3 Postdocs

This is not your average postdoc position! The three postdocs within our new project “Empowering Citizen COllectives in societal transitions” (ECCO project) will form a collaborative leadership team that works closely with the project leader, the project manager, and the CollectieveKracht team to co-manage the scientific and organisational development of ECCO. Rather than focusing on a single narrow research task, you will -together- play a central role in shaping the direction, collaborations, and outputs of a large, interdisciplinary research programme, taking into account each of the postdocs' skills, talents and personal goals and career plans. 

So, we are looking for real team players who see the strategic value of working closely with other researchers, professional staff, and societal partners, and who are excited about contributing to a large collaborative research programme. 

This postdoctoral position offers a unique opportunity to go beyond the traditional postdoc trajectory. Instead of working in isolation on a narrowly defined project, you will become part of a small leadership team shaping a large interdisciplinary research programme.

By joining ECCO, you will:

• Develop your own research agenda within a major international project on citizen collectives and societal transitions
• Co-publish with leading scholars from multiple universities and disciplines
• Gain hands-on experience in project coordination and research leadership, valuable for future academic careers
• Work in a transdisciplinar and engaged way with policymakers, civil servants, and citizen collectives, ensuring your research has real societal impact
• Build an international academic network across several universities and research groups, building on the wide international network of the SEICA-research group
• Contribute to a project that aims to strengthen democratic participation and citizen-driven solutions to societal challenges

For postdocs who are intellectually curious, collaborative, and motivated to combine excellent research on citizen collectives and democracy with societal relevance, ECCO provides an exceptional environment to grow as a scholar and research leader.

As part of this role, you will:

• collaborate with PhD-researchers across several universities working on ECCO-related topics
• develop your own leadership style, whilst working together with your fellow-postdocs and the project management
• co-author academic publications with the supervisory teams and consortium partners
• help organise and coordinate research activities within the project, with the practical/logistic support of the CollectieveKracht-team
• work with societal partners, citizen collectives, and policymakers and make a real difference in society
• contribute to developing evidence-based tools and insights that help citizen collectives strengthen democracy and societal transitions

At the same time, you will have the opportunity to develop your own research agenda within the broader goals of the project.

This position therefore offers a unique combination of:

• academic research
• project leadership and coordination
• transdisciplinary collaboration
• societal impact

We welcome candidates who feel enthusiastic about the goals and approach of the ECCO-project and who bring a background and experience in fields such as organisation studies, sociology, public administration, political science, transition studies, social or environmental psychology, urban or sustainability studies, management studies, or related disciplines. We are particularly interested in candidates with expertise in topics such as collective action, citizen collectives, commons, democratic innovation, participatory governance and processes, sustainability transitions, and community-led social change. Experience with interdisciplinary research, participatory or action research methods, stakeholder engagement, and the development of practical tools, policy documents and knowledge for societal partners will be considered a strong asset. To apply, you need a doctoral degree (PhD degree or equivalent) and an advanced level of English (at least CEFR C1 or equivalent). 

Building a complementary team

The goal of this call is to assemble a complementary team of postdoctoral researchers with diverse skills, interests, and backgrounds.

For that reason, all candidates will be asked to complete a short survey about their skills, alents, expertise, interests, and experience: see link below. This survey will help the selection committee identify how candidates might complement each other within the team.

Importantly:

• We do not expect any individual candidate to possess all the listed skills. Such a profile does not exist. There are no right or wrong answers to the survey, only honest answers.
• We do expect candidates to provide evidence for the expertise they claim — for example through publications, research projects, presentations, or other professional activities. Here again we do not expect long lists of proof of your expertise. 

Each of the three postdoc positions is 0.8 FTE. 

We offer an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

The start date of this position is 1 July 2026 and you will be based at the Rotterdam campus of Erasmus University Rotterdam. This position is for 0.8 FTE. If desired, the appointment can be expanded to full time (1 FTE) by taking on teaching responsibilities on Bachelor, Master or Executive level. The 0.8 FTE appointment does not demand involvement in teaching and allows full focus on research and project-related activities. The salary is dependent on your experience and knowledge, and ranges from a minimum of € 4,728 to a maximum of € 6,433 gross per month at Scale 11 on a fulltime basis (38 hours per week), in accordance with the CAO-NU. The contract is offered for a period of 3 years and we expect postdocs to stay for the period of the project as they form a vital part of the team organisation.

