The Faculty of Social Sciences, INVEST Flagship Research Centre at at the University of Turku invites applications for contract-based, 2-year fixed term senior researcher (4-6 positions). Employment starts on 1.4.2026 or as agreed.

The positions are part of research projects funded by the Research Council of Finland: Stratification and Equality of Opportunity in the Era on Novel Technologies (STRATEQ), ‘The Unique and Shared Family Influences’ (USFI), and ‘Social inequality and labor markets under public vs private provision of services’ (PublicPrivate) or Courts as Protectors of Attacks against the Rule of Law (CoROL)

Job description

STRATEQ project examines how contemporary social stratification and technological transformation are reshaping Equality of Opportunity (EoO). The focus lies on gendered educational expansion and socioeconomic polarisation in labour markets, as well as on automation and the rapid development of artificial intelligence. The study draws on large-scale comparative data, including EU-SILC across EU member states, Finnish full-population register data (INVEST IFP), German SOEP panel data, and the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). Automation and AI exposure are measured using occupation- and education-based indices derived from O*NET data. The project is led by Academy Professor Jani Erola.

USFI Project develops a new methodological framework for studying Equality of Opportunity (EoO) across societies and over time: the Unique and Shared Family Influences (USFI) Model. The model enables a more precise estimation of how social family background contributes to intergenerational educational and socioeconomic attainment, while distinguishing these effects from genetic influences. The data sources include the Finnish full-population INVEST register data, the longitudinal MIDUS survey from the United States containing sibling and twin samples, and the TwinLife longitudinal dataset comprising information on over 4,000 German twin pairs and their family members. The project is led by Academy Professor Jani Erola.

CoROL project aims to investigate the core content of the rule of law principle that cannot be compromised even in times of crisis. The project approaches this question from legal, philosophical, and political perspectives. The subproject conducted within INVEST examines citizens’ trust in and perceptions of the legal system using high-quality European comparative surveys (e.g. Special Eurobarometer Rule of Law 2019 and 2024, European Social Survey 2002–2024) as well as other relevant data sources. The objective is to provide an overview of trends in Europeans’ attitudes toward the rule of law, the factors predicting trust in legal systems, and the macro-level contextual conditions related to these attitudes. The INVEST subproject is led by Senior Specialist Antti Kouvo.

The PublicPrivate project This research project investigates the implication of private versus public provision of services on customers utilizing the service and on employees in the service sector.A particular focus in the first part is on quality of services, whether public or private production of services yields higher quality of services holding expenditure constant. The quality of services will be investigated in extensive data for outcomes of customers of services, such as health, cognitive and schooling data. Quality differences are reflected in social inequality. The second research question is whether privatization of services leads to greater inequalities in the labor markets, e.g. due to collective bargaining agreements. The project uses Finnish register data. Within INVEST, the project is led by Professor Markus Jäntti in collaboration with Tuomas Kosonen from VATT.

More detailed descriptions of the projects are available here: https://invest.utu.fi/projects/ 

Applicants recruited to the projects are expected to possess strong and versatile methodological expertise, including multilevel models (mixed-effects models), fixed-effects models, as well as sibling and twin models. The researcher selected for the position is expected to be able to contribute to research employing these methods in collaboration with other members of the research groups. The research groups are international, work primarily in English, and engage in international collaboration.

The position includes a teaching obligation (up to 5% of working time).

The primary place of work is the University of Turku, but partial remote work in Finland is possible.

Who we are looking for

Requirements

According to University of Turku rules of procedure section 36 a person selected for the post of senior researcher is required to have a doctoral degree and the ability to do independent scientific work.

Essential qualifications:

• A doctoral degree in sociology, social policy, economics, statistics, another social science, or another relevant field.
• Strong scientific writing skills.
• Good command of statistical research methods (see methods listed above).
• Good proficiency in statistical software (e.g., R, Stata).
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a research team.
• Good command of English.

The eligibility requirements for the position must be fulfulled by the end of the application period for the position.

Researchers who do not yet hold a doctoral degree at the time of application may also be considered, provided that they expect to defend their dissertation within six months after the application deadline. In such cases, the position title will be Project Researcher until the doctoral degree is completed. The application must include a statement from the supervisor indicating the estimated date of the public defence.

Desirable qualifications

• Previous research experience, particularly related to the themes of the project.
• Experience working with register data, panel data, or other complex datasets.
• Expertise in advanced statistical methods and motivation to further develop such skills.

We value collegiality and promote equality, diversity, and inclusivity. We encourage all qualified applicants with different backgrounds to apply for our open positions.