"Postdoc New Forms of Small-scale Youth Care (0.6 fte)"

Posting Date

Thursday 12 Jun 2025

Closing date

sunday 29 jun 2025

Working area

Scientific staff

Organizational unit

Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (ESSB)

Salary

€4,537 - €6,209

Scope

0.6 fte - 0.6 fte

Introduction

Do you want to make a difference for care providers and organizations in small-scale youth care? And unravel how this youth care can be effectively designed and organized? And do you like working together in a team? Then we are looking for you for a practice-oriented research into the organization of new forms of small-scale youth care.

Job description

In connection with the phasing out of closed youth care and in order to better meet the needs of young people, new small-scale forms of residential youth care are currently being developed. Small-scale youth care consists of, among other things, family homes and living groups for 4 to 6 young people who cannot live at home (temporarily). The aim of small-scale youth care is to offer young people who cannot live at home due to various problems a more individual, integral, specialist approach, based on customization, with a lot of attention, contact and care. However, the development towards small-scale youth care brings with it various challenges for care providers, teams and managers in these organizations. In this project you will conduct research into the organizational challenges and possibilities to properly shape small-scale youth care in practice.

The tasks you will perform during the research are:

• Collecting data in practice, including through qualitative research in focus groups, interviews with care providers and managers and questionnaire research;
• Analyzing the collected qualitative and/or quantitative data;
• Writing scientific publications;
• Active participation in the Consortium Small-scale in youth care, including maintaining contact with youth care organizations participating in the research;
• Presenting research results at (inter)national conferences and for social partners (including youth care institutions and municipalities);
• Taking courses and training that match your interests and the research project;
• To provide education to students in Educational Sciences, if possible.

You will conduct the research from EUR and in close collaboration with the Consortium Small-scale Youth Care (see https://www.awrj.nl/consortium-kleinschaligheid/

This consortium was established to shape the national development of small-scale youth care as well as possible by collecting, sharing and developing knowledge. The consortium consists of, among others, the Academic Workplace for Youth at Risk, various youth care institutions (including iHUB, Levvel, Parlan, Pluryn, Almata, Schakenbosch, Via Jeugd, VIGO, Elker, Jeugdhulp Friesland), AmsterdamUMC, Erasmus University and the Netherlands Youth Institute. We have drawn up a five-year development and research agenda from the consortium, consisting of five themes, namely: 1) the diversity of the small-scale supply, 2) the quality and effectiveness of small-scale, 3) the integrated day programme (including education), the 4) financial preconditions and 5) personnel preconditions of small-scale youth care. For this sub-project we are looking for a junior researcher (max 0.9 fte) or a senior researcher (max 0.6 fte) for 3 years to conduct research into the organization and personnel requirements for the proper design of small-scale youth care.

During the project, you will work closely with other researchers appointed to this project and supervised by a team consisting of at least Annemiek Harder (Erasmus University Rotterdam; EUR), Eva Mulder (University of Amsterdam/Netherlands Youth Institute/Pluryn) and Karin Nijhof (Pluryn).

Job requirements

We are looking for someone for this position:

• With a completed (research) master's degree or PhD in behavioral and social sciences, in the direction of work and organizational psychology, educational psychology, developmental psychology, clinical psychology, or related master's degree or PhD;
• Preferably someone who has demonstrable knowledge of or experience with management, personnel and organization;
• Who has a strong affinity with young people and families with multiple and complex problems and with care providers working in youth care;
• Who has good organizational skills and a proactive attitude;
• Who is good at directing and communicating with others;
• Who is flexible and can handle stressful situations well;
• Who has an affinity with conducting practical research;
• With good qualitative and/or quantitative research skills as demonstrated by a good assessment of the master's thesis and/or scientific publications;
• With good (academic) written and oral skills;
• Who has a good command of the Dutch and English language;
• Who can function well in a team, but can also function independently to a large extent.

Working conditions

We offer you an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent employment conditions in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU).

The starting date of the position is September 1, 2025. The full-time salary at the start of this position is € 4,537 gross per month (scale 11), in accordance with the CAO-NU. Your location is Campus Woudestein - Rotterdam, at Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB). The position has a size of 0.6 FTE. The contract is entered into for a period of 1 year and can then be extended for a period of 2 years.

Everything else we have to offer you can be found below!

