The Faculty of Arts invites applications for a

Postdoctoral Researcher (History / Social sciences)

to fixed-term employment from November 15, 2023, to May 15, 2026. The position is in the Department of Philosophy, History and Art Studies.

The postdoctoral researcher will be employed for 30 months to conduct independent research within the Finnish Research Council -funded project ’Gatekeeping the Nation: Deportation at Finnish Borderscapes from the Cold War to Europeanization’. 
Led by Senior Researcher, Dr Miika Tervonen, GATE undertakes the first systematic long-term analysis of modern Finnish deportation policy. The project examines previously unused archival sources, interviews, and administrative data to analyse changing laws, practices, and actors – including deportable migrants themselves – involved in the forced removals, from the Cold War to present-day Europeanized borderscapes.

The appointee will be a member of a four-person project team, as well as take part in teaching and other activities within the multidisciplinary Centre of Excellence Law, Identity and The European Narratives (EuroStorie, 2018-2025), situated at the Centre for European Studies.

The postdoctoral researcher is expected to contribute to at least two of the following three work packages:

1. Investigating changing practices of removal, with the aim of understanding the shifting architecture, processes, and outcomes of deportation policy.
2. Examining foreign policy dimensions of gatekeeping, with the aim to understand the changing role of international processes, actors, and frameworks (e.g. readmission agreements, Common European Asylum System, New Pact on Migration and Asylum) in Finnish deportation policy.
3. Investigating migrant perspectives: through interviews and ‘counter-reading’ of administrative sources, the aim is to examine the agency, experiences and ‘tactics of everyday life’ and remigrations of persons targeted with deportation orders.

The postdoctoral researcher’s individual project will be shaped according to their interests and experience but should contribute to the project’s overall scope. The appointee should have expertise in historical and/or social science research on migration, borders, refugeedom, and/or deportation. The appointee takes part in cooperative data collecting and analysis and development of the project and publish both their own and jointly written contributions.

SELECTION CRITERIA

The appointee must have a relevant doctoral degree (or be close to thesis defence date) and have a publication record that shows independent research and writing skills and ability to publish in international peer-reviewed journals. Excellent command of Finnish and English languages is necessary due to available source materials. Skills in other languages will be considered as assets. Expertise on migration-, border-, refugee- and deportation studies, postcolonialism and critical race theory will be considered as assets. In terms of research skills, experience in the following will be considered as assets: cooperating and co-writing in an interdisciplinary research team; conducting research interviews; interacting with persons in vulnerable situations; combining historical and social science research; and using qualitative analysis software (e.g. Atlas.ti). The task requires good team working skills and the ability to work both independently and as part of a research group.

WHAT WE OFFER

The University of Helsinki offers a first-class research and teaching environment as well as the preconditions necessary for international cooperation. The position is full-time. During employment, there is a possibility for international mobility period of up to 2 months. 
The salary of the postdoctoral researcher will be based on level 5 of the demands level chart for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal performance. The starting salary of the postdoctoral researcher will be ca. 3500-3800 per month, depending on the appointees’ qualifications and experience. A six-month trial period will be applied.

The University of Helsinki provides its staff with occupational health and sports services as well as professional development opportunities. The appointee is expected to reside in Finland while employed by the University of Helsinki. International staff is supported in relocating to Finland.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Please submit your application, together with the required attachments, through the University of Helsinki Recruitment System via the link “Apply now” below. Applicants who are currently employed by the University of Helsinki are requested to submit their application via the SAP Fiori portal at https://msap.sap.helsinki.fi. The University of Helsinki welcomes applications from representatives of different genders, language and cultural backgrounds, and minorities.

Applicants are requested to enclose with their applications the following documents in English or Finnish as a single PDF file titled “lastname_firstname_GATE”:

1. A curriculum vitae (max. 2 pages)
2. A brief application letter describing the applicant’s motivation toward the position, including a statement of how the applicant would contribute to the project and a depiction of particular phenomena or interests they would like to pursue in their research (max. 1,500 words)
3. A numbered list of publications with three key publications highlighted in bold.

Detailed information on the CV and list of publications can be obtained online.

The deadline for applications is 18 September 2023. Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview, which will take place late September / October. The successful candidate would be expected to start on 15 November 2023, or as soon thereafter as possible.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For any questions and further information, please contact project leader Dr Miika Tervonen (miika.tervonen(at)helsinki.fi). For more information on the recruitment process, please contact HR Specialist Jenni Syväoja (hr-humtdk(at)helsinki.fi).