Job Opening: Research Assistant (Postdoc) (f/m/d) Full-time, fixed-term (3 years)

Job Opening: Research Assistant (Postdoc) (f/m/d) Full-time, fixed-term (3 years)

The Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script” (SCRIPTS) at Freie Universität Berlin invites applications for a Research Assistant (Postdoc) (f/m/d) position (full‑time, limited to three years; Entgeltgruppe 13 TV‑L FU).

The position is part of SCRIPTS Project ID 4 , which examines how contestations of the liberal script play out within UNESCO and the OECD, focusing on science ethics (bioethics and AI ethics). The project asks under what conditions contestation – internal or external, shaped by power differentials and polarization – leads to progressive re‑articulation of liberal norms, regressive re‑scripting, resistance, or outright de‑scripting of institutional design, legitimacy, and policy outputs in these two organizations.

Tasks

• Active participation in the research project on UNESCO and the OECD
• Leading data collection and contributing to data analysis (quantitative and qualitative)
• Mentoring student assistants involved in the project
• Contributing to joint project publications and pursuing independent publications

Requirements

• Completed PhD in Political Science, Sociology, International Relations, or a related field
• Experience working in international and interdisciplinary research teams
• Strong command of quantitative and qualitative methods, ideally including computational large‑text‑data analysis and qualitative comparative case studies
• Strong command of English (C1)
• Desirable: track record of highly‑ranked peer‑reviewed publications in political science, IR, or sociology
• Desirable: substantial knowledge of international organizations, ideally UNESCO and/or OECD specifically
• Willingness to supervise student research assistants and collaborate closely within the project team