PhD in Politics and Administration - Reconstruction Work During External Efforts to Rebuild Ukraine

The Department of Social Sciences and Business, Roskilde University, invites applications for a position as PhD of Social Science from 1st of September 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter. The position as PhD is limited to a period of 3 years.

Description of the PhD project
The title of the PhD project is “Reconstruction Work During External Efforts to Rebuild Ukraine”. The project will examine the simultaneous impact of war and international capacity building efforts in contemporary Ukraine, focusing on where and why Ukrainian public servants shape or alter the reconstruction policies and projects that are part of capacity building efforts by international organizations and donors. It aims to draw on perspectives from development studies and public administration. The PhD project allows the candidate to formulate their own project within this frame, while working in close collaboration with Associate Professor Kim Sass Mikkelsen at Roskilde University, Department of Social Sciences and Business (ISE) and Senior Researcher Mikkel Funder the Danish institute for International Studies (DIIS). The PhD project is linked to a larger project covering a range of political and economic processes in Ukraine undertaken at DIIS. The candidate will be based at ISE and DIIS in Denmark but is also expected to, so long as safety concerns permit it, conduct fieldwork in Ukraine. The project will assist the PhD candidate in getting access to relevant staff in Ukraine. At ISE the PhD candidate will also participate in teaching to a limited extent.

The Doctoral School
You will be enrolled as a PhD fellow at the Doctoral School of Social Sciences and Business with approximately 45 PhD fellows from all over the world.

The Doctoral School of Social Sciences and Business provides PhD training and research within an interdisciplinary, international, and professional environment. It is part of a dynamic community of researchers who share a commitment to understanding society in diverse contexts of change and global engagement. Researchers come from all over the world and engage in topics that are geographically, theoretically and methodologically diverse. The Doctoral School has one PhD program. The program offers work in progress seminars, thematic professional development seminars, feedback and social activities for the enrolled PhD fellows. As a PhD fellow you will be associated with the Roskilde School of Governance research group.

The PhD fellow will also spend time at the Danish Institute for International Studies. DIIS is a publicly funded independent research institution which researches foreign, security and development policy. The institute carries out both basic research, policy analysis and commissioned assignments. At DIIS the PhD fellow will be based in the Research Unit on Sustainable Development and Governance. The Unit examines the interaction between global development and governance and is currently developing its research on Ukraine.

Responsibilities and tasks
As a PhD fellow you are trained at an international level to undertake research. You are responsible for carrying out independent research under supervision and receiving constructive feedback in the PhD program to finish your PhD thesis. During your employment you are required to take 30 ECTS of coursework, and gain experience in teaching and supervision. You are also required to have a research environmental change during your PhD enrollment. The environment change can take place at foreign or local universities or research institutions.

For more information, please see chapter 3, Ministerial Order on the PhD Program at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions (English translation here) and Ph.d.-protokolattet i Cirkulære om overenskomst for Akademikere I Staten (only in Danish)

Qualifications
You must hold a master’s degree or equivalent within the social sciences (e.g., political science, public policy, economics, sociology, or global and development studies). Qualifications within the following areas are required

• Proficiency in English
• Preference for candidates that understand or speak Ukrainian

We also emphasize the following qualifications:

• Public administration
• Development
• Public project design, implementation, and management
• Fieldwork
• Knowledge of reconstruction processes
• Knowledge of the Eastern European region

You are required to be enterprising and to possess good communication skills and to be a visible, involved participant in the institutions’ daily activities, in addition to being willing to engage in disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration across them.

Applications are invited from both inside and outside Denmark, including Ukraine.

Assessment
In the assessment regarding employment consideration will be given to;

• Relevant Master’s degree or equivalent (according to Danish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education).
• Any additional academic requirements stated in the job advertisement.

In the assessment regarding enrollment consideration will also be given to the following criteria:

• Educational skills and any further professional qualifications
• Grades at Master’s programme or equivalent
• Quality and relevance of the project description
  • Considerations regarding ethical aspects, access to the field and how to deal with language and translation shall be included in your project description
• Quality and relevance of the methodical and theoretical choices
• Consistency and coherence between the problem and the choice of method and theory
• If the PhD project seem realistic and feasible
• Ability to complete the PhD project
• Relevance of the project to the profile of the Doctoral School
• Your project description shall be no more than 5 pages, excluding list of literature, tables and the likes.

Questions
For further information about the position, please contact Associate Professor Kim Sass Mikkelsen ([email protected]). For technical or administrative questions, please contact PhD Coordinator Ida Bruhn Bull [email protected]. For information regarding the DIIS Ukraine research project please contact Lars Engberg-Pedersen [email protected].

Terms of employment
The employment is full time, 37 hours per week and, while at the Department of Social Sciences and Business, you will refer to Dean Morten Frederiksen. At DIIS, you will refer to the head of the Sustainable Development and Governance Unit, Lars Engberg-Pedersen.

While attending important meetings at both institutions throughout the PhD project, you will have a time period primarily affiliated with ISE and a time period primarily affiliated with DIIS. The details will be agreed upon in PhD Plan after enrollment.

The position will be filled according to the Agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) and Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities.

Application procedure
After the deadline for applications the Dean will shortlist applicants for assessment with assistance from the recruitment committee including the chairperson of the assessment committee.

Shortly after the application deadline all applicants will be notified whether or not their application has been selected for assessment.

The shortlisted applicants will be informed about the composition of the assessment committee, and each applicant will be given the opportunity to comment on the composition of the committee and - later on - their assessment.

Once the recruitment process is completed, all applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application.

Application
To apply for the position go to www.ruc.dk/en/job/

Only applications in English are accepted.

Applications must include:

1. Cover letter

2. CV

3. Documentation of education including grades from Master’s programme or equivalent

4. Your description of the PhD project

5. Your time schedule of the PhD project

6. If applicable: Documentation for any research experience, work experience or publications.

Please submit your application no later than March 17, 2025.

Material received after this date will not be taken into consideration.

Roskilde University wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.