Postdoctoral position in European Mobility Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen (UCPH)

Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position in European mobility law from 1 September 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter.

The position is a fixed term full-time position for 24 months with possibility of extension.

Introduction
The research position is situated at the Danish National Research Foundation’s Center of Excellence for Global Mobility Law, MOBILE. We seek a strong candidate with research interest and/or experience in the interplay between law and politics in the adoption, implementation and enforcement of European mobility law. Mobility law refers to the body of legal rules and practices governing cross-border human movement, including how people may enter, reside, move, and work across states. It spans different legal domains and issue0free movement, migration, transnational labour and human rights frameworks. The position deals with the part of MOBILE’s research, which analyses the legal and political processes through which regional infrastructures for transborder human mobility are shaped and subsequently implemented, enforced and contested in practice. Applicants are expected to take part in interdisciplinary research, which empirically examines the development, implementation and contestation of European immigration and free movement law, including their interplay with other national and international legal regimes and regional mobility systems in other regions.

The position is connected to an external grant from the Danish National Research Foundation to establish the Center of Excellence for Global Mobility Law (MOBILE). A core task of MOBILE is to examine how regional mobility regimes – in particular free movement regimes - are applied in practice, empirically covering three regions (EU, ECOWAS and MERCOSUR). As such, the postdoc will be expected to work in a cross-regional and interdisciplinary team, pursuing mixed-methods approaches combining legal desk research, qualitative methods and quantitative data analysis. Within this broader ambit, the candidate will be expected to focus on empirical legal analysis of e.g. judgments, including hand coding and statistical analysis. During the second half of the employment period, the candidate will further be expected to test the generalisability of findings through comparative studies with other regions of free movement.

Further information about the MOBILE center’s activities and overall research agenda can be found at https://mobilitylaw.ku.dk.

Duties and Responsibilities
The position will be heavily weighted in favor of research. In addition, a certain amount of teaching may also be required. Teaching duties will preferably be carried out at the Department of Political Science, alternatively at the Faculty of Law; or a combination of both. Other duties may, furthermore, be performed to a limited extent. The university determines the exact ration between the various responsibilities. The ratio may vary over time.

The postdoc will be expected to participate in and help organise team meetings and academic events related to the project, as well as overall meetings and activities organised by the MOBILE Center.

Qualification requirements and assessment criteria
Employment as a Postdoc requires academic qualifications at PhD level.

More information on careers at UCPH and the requirement for the different academic positions is available on: Career at The University of Copenhagen – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).

For more information about Postdoc positions and qualification requirements, please see the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities: Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2020 (ufm.dk).

The prospective candidate should have an established track record of research on either European free movement or immigration law, or a combination of both. The candidate will moreover be expected to engage with data analysis of legal provisions and judgments, and experience with quantitative analysis and hand coding is thus a requirement.

You will primarily be assessed in relation to your research qualifications, including your publications, ability to conduct independent research and participate in research collaborations as well as your experience in research management. In addition, the applicant’s research plan and research potential will be assessed in relation to the overall projects described above.

Teaching qualifications is not a requirement, but if the postdoc is expected to teach, then documented teaching experience can be included in the overall assessment. 

Application
Please submit your application online. To apply, please click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of this page. The application must be written in Danish or English, and include the following enclosures in Adobe PDF or Word format: 

• CV
• Cover letter
• Documentation of qualifications (exam certificates and PhD diploma)
• Complete publication list (attached publications must be marked with an asterisk). The list must be structured systematically and divided into the following categories:

• Peer-reviewed publications:

           Monographs and anthologies

           Articles in journals

          Book chapters/anthology contributions, etc.

• Non-peer-reviewed publications:

           Publications disseminating research findings, etc.

           You can attach a maximum of 3 publications. The publication dates must be clearly marked on the list. The selected publications must be uploaded as attachments and numbered [1-3]. 

• Research plan

• Documentation of teaching competencies/teaching portfolio (please see the UCPH guidelines for teaching portfolios here) and other work on the dissemination of research.

Only documents in English will be assessed.

Please familiarize yourself with the faculty’s strategy here: Strategy 2030 – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).

Salary and terms of employment
You will be paid in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at approximately DKK 39,200 / roughly EUR 5,200 + a 18.07% pension contribution. It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis.

The recruitment process
Once the deadline for applications has expired, the Associate Dean of Research, with advice from the Appointment Committee, selects applicants for assessment. All applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted and selected for assessment. After this, the Associate Dean of Research sets up an expert Assessment Committee to assess the shortlisted applicants. The selected applicants will be informed who is serving on the committee. Each shortlisted applicant will be offered the opportunity to comment on the committee’s assessment before the appointment is announced.

Further information on the recruitment process at UCPH can be found here: Recruitment process – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).

As an applicant to the University of Copenhagen, you should be prepared to undergo a security screening related to international research collaboration as part of the recruitment process. The security screening will be conducted in cases where the University deems it appropriate based on an overall assessment.

International applicant?
The University of Copenhagen offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark here: For international researchers at the University of Copenhagen – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).

An Equal Opportunity Workplace
The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, please see: HR Excellence in Research – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).

Contact information
Information about the recruitment process is available from HR South Sarah Lund, email: hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk  Please refer to ID number: 211-2434/25-2I

Questions about the substance of the position and MOBILE research agenda can be directed to Professor Dorte Sindbjerg Martinsen dm@ifs.ku.dk or Associate Professor Urska Sadl urska.sadl@jur.ku.dk

The deadline for applications is 13 April 2026 at 23:59 CET.

Any applications or additional material submitted after the deadline will not be considered. However, changes may be made to the submitted application right up until the deadline.