The Eui Has An Open Vacancy for A
Pubblicato il 07-08-2026 - European University Institute in Firenze
**The EUI has an open vacancy for a** **Research Fellow in the** **Department of Political and Social Sciences** **Florence, 05 September 2024** **Reference**:V/RF/SPS/8/2024 **Who we are** The **European University Institute** (EUI) at a glance: - an **international organisation** set up in 1972;
- a research university focusing exclusively on **postgraduate**, **doctoral** and **post-doctoral studies**, and advanced research;
- located in the hills overlooking the city of Florence, Italy. The Institute also hosts the Historical Archives of the European Union. The Department of Political and Social Sciences (SPS) is one of Europe’s leading centres for research on comparative politics, political behaviour and political sociology, the sociology of inequality, analytic sociology, and international relations and security and is European and international in character. **Employment details** **Contract type **Full-time (30/30, 40 hours/week). A tempo parziale employment at 80% (24/30=32
hours/week) can also be agreed with the Project Director. **Length of contract **24 months (in case of full-time employment) or up to 30 months (in case of part
- time employment at 80%) Start date **1 December 2024 **(negotiable)*** Academic contracts at the EUI may be further renewed (several times and
conditional to the availability of funds), leading to an extension of the period of
service up to a total of 5 years, including the first contract period. **Salary indication and **Grade: CDR3 step 1
**grade** The basic net monthly salary after taxes is approximately 3750 Euro,
plus allowances if applicable (for a full-time employment).
More information about conditions of employment is available here.*** **Place of work **To be agreed with Project Director (salary simulation based on place of work
Florence, Italy)
**About the project** **Project Director **Prof. Valentina Di Stasio **Project details **For an ERC-funded project (‘TARGETS’), we conduct research on ethnic
discrimination in the labour market. Combining insights from sociology, sociolegal
and organizational studies, social and organizational psychology, we study how
workplace discrimination is established in the courts and by equality bodies.
Although victims of discrimination can seek redress through the legal system, very
few turn to legal authorities. Barriers to legal rights mobilization are both structural
(e.g., the cost of litigation, limited legal consciousness, the complexity of the
litigation process) and psychological (e.g. fear of retaliation or the social cost of
being seen as troublemakers). Moreover, research has shown that organizational
policies and structures - such as diversity management, formalized personnel
practices or internal grievance procedures - may paradoxically weaken the
credibility of discrimination claims. The postdoc will conduct expert interviews to
probe whether organizational structures and policies are taken into account in
discrimination cases. The qualitative analysis will be supplemented with a detailed
coding of discrimination jurisprudence. We will code the structures and policies of
the organizations, and trace how employers’ compliance with non-discrimination
law is established in litigation (preferably, the research will focus on the Dutch
to apply). **Job** **description** The research fellow will carry out research work in an independent manner and
collaborate on the research work of the project. The research assistant will provide
research assistance to the Project Director(s). Main tasks include: - Conducting expert interviews;
- Analyzing relevant legal frameworks and case studies;
- Coding decisions on relevant discrimination cases;
- Analyzing data and disseminating results at conferences and impact events with stakeholders;
- Writing peer-reviewed scientific articles;
- Assisting the Project Director with project management tasks including attending project meetings;
- Taking part in activities (such as attending seminars) of the Comparative Life Course and Inequality Centre CLIC, at the EUI. **Qualifications and experience** **Qualifications and Essential**:
**Experience**
- PhD in Sociology, Law or a related discipline, with a profile in socio-legal studies and/or legal sociology and demonstrated expertise relevant to the
current project (PhD students about to defend their thesis are eligible
conditional on the successful thesis defence by the contract start date);
- Demonstrated experience with socio-legal research methods and empirical research.
**Desirable**: - Demonstrated knowledge of and experience with qualitative and quantitative research;
- Proven knowledge of the equality and non-discrimination legislative frameworks of specific countries (knowledge of the Dutch context is an
asset).
**Languages **Excellent knowledge of English, both spoken and written (CEFR level: C1 or
above). Knowledge of other languages (especially Dutch) constitutes an
advantage. **How to ap