Within the context of the project “PCG – Interacting actors in polycentric climate governance”, supported by the Heidelberg Center for the Environment, the Heidelberg Center for Ibero-American Studies (HCIAS) is accepting applications for a

PhD Student Position in Ibero-American Studies (f/m/d)

19,75 h/week to be filled as soon as possible

Our project:
Transnational forums on climate governance represent organizational innovation and a means to add another layer to what researchers in organizational and social sciences and institutional economics call polycentric governance. In this project, we are interested in how these transnational forums affect the creation, choice, and convergence of climate change mitigation policies. Our interdisciplinary team consists of geographers, linguists, and political and social scientists. We conduct multilevel empirical analyses of bureaucrats, civil society, and business actors located in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico to identify their policy preferences, their perceptions of policy measures, and the effect of cross-level learning on policy convergence. Within this framework is also the investigation of the representation of included and excluded positions, assuming that mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion of actors influence the legitimacy of polycentric climate governance. The successful candidate will conduct research specifically on this latter aspect. The candidate will further collaborate closely with the PCG-team in applying for a subsequent research project in order to create and secure the opportunity for the completion of the candidate’s PhD project.

Your tasks:

• Develop a PhD thesis on the above-mentioned topic within the research project “PCG – Interacting actors in polycentric climate governance”
• Conduct research within the scope of the PCG-research project, specifically establishing contacts with interview partners and carrying out field research
• Organization of the virtual dissemination event for the public and stakeholders in collaboration with members of the PCG-group

Your profile:

• M.A./MSc in Anthropology, Interdisciplinary Latin American Studies, Linguistics (with focus on Discourse Studies) or Communications Studies, Political Science, Sociology, or related disciplines
• Strong interest in environmental and climate politics and Latin America
• Experience in qualitative research methods
• Interdisciplinary work experience in academic environments is a plus
• Interest in exploring new research areas
• Interest in working on an interdisciplinary topic
• High-level proficiency of English
• High-level proficiency of Spanish
• Ability to work independently and take own initiative
• Creativity, enthusiasm, and good communication skills for goal-oriented teamwork

The successful candidate will be offered thesis co-supervision by two of the project’s principal investigators at the HCIAS, Prof. Dr. Óscar Loureda and Jun.-Prof. Dr. Rosa Lehmann, and will be accepted as a doctoral student of the Heidelberg Center for Ibero-American Studies (HCIAS).

Remuneration of this part-time position (50% of weekly working hours) is based on TV-L, the German public service salary scale. The position is initially limited to 2 years. For inquiries regarding the position, please contact Jun.-Prof. Dr. Rosa Lehmann, rosa.lehmann@uni-heidelberg.de.

We look forward to receiving your application, in which you should include a letter of motivation, a CV, your diplomas, and contact details of at least two references. Submission of your application in a single PDF file per email to hcias-jobs@uni-heidelberg.de is recommended and sufficient. The postal address is: Brunnengasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg. The deadline for applications is September 5th, 2021.

Heidelberg University stands for equal opportunities and diversity.
Qualified female candidates are especially invited to apply.
Disabled persons will be given preference if they are equally qualified.
Information on the job advertisements and the collection of personal data is available at www.uni-heidelberg.de/stellenmarkt