Post-Doc - Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin / Wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiter (m/w/d) im Projekt “FIELDS”

At the Junior Professorship of Sociology, esp. Work & Health, at the University of Bamberg, a position is

available from 1 January 2027 as a

Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/d)

(100% of regular working hours; pay grade E13 TV-L)

within the ERC Starting Grant project

“Fields of Education as New Drivers of Health Inequalities (FIELDS)”

The position is fixed-term for five years.

Project description:

The project FIELDS is funded by the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant) and investigates

the relationship between fields of education, such as study majors and vocational training programmes,

and physical and mental health over the life course. Moving beyond the well-established educational

gradient in health, the project examines how educational fields contribute to health inequalities within

educational levels.

FIELDS uses longitudinal data from six major household panel studies from Germany (SOEP), the

United States (PSID), the Netherlands (LISS), Switzerland (SHP), South Korea (KLIPS), and Australia

(HILDA), covering more than 2.3 million observations. A core component of the work responsibilities is

the harmonisation of these data and their analysis using advanced longitudinal methods. The postdoc will

also co-supervise two doctoral researchers studying mechanisms linking educational fields to health

through labour market outcomes, health behaviours, and social capital.

Your responsibilities

The postdoctoral researcher will take a leading role in the scientific implementation and management of

the project. Responsibilities include:

• Preparing and harmonising data across the six panel surveys, including measures of education,

physical and mental health, background characteristics, and relevant mediating factors

• Planning and conducting longitudinal and cross-country analyses using advanced quantitative

methods (e.g. random- and fixed-effects regression, matching approaches, time-to-event analyses)

• Co-supervising two doctoral researchers and two student assistants
• Preparing and publishing research manuscripts in leading international peer-reviewed journals
• Presenting project findings at international conferences
• Supporting the PI in the scientific coordination and management of the project

Requirements:

• A university degree (Master’s, university diploma, state examination or equivalent) as well as a

relevant doctoral degree in a social or health science discipline (e.g. sociology, public health,

epidemiology, demography, economics)

• A strong research background at the intersection of social sciences and health (e.g. social

inequalities in health, life course epidemiology, social determinants of health)