Research professor in Social and Cultural Psychology (BOFZAP

Organisation/Company KU LEUVEN Research Field Psychological sciences » Psychology Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Final date to receive applications 1 Sep 2026 - 23:59 (UTC) Country Belgium Type of Contract To be defined Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 1 Sep 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number BZI-2026-22 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

The successful candidate is expected to develop an internationally respected research program in the domain of social and cultural psychology, advancing our understanding of the interdependence of social structure and/or cultural context and the psychologies of individuals, dyads, and groups, and addressing one or more societal and/or global challenges. The successful candidate is expected to be part of national and international research networks, and to engage in inclusive and equitable research collaborations within the Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, with other researchers and research units at KU Leuven and across disciplines.

The candidate will:

• be an excellent researcher of Social and/or Cultural Psychology who advances novel and theory-based research that has the potential to address societal and/or global challenges,
• bring in a variety of state-of-the-art research methods and paradigms which they flexibly adopt in function of the research questions at hand (see above),
• strengthen existing research at the Center for Social and Cultural Psychology by bringing in complementary skills and expertise into research collaborations (see above),
• publish in international peer-reviewed journals,
• develop an internally cohesive, theoretically sound research program, as evident from acquiring competitive research funding from national and/or international agencies to establish their own lab group (or at least submitting effective research proposals for this purpose),
• be an effective mentor for master students and PhD and postdoc researchers to foster their personal growth as well as to help them perform research according to international scientific standards,
• establish both within and outside KU Leuven, national and international equitable partnerships in the context of the research program,
• strive for excellence in research, including advancing theoretical perspectives and critical thinking, thereby contributing to the international research reputation of the Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, the Faculty of Psychology & Educational Sciences, and KU Leuven.

Although the emphasis at the start of the appointment will be on research, the successful candidate is expected to have a small teaching load (from the start of employment, making gradually increasing contributions to the psychology curriculum). The candidate will also contribute to the pedagogic project of the faculty/university:
They develop teaching in accordance with KU Leuven’s vision on activating and research-based education and make use of the possibilities for educational professionalization offered by the faculty and the university.

The full intended course-package to be developed in a gradual stepwise way over the first ten years likely consists of teaching in an Advanced Research Methods course and research-based courses such as Topics in Social and Cultural Psychology and Lectures in Psychology, Culture and Society (advanced BA or MA-level) in English, as well as – over time – develop an introductory course and accompanying practicum on Social Psychology in Dutch for first year BA psychology students, and a new social psychology module for interfaculty teaching.

Candidates do not have to be proficient in Dutch at the time of hiring, but it is a condition (level B2) for tenure after 5 years, and level C1 is required for teaching courses in Dutch.

The candidate:

• should have a broad background that allows them to teach in domains such as social psychology, cultural psychology, and/or intergroup relations.
• should be able to teach advanced research methods, and state-of-the- art substantive theory and research in social and cultural…