Post-doctoral Research Fellow Level 1 - temporary 24 months

Applications are invited for a temporary post of a UCD Post-doctoral Research Fellow Level 1 within UCD School of Politics and International Relations.

The ELECT project aims to understand the normative attitudes of key actors in the electoral process and the values that play a role in their decision-making processes, how those attitudes and values are shaped by different institutional and regulatory contexts, and the consequences of this for democratic norms and political trust. To this end, four agents in the electoral context are studied in four countries: candidates, campaign professionals, journalists and citizens in Germany, Italy, the UK and the USA. Surveys, interviews and focus groups are central to the data collection.

The postdoctoral researcher will join the project team in its third year, after most of the empirical data has been collected. Their central role will be to help analyse the qualitative data from the perspective of key themes in moral and political philosophy or other relevant normative lenses, identify normative issues that arise and prescribe normative solutions that are responsive to how the electoral actors experience their moral agency. The researcher will also be involved in the design and delivery of other data yet to be collected, such as citizen focus groups, as well as the analysis of this data.

Application materials: 

• Cover letter (max 2 pages), Including Writing sample (publication or work in progress, max 12,000 words) 
• CV (max 2 pages)

Fixed Salary: €45,847 per annum

Closing date: 12:00 noon (local Irish time) on the 9^th of June 2025.

Applications must be submitted by the closing date and time specified. Any applications which are still in progress at the closing time of 12:00 noon (Local Irish Time) on the specified closing date will be cancelled automatically by the system. UCD are unable to accept late applications.

UCD do not require assistance from Recruitment Agencies. Any CVs submitted by Recruitment Agencies will be returned.

The PD1 position is intended for early-stage researchers, either just after completion of a PhD or for someone entering a new area for the first time. If you have already completed your PD1 stage in UCD or will soon complete a PD1, or you are an external applicant whose total Postdoctoral experience, inclusive of the duration of the advertised post, would exceed 4 years, you should not apply and should refer to PD2 posts instead.

Prior to application, further information (including application procedure) should be obtained from the Work at UCD website: www.ucd.ie/workatucd/jobs

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