Post-Doc­tor­al Fel­low in Or­gan­isa­tion Stud­ies with a Fo­cus on Be­ha­vi­our­al Design in Pub­lic Ser­vice Work

Copenhagen Business School, Department of Organization invites applications for a Post-Doctoral Fellow position in organization studies. The position is part of the DFF2 funded research project BEHAVE: Behavioural Design of Public Service Work, which examines how behavioural design, including nudging, is increasingly used as a management tool in public organizations, and what this means for the public servants who deploy it, are shaped by it, or find themselves on the receiving end of it.

The project
BEHAVE investigates how behavioural design enters public service work and how it may transform everyday tasks, professional roles, organizational responsibilities, and discretionary practices. While much existing research focuses on the use of behavioural design on citizens, BEHAVE takes an organizational perspective, asking what happens when behavioural design becomes a tool for managing and reorganizing public service work from within.

The position
We are looking for a curious and ambitious researcher who wants to contribute to this agenda. The position is open to a range of research directions that could include:

• How behavioural design transforms tasks, roles, and discretion in a specific public sector field (e.g. social services, education, taxation, or municipal administration)
• How the consequences of behavioural design compare across public sector fields that differ in task complexity, professional composition, or organizational context
• The role of consultants and behavioural design firms in translating and spreading behavioural expertise into public organizations
• How behavioural design assumptions travel across organizational levels (e.g. policy, management, frontline practice)
• The relation between behavioral design and other dominant design-trends such as design thinking, co-design, or participatory approaches in public sector organizations

The final research design will be developed in close dialogue with the candidate's expertise. We are particularly interested in candidates who bring a strong empirical sensibility and a critical eye to the study of management tools, expertise, and organizational change. Relevant backgrounds include organization studies, sociology, anthropology, public administration, science and technology studies, or related fields.

The position is grounded in qualitative research. Familiarity with methods such as organizational ethnography, interviewing, shadowing, or document analysis is expected.

What we offer
The position runs for three years and includes research as the primary activity, alongside teaching obligations corresponding to one year of full-time work. You will join a collaborative and internationally oriented research team at the Department of Organization, CBS, and become part of an active research environment with close ties to empirical fields, an international advisory board, and planned research visits and conferences.

Qualifications
Applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent. We look for demonstrated research potential, a strong academic profile, and the ability to work independently as well as collaboratively. Professional proficiency in English is required. Given the project's empirical grounding in Danish public organizations, the ability to communicate in Danish or another Scandinavian language is an advantage.

Appointment and salary will be in accordance with the Ministry of Finance’s agreement with the Central Academic Organisation.

Application
Application must be sent via the electronic recruitment system.

Application must include:

1. A proposed research agenda for the postdoc project, including a description of how the candidate’s research relates to the BEHAVE project (max 5 pages)
2. A summary of the candidate’s main strengths and abilities.
3. A complete, numbered list of publications (indicating titles, co-authors, page numbers and year) with an * marking of the academic productions to be considered during the review. A maximum of 5 publications for review are allowed. Applicants are requested to prioritise their publications in relation to the field of this job advertisement.
4. Copies of the publications marked with an *. Only publications written in English (or another specified principal language, according to research tradition) or one of the Scandinavian languages will be taken into consideration)
5. Information indicating experience in research management, industry co-operation and international co-operation.
6. Documentation of relevant, significant, original research at an international level. 
7. Transcript(s) and a full CV

We encourage interested candidates to reach out and request the full project description before applying.

For further information please contact: Kirstine Zinck Pedersen (kzp.ioa@cbs.dk) or Trine Pallesen (tp.ioa@cbs.dk). Information about the department may be found at www.cbs.dk/ioa.

Recruitment procedure
The Recruitment Committee will shortlist minimum two applicants; when possible five or more applicants will be shortlisted. The shortlisted applicants will be assessed by the Assessment Committee. All applicants will be notified of their status in the recruitment process shortly after the application deadline. 

The applicants selected for assessment will be notified about the composition of the Assessment Committee and later in the process about the result of the assessment.

Once the recruitment process is completed each applicant will be notified of the outcome of their application.

Copenhagen Business School must receive all application material, including all appendices (see items above), by the application deadline.

Copenhagen Business School invites all qualified candidates to apply for the position. An appointment committee will review the applications and invite a selection of qualified candidates to an interview.

One of CBS’ strategic goals is the promotion of diversity, which is why every effort has been made to ensure a recruitment process that reduces potential bias. Applicants are therefore encouraged not to include a photo or unnecessary personal information in their application.

Details about Copenhagen Business School and the department are available at www.cbs.dk.