"PhD position on the Effects of Events and Faultiness on Multiteam System adaptation"

Welcome to Maastricht University! Complex problems are often solved by systems of teams working together interdependently on a common goal. The current project applies both laboratory and field study designs to investigate how such multi-team systems adapt to unexpected events. Thereby we specifically focus on the role of faultlines--the imaginary dividing lines that split up a system into subgroups—on multi-team system adaptation.

Our goal: With this project, we aim to better understand how multi-team systems adapt to unexpected events. In particular, we focus on the role of faultlines—the imaginary dividing lines that split a system into subgroups—in shaping how teams collaborate and perform under pressure. By advancing knowledge on these dynamics, we seek to contribute to both scientific theory and practical solutions for organizations.

Your colleagues: This PhD position is part of a larger project, funded by the US Army Research Institute for fundamental research. The research team consists of dr. Sjir Uitdewilligen (Maastricht University), prof. dr. Ramón Rico (Universidad Carlos III, Madrid), and prof. dr. Sherry Thatcher (University of Tennessee, US), as well as an additional PhD student who will be working at Universidad Carlos III in Madrid.

The project contains experimental studies in which multi-team systems are studied with participants in a laboratory setting, as well as field studies, in which members of multi-team systems in a variety of organizations will be interviewed and asked to fill in questionnaires over time. As a PhD student on this project, you will be involved in designing and conducting these laboratory and field studies in close collaboration with your supervisors. You will develop hypotheses, collect and analyse data, communicate with participants and organizations, write scientific papers, and present findings at scientific conferences.

You will be embedded in the Department of Work & Social Psychology at Maastricht University, where you will join an enthusiastic team of PhD candidates, assistant and associate professors. They will support you in developing your research and teaching skills, while offering a collaborative and international research environment.

As part of the PhD trajectory, you will: Develop hypotheses, design empirical studies, collect and analyse data, present findings at international conferences. Communicate with organizations working with multi-team systems. Write articles to be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals that will be part of the PhD thesis. The position includes a 10% teaching component, which may involve tutoring master's courses and supervising bachelor’s or master’s theses.

Requirements: For this project, we are searching for a proactive and organized candidate who is able to coordinate complex research projects and feels comfortable to communicate with members from a variety of organizations. Given the nature of the project, we look for a candidate with strong academic reasoning ability who is not afraid of some uncertainty and complexity. The following criteria apply to this position: A Master's degree in Social Psychology, Work & Organizational Psychology, Management, or a related field. Quantitative research and data analytic skills; Qualitative data analysis skills are a pre. Demonstrable scientific writing skills. High proficiency in written and spoken English.

What we offer: As PhD position at Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, you will be employed by the most international university in the Netherlands, located in the beautiful city of Maastricht. In addition, we offer you: Good employment conditions. The position is graded in scale P according to UFO profile PhD, with corresponding salary based on experience ranging from €3059,00 and €3881,00 gross per month (based on a full-time employment of 38 hours per week). In addition to the monthly salary, an 8.0% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus apply. An employment contract for a period of 12 months with a scope of 1,0 FTE. Upon a positive evaluation, an extension of 3 years will follow. At Maastricht University, the well-being of our employees is of utmost importance, we offer flexible working hours and the possibility to work partly from home if the nature of your position allows it. You will receive a monthly commuting and internet allowance for this. If you work full-time, you will be entitled to 29 vacation days and 4 additional public holidays per year, namely carnival Monday, carnival Tuesday, Good Friday, and Liberation Day. If you choose to accumulate compensation hours, an additional 12 days will be added. Furthermore, you can personalize your employment conditions through a collective labor agreement (CAO) choice model. As Maastricht University, we offer various other excellent secondary employment conditions. These include a good pension scheme with the ABP and the opportunity for UM employees to participate in company fitness and make use of the extensive sports facilities that we also offer to our students. Last but certainly not least, we provide the space and facilities for your personal and professional development. We facilitate this by offering a wide range of training programs and supporting various well-established initiatives such as 'acknowledge and appreciate'.