Teaching and Research Associate

  • Vienna University of Economics and Business
  • Research, development, teaching
  • Part time
  • published till: 2026-05-06

You want to understand how things are connected and make a fundamental impact? We offer an environment where you can realize your full potential. At one of Europe’s largest and most modern business and economics universities. On a campus where quality of work is also quality of life. We are looking for support at the

Institute for Spatial and Social-Ecological Transformation (ISSET)
Part-time, 30 hours/week
Starting June 01, 2026, and ending after 6 years
 
ISSET is an inter- and transdisciplinary university institute that focuses on strongly theoretically grounded empirical analyses. Researchers at the institute endorse a broad understanding of economies as social-ecological provisioning systems and economics as a discipline that investigates the production, distribution, and consumption of infrastructures, services, and commodities that satisfy, primarily, human needs. It aims at understanding contemporary transformations with a focus on their spatial and social-ecological dimensions. Contemporary ecological (e.g., climate change and biodiversity loss), geopolitical and geoeconomic (e.g., rise of the Global South and militarization) and socio-political transformations (e.g., crises of liberal democracy, inequality and social cohesion) are always time-space specific. They shape and are shaped by context-sensitive forms of policies, multi-level governance, regulations, institutions, and discourses. ISSET explores innovative governance models for “transformation by design” by investigating democratic forms of multi-level planning that link top-down and bottom-up approaches. 

This position will be allocated to the research unit “Geographies of Inequalities”. This unit focuses on geographies of inequalities understood as cause and consequence of processes of uneven development. It investigates spatially differentiated forms of inequality including (lack of) access to monetary resources (e.g., dependent on social status and wealth of parents) and the (lack of) access to non-monetary resources (e.g., social networks, educational facilities, housing, employment, transportation) that are linked to and reinforce class, gender, and racial inequalities which together structure individual and collective opportunities and result in uneven socio-economic outcomes. Inequality also shapes the context- and power-dependent space of maneuver to foster more egalitarian politico-economic and social-ecological relations in (rich/poor) neighborhoods, cities, regions, countries and at international levels.

While the successful candidate will be open to multiple theoretical perspectives, we seek candidates with a background in economic geography, heterodox economics (e.g. social-ecological economics or political economy) or related social science disciplines. Candidates should have an interest in working on the intersection of inequality, social-ecological provisioning and livability at multiple spatial scales with an empirical focus on the U.S. Candidates are expected to clearly articulate their research interests and have excellent programming and quantitative methods skills to make use of data sources related to the the U.S. space economy available at ISSET. Candidates will develop their dissertation with strong policy applications in mind and are expected to be interested in conversations and able to connect their research with that of other research groups at ISSET.

What to expect

The Teaching and Research Associate will pursue a PhD in line with the overall orientation of the Department Socioeconomics. 

Your PhD should cover several of the following research fields:  

  • Geographies of inequality
  • Multi-scalar politics and inequalities
  • Social-Ecological Provisioning 
  • Liveability
  • Foundational Economy
  • Empirical work on the U.S. space economy (required)

You will be investigating your research topic and spending a third of your working hours on writing your dissertation. You will support teaching at the bachelor level (WUPol) and on the master level (SEEP) and engage in the co-supervision of final theses. 

What you have to offer

  • You have a diploma/master’s degree in economic geography, heterodox economics or related social science disciplines that qualify you for enrollment in a doctoral program at WU. 
  • You demonstrate commitment to theoretically grounded and methodologically sophisticated research in the above-mentioned fields. 
  • You have excellent programming (R, Phython,etc.) and quantitative methods skills.
  • You have strong communication and writing skills in English. German skills or commitment to learn German are an advantage. 
  • You are prepared to use multimedia teaching and learning formats. 
  • You submit a PhD proposal covering preliminary research question(s), literature of relevance and proposed approach to answering research question(s) (max. five pages). 

What we offer you

  • Six weeks of vacation/Extra vacation time
  • Flexible working hours
  • Training opportunities
  • A wide range of benefits, from an in-house medical officer to athletic activities and a meal allowance to a variety of employee discounts
  • Meaningful work in an open-minded, inclusive, and family-friendly environment
  • A modern campus with spectacular architecture in the heart of Vienna
  • Inspiring campus life with over 2,400 employees in research, teaching, and administration and approximately 21,500 students
  • Excellent accessibility by public transportation

Curious? Visit our website and find out more at www.wu.ac.at/benefits

The minimum monthly gross salary amounts to €2,832.08 (14 times per year). This salary may be adjusted based on job-related prior work experience. In addition, we offer a wide range of attractive social benefits.

Do you want to join the WU team?
Then please submit your application by May 06, 2026 (ID 2744).
We are looking forward to hearing from you!