to be accessible and receptive to diversity in disciplines, cultures, ideas, nationalities, beliefs, preferences, and worldviews. We believe that trust, respect, interest and differences lead to new insights and innovation, to sharpness and clarity, to excellence, and a broader understanding.

Interested?

Are you interested in this position and do you believe that your experience will contribute to the excellence of our services? In that case, we encourage you to submit your application, even if you don't meet all requirements. Please apply by submitting your CV and a short motivation (why you are interested in the position, why you think that you are suitable for it particularly regarding the methodological job fit in +/- 350 words). Preferred starting date is 13 January 2025.

Applications received by e-mail will not be considered.