Everything else we offer you can find below!

- Everything you need for a good work-life balance: the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 41 days of paid leave with a 40 hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centre!

- Sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture, where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and to the world around us. Make the most of our bicycle budget, or join networks such as Young@EUR, FAME or QuEUR.

- Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: e.g. development days and a personal career budget and free access to our university library.

- Good pension with ABP with a two-thirds contribution from EUR, discounts on various collective insurances with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, and Allianz, and compensation for travel, working from home and home internet use.

- Are you currently combining your job with parenthood, or do you want to do so in the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional birth leave for partners, and our campus features a daycare (daycare not paid for by EUR).

- We expect postdocs to be able to on campus (Rotterdam) on a regular basis. For those living abroad, this would most likely mean that you'd need to move to the Netherlands. If you need to move to the Netherlands for your job, then you may be eligible for the 30%-ruling if you meet the requirements of the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax agency), and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find the right job for them.

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 4,100 academics and professionals and almost 33,000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is one of Europe’s top-ranked business schools. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam – a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who can become a force for positive change by carrying their innovative mindset into a sustainable future. Our first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes encourage them to become critical, creative, caring and collaborative thinkers and doers.
www.rsm.nl

RSM is an equal opportunity employer and explicitly encourages applications from candidates of all genders, ethnicities, and nationalities.

The postdocs will become part of the Social Enterprises & Institutions for Collective Action (SEICA) research group at RSM for the duration of the project. Depending on their profile and interests, they can however be appointed at RSM or the Erasmus School of Social Sciences and Behavioural Studies. SEICA is an internationally recognised research group studying collective action, social innovation, and citizen-led organisations. In addition to the ECCO project, SEICA hosts several other large and small research initiatives and manages the CollectivePower / CollectieveKracht platform, which connects hundreds of citizen collectives with researchers and policymakers.

About ECCO

ECCO (Empowering Citizen Collectives in Societal Transitions) is a large interdisciplinary research project that investigates how citizen collectives — grassroots organisations created and governed by citizens — can contribute to addressing major societal challenges such as housing, sustainability, work, and social cohesion. These collectives are increasingly important actors in democratic societies, yet their potential to collaborate effectively with governments and other institutions remains underexplored.

ECCO brings together researchers from multiple universities and a wide range of societal partners to study this phenomenon and to develop evidence-based tools, models, and policy insights that strengthen citizen-led initiatives and their collaboration with governments. The project builds on the CollectieveKracht platform, a national knowledge exchange hub connecting citizen collectives, policymakers, and researchers. Through this platform, ECCO combines academic research with real-world experimentation and dialogue, following an Extreme Citizen Science approach in which practitioners and researchers co-produce knowledge together.

Established in 1998, the Department of Business-Society Management (B-SM) at RSM was the first of its kind within a European business school. The B-SM Department offers a social science-based perspective on managerial and organisational issues at the interface between business and society. The department members conduct world class research on how organisations can engage in shared value creation, and how, rather than contributing to society’s problems, organisations can be part of the solution. Staff of the department are involved in teaching at the under- and post-graduate level, including bachelor programmes, the full-time MBA and specialized and executive master programmes. The department also delivers the school’s flagship Master programme on Global Business and Sustainability, one of the longest running programmes in the world in the area of business and society management that continues to deliver graduates that are in high demand in today’s business world.

Please apply by uploading the following documents to the application portal:

• your CV
• a motivation letter of max. 2 pages
• your PhD thesis
• one publication or submitted paper that demonstrates your interest in the topics relevant to ECCO

In addition, we request you to complete the survey you’ll find here: https://edu.nl/gm8b7. Filling in the survey is mandatory. Without the survey information your application will not be considered for evaluation. Make sure to complete your application, including the survey, before 19 April 2026.

If you have any questions, please contact the ECCO team via ecco@rsm.nl.