• Everything you need for a good work-life balance : working from home in consultation, 41 vacation days with a 40-hour working week, 8% holiday pay and 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription to our sports center on campus
• A sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and the world. For example, make use of our bicycle contribution or participate in networks such as Young@EUR
• Time and space for your  development  in the broadest sense:  development days and a personal career budget  and free access to our  university library .
• A good pension with ABP to which we contribute 2/3, a discount on various collective insurance policies with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, Allianz, and a travel, home working and internet allowance.
• Do you combine your job with parenthood or do you have this desire for the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional maternity leave for partners, and there is childcare on campus (childcare at own expense).
• Are you moving to the Netherlands for a job at EUR? If so, you may be eligible for the 30% scheme if you meet the requirements of the Tax Authorities, and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find a nice job.

Employer

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a clear social vision on education and research – our mission is therefore 'Creating positive societal impact'. More than 4,100 employees work at EUR and almost 33,000 students from 140 countries follow our academic education. Everything we do, we do under the motto The Erasmian Way - Making Minds Matter. We are global citizens, connecting, enterprising, open-minded and socially involved. These Erasmian Values ​​function as our internal compass and make Erasmus University recognizable and distinctive to the outside world. Based on these values, with a broad perspective and an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve social challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan Rotterdam. Thanks in part to the high quality and positive social impact of our education and research and our characteristic mentality, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl .

Faculty / Institute / Service

Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (ESSB)

Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB) brings together disciplines such as public administration, pedagogical sciences, psychology and sociology. In addition, the Erasmus University College is affiliated with the faculty. Within ESSB, we work in multidisciplinary teams on education and research, with an emphasis on interdisciplinarity, diversity, inclusion and sustainability. Together, we strive for social and scientific impact.

ESSB distinguishes itself through inter-, multi- and transdisciplinary research, in which scientists and students work together on complex social issues. Thanks to this approach, ESSB succeeds in attracting both national and international research subsidies and funds, with which we continuously strengthen and renew our education and research.

With a wide range of bachelor's and master's programmes, ESSB serves almost 6,000 students and more than 600 employees annually. These programmes are highly valued by students and alumni. At ESSB, developing new insights and realising positive social impact are central, always with a focus on people and society.

Visit our website for more information about the faculty and click here for more information about our scientific teams.

Group

Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies (DPECS)

Our department consists of 6 teams and includes the disciplines of Psychology, Educational Sciences and Pedagogical Sciences; three closely related disciplines, each with its own profile. The different psychological specialization areas of DPECS focus on understanding cognitive, physical, and social functioning and well-being in the context of mental health, education and work. The educational sciences focus on issues of effectiveness and inclusion in primary, secondary and tertiary education. The pedagogical sciences focus on issues of daily and problematic development and upbringing within families, at school and in youth care. The disciplinary perspectives of DPECS complement each other and share the mission to generate societal impact with scientifically high-quality research into current societal issues, and with the use of innovative methods and techniques and open science. The bachelor's and master's programs of DPECS build on this mission and educate students to become scientifically trained professionals for the society of the future.

More information about the research at DPECS can be found here: https://www.eur.nl/en/essb/information/researchers/lab-society

More information about the educational programs at DPECS can be found here: https://www.eur.nl/essb/onderwijs

Our department also has access to an excellent laboratory for research and educational purposes. The Erasmus Behavioural Lab offers excellent facilities, including video observation, EEG, eye-tracking, virtual reality, experience sampling, and biofeedback: https://www.eur.nl/essb/informatie-voor/onderzoekers/erasmus-behavioural-lab

Department

Team Youth and Family

At the Youth and Family team, we generate the theoretical knowledge, applications and professional skills needed to optimise influential environmental factors. We aim to offer future generations the best possible opportunities for personal growth, happiness and mental health. We do this through fundamental research and action- and application-oriented research, together with partners in the field. To this end, we use various innovative research methods such as observations, diary studies, qualitative research and co-design and longitudinal questionnaire research. Team members provide education in the bachelor's programme in Educational Sciences, and the master's specialisations in Orthopedagogics and Parenting Issues in a Diverse Society.

Please visit our website for more information.

Additional information

For more information about the EUR, please visit our website  www.eur.nl .

Would you like more information about the vacancy? And/or would you like more information about the project regarding small-scale youth care?

Then you can contact prof.dr. Annemiek Harder via harder@essb.eur.nl .

Apply

The application procedure consists of at least 1 interview and possibly a 2nd interview. You can apply for this position until the closing date. Add your motivation letter, CV and transcript to your application. 

We look forward to receiving your application!

EUR offers equal opportunities to all employees and applicants, regardless of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity, disability, citizenship or any other aspect that makes them unique. We hope to meet you in our community.