Call for application Post-doc on CRIMGOV Project

The role

CEE Sciences Po is seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in a fixed term appointment, for 1 year, from October 1st 2024 or soon thereafter. The post holder will join a team of researchers funded by a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant led by Professor Federico Varese (Principal Investigator).

The project (CRIMGOV) aims to rethink the concept of organized crime (OC) and will develop a new framework that distinguishes key activities of OC groups. CRIMGOV will study a broad range of organized crime in depth: local cybercrime production hubs, the international trade of drugs, and the emergence of criminal governance inside and outside prisons. The project will produce high-quality data sets that are hard to collect and time-consuming to code, a challenging and risky yet highly rewarding contribution to knowledge. Breaking traditional disciplinary boundaries between the social sciences and adopting a global outlook, CRIMGOV will overturn long-held theoretical approaches, produce substantial new findings and data, and speak to scholars across different disciplines.

The post holder will join one of the sub-projects within the CRIMGOV research group to carry out research which examines international drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe. Their goal is to code judicial documents, conduct other forms of secondary data collection, and conduct field interviews in Brazil and Colombia. They will also be a member of and participate in the activities of the entire Project team and will be asked to contribute to those activities as required by the Principal Investigator. The post holder is expected to present a certain level of experience in original data collection and in-depth knowledge of Brazil and Colombia. 

The position is based at CEE, Sciences Po but the place of residence of the post holder is negotiable. The position is part-time, fixed at 80% (4 working days).

Responsibilities

• Conduct coding of texts in Spanish and Portuguese.
• Conduct field interviews in Colombia and Brazil.
• Manage own academic research and administrative activities. This will involve small-scale project management, coordinating multiple aspects of work.
• Adapt existing and develop new research methodologies and materials, as required.
• Collect and analyse mainly qualitative data from a variety of sources, reviewing and refining theories as appropriate.
• Contribute to research publications.
• Contribute to CRIMGOV team activities as required.
• Represent the research group at internal and external meetings/seminars and present papers at conferences and public meetings.
• Carry out collaborative projects with colleagues in the team, partner departments and international collaborators.
• Represent the research group at external meetings/seminars, either with other members of the group or alone.
• Any other duties as required by the PI that are commensurate with the grade and responsibilities of the post.

Selection criteria

Essential selection criteria

• Hold (or be close to completion of) a relevant PhD in history, sociology, criminology, anthropology, law, or related fields, together with relevant experience.
• Strong background in Latin American studies, at or near the level of a native speaker in both Spanish and Portuguese.
• Ability and willingness to travel to the region to collect documents in archives, code and organize written texts also collected from online data sources and archives and conduct field interviews.
• Possess sufficient specialist knowledge in the humanities and/or social sciences to work within established research programmes.
• Ability to manage own academic research and associated activities.
• Previous experience of contributing to publications/presentations.
• Ability to organise complex sets of information and develop granular work schedules.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write for publication, present research proposals and results, and represent the research group at meetings.
• Willingness to work with sensitive data and handling confidential information. The post holder might be required to sign a confidentiality deed as a part of the appointment process.

Desirable selection criteria

• An interest in an interdisciplinary approach to research on organised crime and understanding how organised crime groups conduct their activities.
• Experience in independently managing a discrete area of a research project.
• Experience in actively collaborating in the development of research articles for publication.

How to apply

Please send: 

• a cover letter outlining precisely the qualifications and skills that match the requirements for the position, and previous work experience carrying out similar tasks to those required here. 
• a CV
• a writing sample (an article or master thesis) 

to recruitment.cee@sciencespo.fr   by 5pm on June 25, 2024. Please indicate in the object: Application for CRIMGOV - Post-doc position

Interviews will be planned at the beginning of July.

Queries about these posts should be addressed to Professor Federico Varese at: federico.varese@sciencespo.fr and to Eleonora Russo eleonora.russo@sciencespo.fr

All enquiries will be treated in strict confidence and will not form part of the selection decision.