Job Opportunities

Researcher in the field of political geography and/or area studies, international relations, security studies, and political science with a focus on foreign interference

The Dean of the Faculty of Science of the University of Ostrava announces a selection procedure to fill the following vacancy

• Researcher in the field of political geography and/or area studies, international relations, security studies, and political science with a focus on foreign interference – project "OP JAK INTERFER – Foreign Interference in the Context of Geopolitical and Technological Change"
  
  

The above mentioned position is to be filled within the framework of the project "INTERFER – Foreign Interference in the Context of Geopolitical and Technological Change", reg. no. CZ.02.01.01/00/23_025/0008692, Programme Johannes Amos Comenius, call No 02_23_025 Social sciences and humanities: individual and humanity in contemporary global challenges, by a researcher with recognized scientific results in the field of political geography and/or area studies, international relations, security studies, and political science (or related disciplines) on an international scale.

Systemised position:

• researcher III (CZ ISCO 23101, non-academic employee)
  
  

Job Description

• Researcher III solves demanding research tasks with a major international impact in the field;
• publishes actively;
• coordinates/manages science & research activity in the field of political geography and/or related disciplines, in particular plans and organizes fieldwork in the countries of Post-Soviet Eurasia and/or South-Eastern Europe with a focus on foreign interference.
  
  

Expected responsibilities and duties

• ability to prepare research design;
• preparation and implementation of short-term field research in the targeted region;
• collecting and analysing research data;
• publication activity in respected journals (author or co-author of at least two articles during the project period);
• co-authorship of policy paper and of chapter(s) in an edited volume;
• participate in disseminating of research results (conferences, discussions with experts, students, journalists);
• collaborate with other members of the research team.
  
  

Qualifications and other requirements

• Doctoral degree in political geography, international relations, political science, area studies or related study programme. The degree must be obtained before the start of the employment.
• The researcher should be able to independently solve demanding science & research tasks in the in the field of political geography or related disciplines and publish actively.
• The researcher must be an author of publications in respected international journals (at least 2 articles in WoS/Scopus) or achieve a comparable result proving the research level R3 – Established Researcher (e.g., a monograph, book chapters); manuscripts accepted for publications (with acceptance letter from editorial office) may be included, as well as references to preprints if publicly available (preprints must be suitably referenced with either a link to the preprint or a DOI).
• Documented experience with fieldwork and qualitative research methods (interviews, thematic analysis, content analysis, discourse analysis).
• The experience with qualitative data analysis tools and software an advantage.
• The experience with fieldwork in the countries of Post-Soviet Eurasia and/or South-Eastern Europe an advantage.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with proficiency in spoken and written English (equivalent of min. level B2). Knowledge of the Czech language is not required, knowledge of other languages is an advantage (in particular languages of the countries of Post-Soviet Eurasia and South-Eastern Europe).
• Independent, responsible, and creative approach to work.
  
  

Estimated amount of work

• 1 vacancy at 1.0 FTE (alternatively 2x 0.5 FTE upon agreement).
  
  

Expected start date

• July 1^st, 2025 (earlier or later start date upon agreement).
• Fixed-term contract for full-time 100% (until December 31^st 2028 with possible extension).
  
  

Wage conditions

• According to the Internal Wage Regulations of the University of Ostrava and for the Researcher in the INTERFER project, i.e., 1.0 FTE = 59.070 CZK (approx. 2.300 EUR) monthly before tax.
  
  

Benefits

• 6 weeks of paid vacation per year;
• 5 paid sick days per year;
• full-time job with flexible working hours – possibility for hybrid work from home;
• meal vouchers;
• special offer of mobile phone and data tariff – T-Mobile benefit;
• educational benefits at the university, including courses of the Czech language, developing didactic skills, etc.;
• relocation assistance via our partner organisations;
• Virtual Hospital – online medical consultation service operating 24/7, doctor's appointment scheduling, preventive check-ups and vaccinations, and other options for taking care of your health.
  
  

Work environment

• pleasant work environment at a progressive mid-size public university;
• international collective;
• Ostrava is a city with affordable living costs;
• Ostrava is a city where industrial heritage meets vibrant culture;
• Ostrava has the best public transport system in Central and Eastern Europe (according to the PwC Smart Cities Mobility Index, 2024);
• Czechia is one of the safest countries in the world (12^th place according to the Global Peace Index, 2024);
• Czechia is a country with the highest level of academic freedom in the world (according to the Academic Freedom Index, 2024).
  
  

Language in which the selection process will be conducted

• English.
  
  

List of Documents Required from the Applicant (in English)

• Signed Consent to the processing of personal data for the purposes of the selection procedure; 4,03 MB
• Structured professional CV with an overview of previous experience and publications;
• Cover letter;
• Motivation letter of no more than 2 standard pages (3,600 characters with spaces);
• Scanned copy of the highest academic degree.
  
  

Date, Method, Form, and Place for the Delivery of the Application and Required Documents from the Applicant

Application for the selection procedure containing all the required documents is to be sent electronically to the following address: . Applications sent differently will not be accepted.

Deadline for on-time applications

• March 31^th, 2025
  
  

The first round of the selection procedure will involve the assessment of the materials submitted by the candidates. Only selected candidates will be invited to take part in a second round of remote interviews. The Employer reserves the right to cancel the selection procedure or to decide not to accept any of the applications without giving reasons.

The position was created with the financial support of the European Union within the INTERFER project with reg. no. CZ.02.01.01/00/23_025/0008692, Programme Johannes Amos Comenius.

More details

Factual consultations are possible via e-mail to doc. RNDr. Vincenc Kopeček, Ph.D., University of Ostrava INTERFER project coordinator, Deputy Head of the Department of Human Geography and Regional Development: .

Contact:

University of Ostrava
Faculty of Science
HR department
Bc. Lucie Holubová
Mlýnská 5
702 00 Ostrava – Moravská Ostrava
Czech Republic
E-mail: