40 FB 1 Research Assistant / PhD Candidate (m/f/d) DFG-funded Research Training Group ECORISK B4

The DFG-funded Research Training Group "Ecological Regime Shifts and Systemic Risk in Coupled Social-Ecological Systems" (ECORISK), which has been running since 2024, brings together perspectives from behavioural economics, ecological modeling, environmental systems science, geography, geoinformatics, political science and sociology. Within the framework of three thematic clusters (Ecosystem Dynamics, Human activities and Governance), ECORISK deals with the causes of ecological regime shifts and the systemic risks they pose as well as their consequences in socio-ecological systems. Intensive agriculture serves as a guiding example. The Research Training Group is located at Osnabrück University, whose diverse research attracts students and scholars from around the world to a liveable city.

In the subproject ›B4 Farm Handovers: Understanding Non-Adaption to Systemic Risks‹   at the Institute for Social Sciences, a position as

Research Assistant / PhD Candidate (m/f/d)
(Pay grade 13 TV-L, 75%)


is to be filled on a fixed-term basis until September 30, 2029, starting on October 1, 2026.


Your Duties:

  • Scientific work on the topic of the sub project ›B4 Farm Handovers: Understanding Non-Adaption to Systemic Risks‹
  • Participation in and contribution to the events of the Research Training Group

Requirements:

  • Very good completed academic degree in the field of sociology or a related discipline within the social sciences
  • Strong research interest in social-ecological transformation conflicts
  • Very good written and spoken English language skills

Additional Qualifications:

  • Experience in interdisciplinary and international cooperation
  • Strong understanding of economic sociology or sociology of work perspectives
  • Very good knowledge of agriculture
  • Research experience with qualitative methods
  • Gender and diversity competencies

We offer:

  • Participation in an exciting and highly topical research project
  • A structured doctoral program at Osnabrück University
  • Integration in a research-intensive working group
  • Opportunities to acquire relevant research experience
  • Collegial collaboration in an interdisciplinary, international, and diversity-oriented team that values equity
  • Tailored training opportunities
  • Opportunities for partial remote work and flexible working hours

Osnabrück University is a family-friendly university and is committed to helping working/studying parents balance their family and working lives.

Osnabrück University seeks to guarantee equality of opportunity for women and men and strives to correct any gender imbalance in its schools and departments.

If two candidates are equally qualified, preference will be given to the candidate with disability status.

Please send applications, including a maximum two-page motivation letter for the advertised position, and a maximum two-page outline of your own ideas for the design of the subproject, a curriculum vitae (CV) (possibly including a list of publications), transcripts of previous academic degrees (BA/MA, including Transcripts of Records), and the name and email address of a potential reference, in electronic form as a PDF file via email by May 17, 2026, to:  ecorisk@uos.de. Please include the number of the subproject or subprojects you are applying for in the subject line.

For questions regarding this job advertisement, please also contact the subproject leader Prof. Dr. Hajo Holst ( haholst@uni-osnabrueck.de).

Further information about this subproject B4 and the Collaborative Research Center can be found at:  www.uos.de/ecorisk