Senior Researcher - AGR-ARA/VUB FED-tWIN mandate

Category:  Academic Staff & Researchers

1 - Context

This position for a senior researcher is opened in the framework of the FED-tWIN programme, supported by the Federal Science Policy (Belspo). You will be attached half-time to the General State Archives (ARA) and half-time to the RHEA (Research Centre Gender, Diversity and Intersectionality) research group at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).

About the VUB

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike. 

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located. 

Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again. 

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

About the AGR-ARA

The General State Archives and State Archives in the Provinces is a federal scientific institution that is part of the Federal Programmatic Public Service (POD) Science Policy. The institution consists of the General State Archives in Brussels, 18 branches of the State Archives across the country and the Study and Documentation Centre War and Contemporary Society (SOMA) in Brussels.
The State Archives acquire and preserve (after selection) archives at least 30 years old, originating from courts and tribunals, public administrations and notaries, as well as from the private sector and individuals (companies, politicians, associations and societies, influential families, etc.). The valorisation of these archives is one of the institution's main missions.
Not only in its 19 study rooms, but also online, the State Archives puts an extensive research environment at the disposal of a wide and varied public.

2 - Position description

Education and Research domain:

History of colonisation, the Great Lakes, sub-Saharan Africa - Research profile Prf-2021-032_GUSANGIRA between AGR-ARA and VUB

Education tasks:

• You participate in teaching activities: supervision of Bachelor's and Master's theses;
• You are co-titular of the working lecture ‘Traces of colonisation’.

Research tasks:

• You write grant applications (e.g. FWO, ERC, BRAIN) on topics linked to Rwandan/Burundian colonial history;
• You take care of collaboration: expanding colonial / African history and collaborating with existing,research expertise & centres (HIST & SHOC);
• You will develope an independent research project resulting in international publications around the colonial archives of Rwanda and Burundi, specifically on:
  • reterritorialisation and reproduction/removal of African experiences in the archives;
  • who speaks, and the ways in which local/subaltern voices are mediated through the archives.
• You take inventory of archives from the mandate areas of Rwanda and Burundi;
• You develop a resource guide concerning this archives series;
• You ensure a dissemination of the archives series to both academic and non-academic audiences (NGOs, associations, secondary schools,...);
• You conduct pioneering research in the history of collective identities and colonial governance in Rwanda and Burundi.
   

3 - Profile

What do we expect from you?

• Specific expertise
  • You have demonstrable experience in the (colonial) history of Central Africa. An expertise on the Great Lakes (preferably Rwanda and/or Burundi) is preferred.
  • You have an MA in Archival Science or demonstrable experience working with colonial sources and/or in colonial archives. Familiarity with working in ‘Africa archives’ is preferred.
  • You have successful experience in developing, requesting, implementing and coordinating research projects.
  • You have a good knowledge of English, French and Dutch required, passive knowledge of German necessary.
     
• Experience(s) and skills:
  • You have experience in collaborating/organising activities with socio-cultural sector, heritage and civil society. 
     
• More specific skills:
  • Demonstrated teaching skills recommended, especially in colonial/African history
  • Strong academic CV and publication record, preferably a publication record demonstrating expertise in colonial/African history. 
• You subscribe to the university’s vision of education. The full text in relation to this is available on the university website.
• Every first appointment is dependent upon the successful delivery of a teaching session.  
• Language regulations:

A member of the academic staff who is entrusted with a teaching assignment must also be able to demonstrate that the language of instruction is known at ERK level C1 through a qualification certificate or through an adequate diploma. The VUB also provides courses in, for example, academic English.

The administrative language of the VUB is Dutch. In case of insufficient knowledge of Dutch, the VUB will provide an integration course. After a maximum of five years, a member of the academic staff must demonstrate adequate knowledge of the administrative language (ERK level B2).

For a complete overview, please consult the complete language regulations on https://jobs.vub.be/content/Regulations-concerning-language-proficiency/. 

Certificates demonstrating knowledge of the language can already be added to the application. 

The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.

4 - Offer

Are you going to be our new colleague?

Then we offer you a full-time senior research position for an initial period of 3 years, renewable for 2 terms of 5 years after positive evaluation.

The appointment, with planned starting date 01-02-2025, is in the form of two half-time contracts at the General State Archives and State Archives in the Provinces, and the VUB, respectively.

At the ARA, the 50% appointment is at SW2 level (senior researcher) with a contract of indefinite duration.

At the VUB, you will be appointed as a 50% lecturer with a temporary appointment for a term of three years,renewable after positive evaluation.

You’ll receive a salary linked to one of the scales set by the government.

At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to (further) build on your career.

As well as this, you will also enjoy various other benefits:

• Extensive homeworking options, a telework allowance of 50 euros per month OR an internet fee of 20 euros per month;
• An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
• Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
• Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike; 
• A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
• Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in  all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques; 
• Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps; 
• The space to form your job content and to continuously learn through our VUB learning platforms and training courses;
• And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.

5 - Interested?

Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?

Then apply, at the latest on 15/11/2024, via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:

• your motivation letter, including your vision on education and research, and an explanation about the development of your future research;
• your curriculum vitae, including you academic dossier; 
• your diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni) and language certificates.

Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Benoit Henriet (VUB) and/or Sébastien Dubois at benoit.henriet@vub.be en/of sebastien.dubois@arch.be or on +32 2 629 21 08.

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.

Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu, and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.