Call – University of Liége

Call for Applications – University of Liége

Home Call for Applications – University of Liége

The REGULATING WORK project in a few words
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If the literature on informal economies allows to better understand how the majority of the world population makes a living, it has not overcome the limitations of the concept of informal economy itself. It remains for this reason unable to account for changes in the domain of work in both their diversity and complexity. To address the shortcomings of the concept, the REGULATING WORK project proposes new analytical directions that will be tested in a qualitative study on the regulation of work in the construction and transport sectors in Belgium and Benin or Cameroon.

A team of four Ph.D. students will focus on the role played in this process by state officials, on the one hand, and the actors involved in the two sectors, on the other. Our hypothesis is that their regulating activities do not result in a simple separation between formal and informal employment, but in various and complex forms of (in-)dependent work.

Such a project, we believe, touches upon a central issue of our times, that of analyzing the transformations of work beyond the normative model of the full-time stable job, and the dualistic analytical framework that goes along with it.

This project of a duration of four years (2019‑2023) is led by Benjamin Rubbers (anthropologist, LASC/IRSS) and François Pichault (sociologist, LENTIC/HEC) at the University of Liège.

Researchers will receive a monthly grant and funding for carrying out the research and participating to scientific events.

• Write and complete a Ph.D. dissertation before the end of the contract
• Complete the doctoral training programme
• Present research results in international conferences
• Participate in the logistics of the research project
• Publish at least one article as single author and one article as co‑author with the project leaders and/or other team members

• A MA degree in social sciences (anthropology, sociology, political science, management, development studies, or labour studies)
• Relevant experience with qualitative research
• Proficiency in French and English
• Ability and interest to work in team

Applications must be submitted electronically in English or French to  before 15 September 2019. The following documents must be attached to the email in two separate PDF files:

In a second phase, shortlisted candidates will be met in person at the University of Liège or remotely via Skype in early October 2019. The interview will be based on their scientific track‑record and the manner in which they envisage to develop their doctoral research (methodological strategies, possible theoretical developments, and relevant literature).

Results will be notified by mid‑October. Successful nominees will be expected to start in November 2019.