Full-time Academic Position in International Relations - Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences

Reference : 2022/A012

Application deadline: 31/01/2023

Start date: 01/10/2023                                                     

Job description         

Area of Research : Political science: International relations, international environmental politics

The Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) is inviting applications for a full-time academic position in the Department of political science, with a focus on international relations and international environmental politics.

The selected candidate will hold a PhD in political science, international relations or a closely related field. They will have experience in higher education teaching as well as in carrying out research at an international level, and demonstrate an excellent scientific track record.

The selected candidate’s teaching and research activities will be carried out within the study programmes and research centres of the ULB’s Department of Political Science. The Department is part of the Faculty of Philosophy and social sciences (https://phisoc.ulb.be). It currently counts 22 full-time permanent staff working across all fields of political science. Full-time academic staff members are affiliated with one of the Department’s internationally recognised research centres, and teach in the Department’s undergraduate and graduate degree programmes, which bring together a community of approximately 2.000 students.

The selected candidate will be expected to teach and conduct independent research in international studies, with a particular focus on international environmental politics. Further specialisation (e.g. in international political economy, international political sociology, political geography, and so on) or thematic focus (e.g. on international organisations, transnational social movements, international public policy, and so on) are welcome but not required.

The selected candidate will contribute to the Department’s teaching activities at undergraduate (BA) and graduate (MA) level, particularly within the MA in international relations. They will have the ability to coordinate teams of instructors and to teach both in English and French. Lastly, they will be expected to supervise MA theses and final dissertations at MA level in their domains of expertise as well as in the wider field of international studies.

The selected candidate will further contribute to the research activities of the Department of political science. They will be invited to participate in research taking place at the ULB’s Centre for international politics (REPI, Recherche et études en politique internationale), or to develop new research directions within the Centre. They will demonstrate their ability to, or potential for conducting research and disseminating results at an international level. Additionally, they will demonstrate their ability to, or potential for setting up collaborative research project and apply for both internal and external funding (e.g. FNRS or European research funds, among others). Lastly, they will be expected to supervise doctoral and postdoctoral researchers.

Courses to be taught upon recruitment:

The typical teaching load for a full-time academic staff member of the Department includes four courses or equivalent per academic year, for a total of 96 contact hours. Teaching should ideally be evenly distributed between the undergraduate and graduate level, and is adjusted based on the Department’s needs and resources. Academic staff are also expected to supervise or read MA theses and final dissertations. 

The selected candidate will eventually be expected to take on administrative or logistical responsibilities related to the Department’s teaching or research activities, depending on needs.

In their first year of employment, the selected candidate will be invited:

• To design and teach a new MA-level course in English entitled International Environmental Politics. The course will be a mandatory module for students enrolled in the first year of the MA in international relations. Without necessarily being limited to the following, the course could deal, for instance, with themes such as: the international dimension and organisation of the fight against climate changes and environmental damage, or of the protection of biodiversity; the politics, controversies, struggles and societal mobilisations related to the protection of the environment in an international, transnational or global perspective; or international public policies in the field of environmental protection, energy or resource extraction.
• To teach and coordinate the course Approches méthodiques de questions politiques (POLID104, https://www.ulb.be/fr/programme/poli-d104-1) OR its English language version Methodical Approaches of Political Issues (POLID108, https://www.ulb.be/fr/programme/poli-d108-1). The course is a mandatory module for the first year of the Department’s BA in Political Science. It is meant to provide students with foundational methodological tools required for undergraduate studies in social and political science. The course supports students in developing active reading, academic writing as well as bibliographic and referencing skills. In addition to taking charge of a seminar group, the selected candidate will ensure the overall coordination of the team of instructors involved in the course.

These two courses will be complemented by a third in the second year of employment and a fourth during the third year. These courses will be taught either in English or French, and either at the BA or MA level, depending on the Department’s needs and resources, and should focus on international issues.

The selected candidate will be appointed as Associate professor. Depending on the assessment of prior relevant professional experience, the appointment will either be for a tenured or tenure-track position of 5 years at the most.

Qualifications required :

PhD Degree (with doctoral thesis) in political science, international relations or closely related field.

Skills required 

• Applicants should have at least 4 years of research experience at the time of their recruitment.
• Post-doctoral experience and an excellent scientific record are a plus.
• Exchange periods outside of the applicants’ home institution (during or after their PhD) will be taken into consideration when evaluating applications.
• Applicants who do not speak French (level C1) may be granted a period of adaptation, but they must be able to teach in French at the end of the third year following their appointment.

Interested ?

For more information, please contact Julien Jeandesboz, Chair of the Department of political science (phone number: +32 2 650.33.84 – Email: julien.jeandesboz@ulb.be )

Applications must be sent by e-mail to the rectorate of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (rectrice@ulb.be) and to the faculty deanship (SPES.Philoscsoc@ulb.be).

They must include the following, regrouped in a single file :

• an application letter 
• a Curriculum vitae including a list of publications :

1. if you want you can complete a standard form via our website at https://www.ulb.be/fr/documents-officiels/completer-votre-cv-en-ligne.  Once completed, it must be downloaded and attached to the application file.

• a 7,000-character report (4 pages) presenting the applicant’s research activities and a research project, including how these will integrate into ULB’s research teams
• a teaching dossier including a 7,000-character report (4 pages) on the applicant's previous teaching activities and a teaching project for the first five years in this position; these must be relevant to the faculty and to the teaching profiles for the programmes to which the applicant is to contribute. In particular, candidates are kindly requested to include a detailed outline for the course International Environmental Politics
• a note on the applicant's international achievements and projects (no more than 4 pages)
• the names and e-mail addresses of five referees (respecting the gender balance) who may be contacted by those in charge of evaluating applications.  These referees should not have conflicts of interest because of family or emotional ties.

The appointment to the academic staff of ULB is made at ”Chargé de Cours” level. As of their appointment, members of academic staff are authorised to use the honorary title of ”Professeur”.

Equal opportunities policy

ULB's personnel management policy is geared towards diversity and equal opportunities.

We recruit candidates on the basis of their skills, irrespective of age, gender, sexual orientation, origin, nationality, beliefs, disability, etc.

Would you like to be provided with reasonable accommodation in the selection procedure because of a disability, disorder, or illness?  Please contact Marie Botty, the person in charge of diversity aspects for the academic and scientific staff (marie.botty@ulb.be). Be assured of the confidentiality of this information.

More details on the ULB gender and diversity policy are available at https://www.ulb.be/en/about-ulb/gender-equality-at-ulb. 

You will find all the regulations relating to academic careers on our site at http://www.ulb.ac.be/emploi/academique.html.