Saarland University is a campus university that is internationally recognized for its strong research programmes.

Fostering young academic talent and creating ideal conditions for teaching and research are a core part of the

university’s mission. As part of the University of the Greater Region, Saarland University enables students and staff to

share and exchange knowledge and ideas between disciplines, between universities and across borders. With over

17,000 national and international students, studying more than a hundred different academic disciplines, Saarland

University is a diverse and dynamic learning environment. [Saarland University is officially recognized as one of

Germany’s family-friendly higher-education institutions and with a combined workforce of more than 4,000 it is one

of the largest employers in the region.]

The Department of Social-Scientific European Studies is inviting applications for the following position commencing

at the earliest opportunity.

Academic research assistant (m/f/x)
Reference number W2210, salary in accordance with the German TV-L salary scale1, pay grade: E13 TV- L, duration

of employment: 01.03.2023 – 28.02.2026, volume of employment: 100 % of standard working time.

Workplace/Department:

Department of Social-Scientific European Studies

Job requirements and responsibilities:

How can we conceptualize and empirically measure political trust and legitimacy beyond the usual survey question

“How much trust do you have in the parliament?”? Does the multi-level nature of European representative

democracies require an identical level of citizen support at the regional, national and EU level? How does social

polarization on key policy issues of our times –immigration, climate change, and gender inequality– challenge the

political trust in, and legitimacy of, democratic political systems? And what can policymakers and civil society do to

master these challenges? The ActEU project aims at finding answers to these questions and provides an innovative

conceptual framework on political attitudes, behavior and representation across Europe.

The task of our work package located at the Saarland University (USAAR) seeks to establish an original empirical

infrastructure based on newly collected quantitative and qualitative empirical data (focus groups, experimental

1 TV-L = collective agreement on remuneration of public sector employees in the German Länder
The pay grade assigned to an employee depends on their professional qualifications and the number of years of service. Each pay grade is
further subdivided into levels. Entry-level employees with no previous experience will initially be assigned a level 1 rating. After one year at
level 1 of the E10 pay grade, an employee will move up to level 2. After a further two years, the employee will move to level 3, etc.

surveys, web scraping) and contributes to the creation of a toolbox of remedial actions to enhance political trust in

and legitimacy of European representative democracies.

As a postdoctoral researcher at UdS you will be part of an interdisciplinary, highly motivated European consortium of

over 40 members at 12 universities and have the opportunity to advance your own career in the international

community with a cutting-edge research question.

Your tasks within ActEU:

• Setting up the project's data infrastructure (together with the WP leaders Daniela Braun and Ann-Kathrin Reinl).

• Taking over communication with survey institutes and data archives.

• Contributing to the preparation of focus group discussions and partly supervising their implementation on site.

• Contributing to the development of questionnaires for international public opinion surveys with experimental

components.

• Advisory on web-scraping activities of the project.

• Writing project reports.

• Representing the project at (inter-)national conferences.

• Publishing at scientific outlets based on the data collected within the project (either alone or in co-authorship with

the WP leaders)

Your profile:

• Research interest in the topics of political trust, representation and/or satisfaction with democracy

• Quantitative research profile

• Very good Stata or R skills

• Very good English skills

• Experiences with setting up focus groups and/or international surveys

Your academic qualifications:

• Doctoral degree / PhD : Very good completed (or nearly completed) dissertation in the fields of political science,

sociology or survey methodology

• Language skills (according to GER): excellent spoken and written English; any other European language (in

particular German) is considered as an additional benefit

The successful candidate will also be expected to:

• have social and communication skills, as well as demonstrated administrative and organizational skills, incl. self-

direction

• have some experiences of working in collaborative international research projects

What we can offer you:

• A flexible work schedule allowing you to balance work and family, among other things the possibility of

teleworking

• Secure and future-oriented employment with attractive conditions

• A broad range of further education and professional development programmes (for example language courses)

• An occupational health management model with numerous attractive options, such as our university sports

programme

• Supplementary pension scheme (RZVK)

• Discounted tickets on local public transport services (‘Job-Ticket Plus‘ of the saarVV)

We look forward to receiving your meaningful online application (in a PDF file) by 19.12.2022 to d.braun@uni-

saarland.de. Please include the reference number W2210 in the subject line of the e-mail. Shortlisted applicants

will be informed before Christmas and online interviews will be conducted between 09.-12.01.2023.

If you have any questions, please contact us for assistance. Your contact:

Daniela Braun: d.braun@uni-saarland.de; Ann-Kathrin-Reinl: AnnKathrin.Reinl@UGent.be

Pay grade classification is based on the particular details of the position held and the extent to which the applicant meets the

requirements of the pay grade within the TV-L salary scale. Part-time employment is generally possible.

If you have obtained a foreign university degree, a proof of the equivalence of this degree with a German degree by the

Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen (ZAB) is needed before hiring. If necessary, please apply for this in time. You can

find more information at https://www.kmk.org/zeugnisbewertung.

Unfortunately, neither costs for attending an interview at Saarland University nor costs for any certificate evaluation by the ZAB

can be reimbursed in principle.

We welcome applications regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion/belief, disability, age, and sexual

orientation and identity. In accordance with its policy of increasing the proportion of women, the University actively encourages

applications from women. Applications from severely disabled persons will be given preferential consideration in the event of

equal suitability.

When you submit a job application to Saarland University you will be transmitting personal data. Please refer to our privacy notice

for information on how we collect and process personal data in accordance with Art. 13 of the Datenschutz-Grundverordnung. By

submitting your application you confirm that you have taken note of the information in the Saarland University privacy notice.