Postdoctoral Research Position: Gender+ Rights and Autocratization

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Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona

  • Career category: Monitoring & Evaluation /MEAL, Research/ Data analysis
  • Job type: PhD
  • Experience level: Other (specified in job description)
  • Organisation type: Research
  • Remote option: No
  • Right to work requirements: Not specified
  • Remuneration: USD 32,456.04 USD / yearly
  • Work schedule: Full-time
  • Length of contract: Temporary/ Fixed-term
  • Deadline: 09/11/2026
  • Location: Spain
Generic (e.g. 'gender focal point' role Human rights Political participation
Research project: GUARDA Project, “Global Autocratization Processes and Gender Rights: Indicators, Impacts, and Governance Monitoring”
Research line of the contract: Comparative Politics and Gender Studies
Description: The successful candidate will join the GUARDA Project, “Global Autocratization Processes and Gender Rights: Indicators, Impacts, and Governance Monitoring”, as a postdoctoral researcher. GUARDA is led by Dr. Maria Rodó-Zárate and Dr. Abel Escribà-Folch and based at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona).

Specific Tasks:
  • Contribute to the conceptual development and operationalization of indicators of gender+ rights erosion and expansion across the project’s main domains.
  • Oversee and substantively supervise the project’s AI-assisted data collection and coding process, working with specialized technical support and contributing to the refinement of coding protocols and validation procedures.
  • Validate and critically assess coded data, resolve substantively complex or ambiguous cases, and contribute to ensuring consistency and comparability across countries, time periods, and policy domains.
  • Conduct comparative research and analysis using the project’s data and develop original research within the broader thematic scope of GUARDA.
  • Collaborate with the Principal Investigators and other members of the research team and contribute to academic publications, conferences, workshops, and other project activities and outputs.

Qualifications
Required qualifications for candidate
  • PhD degree in Political Science, Sociology, Gender Studies, Human Rights, International Relations, Public Policy, or another relevant discipline within the Social Sciences.
  • Strong substantive expertise in at least one of the core areas of the GUARDA project, including gender and sexuality, women’s and LGBT rights, reproductive rights, anti-gender politics, or autocratization.
  • Experience in comparative social research and demonstrated ability to critically interpret legislative, policy, institutional, judicial, or other documentary evidence across different contexts.

Selection criteria:
Applications will be assessed on the basis of the qualifications listed above and the selection criteria below. Eligible candidates will be assessed according to the following criteria, each scored from 1 to 5 points:

  1. Academic profile and substantive relevance to the GUARDA project: 1–5 points. Quality and relevance of the candidate’s research trajectory and substantive expertise in relation to the project’s objectives and core research areas.
  2. Comparative research and methodological experience: 1–5 points. Experience in comparative empirical research, working with complex documentary and/or cross-national data, and applying appropriate methods for their systematic analysis and validation.
  3. Research capacity and ability to contribute to the project: 1–5 points. Demonstrated capacity to conduct high-quality independent and collaborative research, contribute to academic publications and other project outputs, and engage critically with the project’s AI-assisted research and data workflows.

Candidates must obtain a minimum score of 4 points in each criterion to be considered for the interview stage. The selection committee will decide which eligible shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview.

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