Research Associate (m/f/d/x) (Research Associate)

Reference number 95/2026

Founded in 1409, Leipzig University is one of the large, research-intensive, and leading medical universities in Germany. With around 30,000 students and more than 5,000 employees in 14 faculties, it shapes life in the vibrant and cosmopolitan city of Leipzig. Leipzig University offers a dynamic and internationally oriented working environment as well as attractive and diverse career opportunities in research, teaching, transfer, infrastructure, and administration.

TRIBECA (Tackling the Responsibility of International Business and Enterprises as a Transnational Cause) is a German-French research project that investigates how corporate social responsibility has become the prevailing paradigm for shaping relationships between business, state, and society throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. The central research question is: How did corporate responsibility become a hegemonic framework for understanding business action, and which actor coalitions, spanning religious networks, multinational enterprises, international institutions, and civil society, drove its establishment as a transnational movement? Instead of viewing corporate social responsibility merely as a result of corporate strategies or regulatory pressure, TRIBECA views it as a historically grown category shaped by competing interests, ideological currents, and political dynamics on multiple levels, extending across local, national, and multilateral levels.

The project is jointly funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), has a duration of 36 months, and is divided into five thematic research focuses in which archival, ethnographic, prosopographical, and quantitative methods are combined. The working language of the project is English.

The two doctoral projects contribute to the overarching thesis that postcolonial development contexts played a decisive role in elevating corporate responsibility to the transnational level.

Postdoc Project

This project investigates to what extent skilled labor training and leadership development in late- and postcolonial contexts (1920–1975) functioned as an interface between corporate responsibility and development ideology. The focus is on how multinational enterprises and international organizations such as the ILO dealt with the often contradictory requirements of knowledge transfer, technology localization, and the sustainable training of local labor and leadership. To what extent did the gap between public development rhetoric and the internal practices of companies shape the general political economy of corporate responsibility? Applicants are encouraged to develop their own case study within this framework, whether focusing on a specific regional context, a specific multinational enterprise or an international organization (especially the ILO), or from a comparative regional perspective across Africa, Asia, or Latin America.

Integration into the Leipzig Graduate School offers additional opportunities for teaching and supervision.

Job Characteristics

• Pay group 13 TV-L
• Fixed-term until August 31, 2029
• 100 % of a full-time position

Your Tasks

• scientific cooperation within the framework of the project
• independent research and scientific writing, including archival research in Europe and internationally
• project coordination within the Leipzig team as well as coordination with the entire TRIBECA consortium
• collaboration on data management and the shared project database
• active participation in joint project results, including publications, workshops, and conference attendance
• involvement in science communication and public relations

Your Profile

• completed university degree in History, Social Sciences, or a related field
• completed or submitted dissertation in History, Social Sciences, or a related field with a project-related focus
• proven practical experience in dealing with corporate or institutional archives
• experience in dealing with and analyzing digitized primary sources
• English skills (B2) and additional language skills relevant to the proposed case study
• strong writing skills

What We Offer You

• the opportunity to participate in the Postdoc Certificate Program of the Graduate School Global and Areas Studies (GSGAS)
• a responsible area of responsibility in the exciting environment of a large university
• collaboration in a friendly, helpful, and high-performing team
• flexible working hours and mobile work for better compatibility of work and private life
• targeted personnel development in all phases of your professional life with opportunities for further training
• diverse offerings of occupational health management
• remuneration according to the TV-L collective agreement, including an annual special payment and company pension scheme
• a discounted public transport ticket (e.g., the Deutschlandticket as a job ticket)
• extensive catering in the dining halls and cafeterias of the Studentenwerk Leipzig

Research, teaching, transfer, infrastructure, and administration require a diversity of perspectives. The University therefore is committed to diversity and equal opportunity. Your application is welcome, regardless of gender, nationality, religion, cultural and social origin, age, or sexual orientation. The University strives to increase the proportion of women in responsible positions and therefore expressly invites qualified women to apply. In the case of equal suitability, people with severe disabilities or those equated to them according to SGB IX will be given preference. Should you have questions regarding accessibility or support needs as part of this application process, please contact the Representative for Severely Disabled Persons at Leipzig University at schwerbehindertenvertretung@uni-leipzig.de (https://mailto:[schwerbehindertenvertretung@uni-leipzig.de](schwerbehindertenvertretung@uni-leipzig.de)).

Have we piqued your interest?

Then please send us, in addition to your application, a 2-page project outline and 2 reference contacts addressed to Prof. Dr. Dmitri van den Bersselaar, University Professor, Leipzig University, Institut für Afrikastudien, by July 24, 2026, via our online application portal (https://uni-leipzig.b-ite.careers/jobposting/713b7e112bc0add0670766115cf32f632c66b3850).

For substantive questions regarding the advertised position, please contact Prof. Dr. Dmitri van den Bersselaar by telephone at +49 341 97-37035. Only persons with severe disabilities or those equated to them