PhD Candidate/Junior Lecturer in Methodology

• Employment: 1.0 FTE
• Maximum gross monthly salary: € 4,402
• Nijmegen School of Management
• Required background: Research University Degree
• Duration of the contract: 6 years
• Application deadline: 31 January 2021

We are looking for

The Department of Business Administration at the Nijmegen School of Management is looking for a PhD Candidate/Junior Lecturer for its Research & Intervention Methodology group. As a PhD Candidate/Junior Lecturer you will have both research (50%) and teaching (50%) duties for a 6-year period. You will work on a PhD project under the supervision of Prof. Etienne Rouwette and Dr Hubert Korzilius. Your PhD research concerns 'Facilitating decision making in elderly care with self-adaptive modelling'. For the project you will cooperate with the geriatrics department of the Radboud university medical center, the Radboud Data Science Group and the University of Strathclyde, Scotland.

Machine learning and algorithmic decision making are increasingly used in discovering patterns for determining diagnoses. Algorithms are however often opaque, which hampers understanding. The use of algorithms also raises ethical concerns such as how to deal with inconclusive or unfair outcomes and the responsibility for effects of behaviours driven by algorithms. The use of system dynamics, which focuses on causal modelling to transparently reveal the structure of complex phenomena might overcome these drawbacks. In this approach, models are built in collaboration with stakeholders, to establish shared understanding of systemic causes and effects and to identify intervention levers. In this project the strengths of machine learning and system dynamics will be combined to create self-adaptive models that better capture the complexities of the elderly healthcare system, including the dynamics of physical and psychosocial factors explaining retention of resilience, and to support medical decision making.

In particular, you will work on: (1) empirical modelling in which machine learning and system dynamics are combined into a self-adaptive model to improve decision making at individual and system levels in elderly health care; (2) methodological evaluation of the performance and validity of the created model; (3) decision support to examine the added value of self-adaptive models for decision making in elderly health care and to develop a decision support tool that will help practitioners in drawing up treatment plans. On the basis of the project you will be expected to develop a more elaborate research proposal in this area in the first and second years of your appointment. This proposal will have to be approved by the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Nijmegen School of Management. You will enrol in the PhD programme at the IMR Doctoral School.

Your teaching responsibilities include giving tutorials/lectures in the Bachelor's degree programmes offered by the Department of Business Administration. Whilst holding this position, you will be given the opportunity to obtain your university teaching qualification.

We ask

• A Master's degree in Business Administration, System Dynamics or a similar discipline.
• Academic excellence, as demonstrated by your grade transcripts and CV.
• Excellent writing skills, as evidenced by a writing sample, such as a chapter from your Master's thesis or a (forthcoming or published) article or presented conference paper.
• Programming skills in Python, advanced knowledge of statistical programs R and SPSS.
• Affinity with facilitated modelling and machine learning.
• Affinity for teaching and working with students, and the ability to teach in English or Dutch.
• You are enthusiastic and highly motivated.
• The ability to finish your PhD thesis in time, i.e. strong skills in project management, flexibility, proactive behaviour and excellent academic writing skills.

We are

The Nijmegen School of Management (NSM) is an academic centre of research and higher education, focusing on institutional and managerial issues within complex organisations. There are seven disciplines within NSM: Business Administration, Public Administration, Political Science, Economics and Business Economics, Social and Political Sciences of the Environment, Human Geography, and Spatial Planning. NSM strives for a multidisciplinary approach. NSM employs 290 FTEs, 75% of whom are academics. Currently, NSM has approximately 5,000 students. NSM's research activities fall under the responsibility of the interdisciplinary Institute for Management Research (IMR). Under the motto 'Creating Knowledge for Society', IMR focuses on academic research into the development, design and effectiveness of the public and private structures that regulate, govern or manage human interactions. There are six multidisciplinary research groups at IMR linked to strategic and scientifically and societally relevant themes (including Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Business Ecosystems).

The vacancy is within the Chair Group of Research & Intervention Methodology. The ambition of this chair group is to become an international centre of expertise on multidisciplinary research focused at the involvement of stakeholders in strategic decision making in order to create consensus and a platform for change with regard to complex societal issues. Members of the chair group use qualitative and quantitative empirical research to study decision making and the effect of interventions in decision making. Specific attention goes out to dynamic decision making, group decision making in various domains such as the domains of gender and diversity, energy transition, health care and mobility. The chair group coordinates the IMR VISA skills laboratory and the IMR Decision Laboratory. Teaching and research is built around the IMR laboratories.

Radboud University

We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 22,000 students and 5,000 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!

We offer

• Employment: 1.0 FTE.
• A maximum gross monthly salary of € 4,402 based on a 38-hour working week (salary scale 10).
• The exact salary depends on the candidate's qualifications and amount of relevant professional experience.
• In addition to the salary: an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• Duration of the contract: 6 years.
• The intended start date is 1 March 2021.
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services. Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment  and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Have a look at our excellent employment conditions. They include a good work-life balance (among other things because of the excellent leave arrangements), opportunities for development and a great pension scheme.

Would you like more information?

Apply directly

Please address your application to Prof. Etiënne Rouwette and submit it, using the application button, no later than 31 January 2021, 23:59 Amsterdam Time Zone.   

Your application should include the following attachments:

• A letter of motivation explaining your motivation, interest in the position and your competence in the research field.
• Your CV including academic qualifications, relevant knowledge, relevant research experience, course grade list, list of publications (if applicable) and two suitable academic references (e.g. from your Master's thesis supervisor or a professor).

We drafted this vacancy to find and hire our new colleague ourselves. Recruitment agencies are kindly requested to refrain from responding.