Full-time assistant professor position in sociology (M/F/X)

Responsabilities

Located in the historic centre of the City of Namur, capital of Wallonia, the University of Namur, with more than 60 undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programmes and its 11 research institutes and 11 technology platforms, welcomes nearly 8,000 students and doctoral students each year in its 7 faculties and has more than 1,300 staff members, including more than 800 researchers. Within the University of Namur, the Faculty EMCP (Economics Management Communication Politics – www.unamur.be/emcp) has nearly 1,800 students and 250 staff members, including 40 permanent academics and 70 researchers/doctoral students, spread over 3 schools (UNamur School of Social Sciences, Politics and Communication, Namur School of Economics, UNamur School of Management). It offers undergraduate (bachelor), graduate (master) and postgraduate (e.g., doctorate) programs in management and economics, during the day and at shifts. It also offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs in political science and information and communication. Its members conduct cutting-edge research in many areas of expertise.

The successful candidate will join the UNamur School of Social Sciences, Politics and Communication (SSPC). The School’s 45 academic and research staff members contribute to undergraduate teaching and coordinate doctoral programs, with a strong focus on themes related to contemporary social, political, and communication transformations.

Research activities are carried out within the Transitions Institute. Bringing together several disciplines (political science, law, sociology) around dynamic research clusters, the Institute seeks to explore the various ways in which transitions challenge and affect human nature and societies in unprecedented ways, requiring a radical shift in our political, social, and ethical frameworks. Its members collaborate, through projects, internships, and seminars, with a wide range of national and international companies and organizations. These research centres provide an intellectually stimulating and collaborative environment, supporting researchers at all stages of their careers to help them thrive and advance.

The activities associated with the position are equally subdivided into research, teaching activities and administrative activities. The main responsibilities associated with the position are equally divided between research, teaching, and community service. The successful candidate is expected to demonstrate a high level of expertise in sociology (priority will be given to applicants with an empirical profile and expertise in the sociology of contemporary vulnerabilities, in connection with one or more of the following issues: the weakening of the welfare state, digital transitions, climate change, and/or normative questions related to age, gender, or ethnicity) in order to develop their research and teaching activities in this field.

Teaching will take place primarily within the Bachelor’s programs in Information and Communication and in Political Science, and will include at least one course offered as part of a staggered schedule program as well as one course delivered on an inter-faculty basis.

Profile

More generally, the applicant will:

− Be responsible for teaching courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels;

− Supervise doctoral dissertations;

− Participate in, lead, and/or oversee research programs in the above-mentioned areas within the Transitions Research Institute.

Through their research activities, the candidate will also be expected to contribute to the international visibility of the university, notably by:

− Publishing in leading journals in the field with high impact factors;

− Seeking external research funding;

− Expanding the University of Namur’s network.

Finally, in the longer term, the candidate will also take on service responsibilities within the School, the Faculty, and/or the University. In particular, they will be expected, on a rotating basis, to take on the responsibility of coordinating the Bachelor’s program in Information and Communication (three-year term), and, in the longer term, to take the leadership of the School.

Job requirements

The successful candidate must:

•Hold a PhD in sociology, political and social sciences, or an equivalent discipline (or have obtained itprior to taking up the position);

•Demonstrate a proven interest in issues related to the sociology of contemporary vulnerabilities;

•Be able to provide excellent university-level teaching;

•Have a strong command of spoken and written French and be able to teach in this language (fromthe start of employment);

•Have a strong command of spoken and written English and be able to teach in this language (fromthe start of employment);

•Demonstrate interest and motivation to assume significant service responsibilities within theSchool, particularly in the management of its teaching programs;

•Be capable of publishing high-impact scientific research related to the social sciences in leadinginternational journals;

•Demonstrate interest and motivation to successfully compete for external research funding;

•One or more academic or research stays in an institution other than the one granting the doctoraldegree (post-doctoral fellowship or research stay of at least three months).

The following will be considered assets:

•A strong sensitivity to pedagogical innovation, in line with the Faculty’s “Learning by Doing”approach;

•A strong sensitivity to interdisciplinarity;

•Solid experience and/or proven skills in university-level pedagogy;

•The ability to work collaboratively, to lead, and to manage a research team;

•The ability to integrate research findings into teaching;

•The ability to contribute to civic engagement activities, particularly in the socio-cultural field;

•Experience in program coordination or academic program management.

Additional information

Further information can be obtained from Prof. Arthur BORRIELLO, Head of the UNamur School of Social Sciences, Politics and Communication (arthur.borriello@unamur.be). All practical information needed by foreign candidates can be obtained from the website of the European researchers’ mobility portal (EURAXESS): https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu. Queries concerning the salary can be addressed to cellule.remuneration@unamur.be.

Selection process

− Review and evaluation of applications by the Selection Committee;

− Interview with the Selection Committee (candidates shortlisted will be invited, within two months of the application deadline, to give a lecture on a given topic and to present their research to the members of the Selection Committee and the Faculty members);

− Interview with the Human Resources Service;

− Decision by the University Board.

Application

The application form can be downloaded from the University of Namur website (https://www.unamur.be/en/university/work/forms). The filled out form should be completed by a curriculum vitae, a research and teaching statement (around 3 pages each), a maximum of 3 scientific articles (minimum 1), 2-3 letters of recommendation (directly provided by reference persons to the recruitment committee), and, if available, teaching evaluations. The completed file must be sent in PDF format before January 11th, 2026 to candidature@unamur.be, with a copy to the Head of the SSPC School (arthur.borriello@unamur.be).

Remarks

Contract : The appointment is expected to start on September 1st, 2026. If the candidate has had no academic or permanent research position within the University of Namur, then the first three years are the period for the candidate’s integration in the new environment. After the three-year integration period, the Board evaluates the candidate, and if the evaluation is positive, proposes a tenured position. The salary is determined by the scale used in all Universities of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (“barème 007”) accessible at www.unamur.be/fr/universite/travailler/baremes-avantages).