-Internal Vacancy- Research Officer: Case Studies on the Super-Rich

Do you enjoy

• Finding out about the super-rich, especially individual billionaires;
• Critically evaluate and synthesise insights from different information sources;
• Immersing yourself into the research on individuals to paint a complete picture of their economic lives;
• ’You don’t mind feeling incredibly poor compared to the people you’re studying?

Then we have the perfect opportunity for you!

Join us!

We are currently seeking a highly motivated and versatile person to join our department to work as Research Officer within the project Case Studies on the Super-Rich.

What are you going to do

As a Research Officer, you will contribute to descriptive as well as normative discourse on wealth inequality by providing insights into the wealth of the super-rich. The main method for this is going to be the creation of case-studies on individual billionaires (especially from Germany, China and the Netherlands) that describe the respective billionaire’s sources of wealth accurately from an economic and sociological perspective, taking the historical development of family fortunes into account.

To that end, you will combine insights from journalistic rich lists, additional structured and unstructured sources (such as the Wikidata knowledge graph), insights from corporate information databases, and your own background research and data analysis. Based on a critical evaluation of these insights, you will provide short texts on individual billionaires that target audiences within and beyond academia.

Given on your skills and interest, contribution to an academic summary publication and/or presentation of insight in academic workshops is also possible. In your work, you will closely collaborate with Daniel Mayerhoffer, the project’s principal investigator, and also interact with practice stakeholders.

What do you have to offer

The successful candidate is based and is allowed to work in the Netherlands, demonstrates flexibility and proactivity, readily adapting to changing circumstances and proactively addressing challenges as they arise. We are looking for an enthusiastic candidate keen on interdisciplinary approaches and willing to critically evaluate and combine information from different sources.

In addition, you have:

• An undergraduate degree in Sociology, Economics or an adjacent discipline. Interdisciplinary studies are a clear plus;
• Proficiency (at least language level C1) in English, German and Standard Chinese as well as (inter-) cultural experiences in at least Germany and China;
• Basic knowledge of corporate structures, controlling and corporate law, especially in the above-mentioned countries;
• Skills in computational data analysis in Python, Julia, R or MS Power BI;
• Research experience, e.g. from student assistantships, and practical experience in extra academic (internship) appointments;
• Good communication skills at the intersection of academic and non-academic audiences.

What else do we offer you

We offer a temporary employment contract of 30,4 hours per week (0.8 fte) for nine months with a probationary period of two months, preferably starting on 1 October 2025.

A shorter contract period for more than 30,4 hours per week, or a longer contract period for less than 30,4 hours (at least 19 hours per week) is negotiable.

Besides the salary and a vibrant and challenging environment at the University of Amsterdam we offer you multiple benefits:

• an enthusiastic and warm team that is open to new colleagues;
• the possibility to set up a workplace at home;
• an inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Amsterdam;
• exposure to diverse research projects and collaborations;
• the UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional development and education;
• inclusive and supportive work culture.

At this department you will be working

You will be employed at the Department of Sociology. The Department of Sociology is one of the largest and among the leading sociology departments in Europe. It has a long tradition of theoretically informed, conceptually innovative and empirically driven research. Research at the department can be characterized by its critical and publicly engaged approach to urgent societal problems and questions.

The position is embedded in the research group Institutions, Inequalities, and Life courses(IIL). You will be part of a stimulating work environment with a variety of tasks and ample scope for individual initiative and development within an inspiring organization.

The Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences strives for and puts conscious efforts into having a work and academic environment that is inclusive. We commit to providing the grounds for equal treatment and empowering you to become a full participating member of our academic community, regardless of your background, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and/or age. We especially invite members from historically disadvantaged/under-represented groups to apply. If this vacancy speaks to you, but you are uncertain whether you meet all requirements, please do apply. Given the department’s commitment to diversity, we strongly encourage applications from all qualified candidates, and specifically from people with backgrounds underrepresented in academia.

If you recognize yourself in this profile and are interested in the role, we look forward to receiving your motivation letter and CV combined in a single PDF. You can apply via the red button no later than July 31 2025. Only complete applications received within the response period and submitted via the red button will be considered.

Selected candidates will be invited for an interview which are expected to take place as soon as possible after the closing date for applications. In case of equal qualifications, internal candidates will be given preference over external candidates.

For questions about the vacancy, you can contact:

• Dr Daniel Mayerhoffer, principal investigator, d.m.mayerhoffer@uva.nl