Postdoctoral Researcher/Assistant Professor Position in Political Science as par

The research project “Lobbying (A)symmetry: The Dynamics Behind Informed Policy” (LOBBYMETRY) led by Associate Professor Wiebke Marie Junk (Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen) invites excellent candidates for a postdoctoral position or assistant professorship. The project is funded by the European Research Council (ERC).

The position is fixed term for a minimum of 2 years and maximum of 3 years. Any further extension beyond the minimum of 2 years’ employment depends on the candidate's profile in relation to the teaching requirements at the department. Employment offer as a postdoc or assistant professor will also depend on teaching needs at the department.

The starting date is 1 October 2026, or as soon as possible by agreement.

The selected candidate will be a part of the project team consisting of the PI, a PhD, a Postdoctoral Researcher, a group of student assistants, and international collaborators.

Project description
The LOBBYMETRY project addresses two types of imbalances in lobbying: 1) mobilisation asymmetries, which exclude some actors from the policy debate, and 2) information asymmetries, which empower specific groups in their exchanges with policymakers. The project analyses these asymmetries and their relationship to each other, as well as their effects on the ways in which sectional and public interests feed into policymaking.

The project studies these asymmetries across populations of interest organisations in European countries and at European Union level, as well as within the climate, digital and health policy fields, that vary strongly in mobilisation asymmetries and constitute areas where well- or ill-informed policies have vast consequences for humanity at large. LOBBYMETRY strives to open the black-box of policymaker-lobbyist information exchange within these areas, develop measures of informational quality and accuracy in lobbying, and evaluate how and when lobbying pulls outcomes away from the public interest.

Methodologically, the project combines cross-country surveys, cross-venue textual data, and different forms of participant observation of the information exchanges between policymakers and interest organisations. This combination of methods will generate unprecedented quantitative and qualitative evidence on lobbyist-policymaker information exchange in varying contexts.

Your tasks and opportunities
The chosen candidate will primarily be involved in the qualitative parts of the project, spanning different forms of participant observation. The aim is to observe lobbyist-policymaker exchanges to understand how they navigate information asymmetries in i) researcher-controlled and ii) highly natural settings. To do so, the project develops a combination of i) focus group interviews and ii) immersive participant observation.

The plan is to conduct focus groups in three polities (among EU actors and in two EU member states), asking differently composed sets of interest representatives and policymakers to discuss specific policy problems in the digital, climate and/or health areas. This large-scale use of focus groups will be a collaboration between the PI, the project’s quantitative PostDoc and the chosen candidate for the qualitative PostDoc/assistant professor position.

Furthermore, to shed further light on the policymaker side of information exchanges, immersive participant observation -led by the chosen candidate – will ‘shadow’ selected regulatory and legislative policymakers in their discussions with stakeholders. This ethnography-inspired methodology seeks to allow the researcher to be ‘a fly on the wall’, in our case observing information exchange between interest organisations and policymakers that usually takes place behind closed doors and without a paper trail of (public) minutes or a videotape. The aim is to deepen our understanding of the practices in lobbying and information exchange, for instance how policymakers process interest organisation input and how issues ‘escalate’ between venues. This part of the project depends crucially on building relationships with selected policymakers that allow the researcher far-reaching access, which is why it will focus on only one or two polities.

With these tasks in mind, the position is suited for applicants with a strong background in qualitative methods, with substantive experience in one or several of the relevant methods (participant observation, ethnographic fieldwork, focus group interviews). Candidates with proven abilities to secure access in relevant contexts have an advantage.

The chosen candidate will contribute to the project with their expertise, interests, and skills, and is expected to publish both collaborative and single-authored scientific articles in international journals, as well as to present findings at international conferences. Funding is available for data collection and conference attendance helping to ensure that all team members can extend their network and research expertise. Other tasks include the dissemination of findings, such as in reports, on the project website, or in op-eds. The type and amount of teaching to potentially be included in the position will be negotiated based on the department’s needs and applicant’s portfolio.

Your qualifications

The candidate must have obtained – or be about to obtain - a PhD degree in Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, or a related field. Ideally, applicants have research experience related to lobbying, political representation, information politics, European public policy, or the digital, climate and/or health policy fields. Prior knowledge of policymaking processes in Europe and specific country-level expertise is a pre-requisite. Publication experience in internationally recognized scientific journals is expected.

Methodologically, an interest in diverse qualitative methods is expected for the position, as well as a curiosity about other approaches, given the team also conducts quantitative and mixed methods research. Candidates are expected to contribute with collaboration skills to the research team.

High proficiency in spoken and written English is a requirement. Proficiency in other European languages is an advantage.

The Department of Political Science
The Department is a top-ranked European Political Science department, which offers a vibrant, collegial, and pluralist academic working environment for ambitious scholars. The pluralism of Political Science in Copenhagen is evidenced in the various epistemological and methodological approaches as well as subfields adopted by faculty, and in a wide range of core subjects in the MSc programme. The Department’s dynamic environment within public administration and policy, as well as comparative politics, is particularly relevant for the announced position.

The Department consists of some 75 faculty members, as well as some 25 PhD students, organized in four main research groups and a few centres.

For more on the Department, please consult our webpage: https://politicalscience.ku.dk/about/.

Your opportunities
The position offers a range of attractive opportunities for the candidate, including:

• Being part of a vibrant and ambitious team
• A highly research-focused position in an ERC-funded project, but with the option of teaching
• Conference attendance, additional training and international networking are supported
• Being part of a leading political science department and its daily activities
• The project’s international advisory board spans universities in Europe and the US (Princeton University, University of Amsterdam, Queen’s University Belfast, Leiden University, University of Ljubljana)

Terms of Employment

• Further information on qualification requirements as postdoc can be found in the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2025 here: Bekendtgørelse om stillinstruktur for videnskabeligt personale ved universiteterne (unfortunately, the job structure for 2025 is not yet available in English).
• Terms of appointment and salary are in accordance with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (Akademikerne).
• The exact salary depends on the chosen pension scheme and taxation, but can be expected to be around DKK 39,200 per month + a 18,07 % contribution to the pension scheme. It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis.

The recruitment process
Further information on the recruitment process at University of Copenhagen can be found here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.

An Equal Opportunity Workplace
The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, see: https://employment.ku.dk/working-at-ucph/eu-charter-for-researchers/.

The Code of Conduct of the Department of Political Science is available here: https://politicalscience.ku.dk/about/news/2022/code-of-conduct-announced/Plakat_8T_uncoated.pdf.

International applicant?
The University of Copenhagen offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about the services of International Staff Mobility (ISM) as well as information on entering and working in Denmark here: https://ism.ku.dk/.

Contact information

For information about the position, please contact Associate Professor Wiebke Marie Junk, e-mail: wiebke.junk@ifs.ku.dk

Information about the recruitment process is available from HR, e-mail: hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk. Please refer to ID number: 211-2547/26-2I

How to apply
Submit a complete application at our online portal. Click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of this page to apply. The documents must be in Adobe PDF or Word.

Your application must be written in English and include the following documents:

• Cover/motivation letter, including the candidates suggested research contribution to the project (max. 1000 words)
• Curriculum vitae including publication list, conference presentation list, and overview of teaching experience
• 2 scientific articles (published or unpublished). The enclosed publications must be marked with * on the publication list
• Diplomas (PhD, Master, and Bachelor)
• Optional: The names of up to two potential academic references who would be willing to comment on the applicant’s scholarly work and professional qualifications

The closing date for applications is 26 May 2026 at 23:59 CEST.

Applications received thereafter will not be considered.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.