Postdoctoral Researcher in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Attention

What you do
This position is part of an NWO Replication Studies grant and focuses on the role of parietal cortex in spatial attention control. The project consists of two sequential replication studies investigating the effects of TMS on attentional orienting:

• Study 1 closely follows the original experimental design to reproduce the reported behavioural effects.
• Study 2 applies contemporary TMS methodology and improved experimental control to assess the robustness of the effect.

All work is conducted within a pre registered, transparently documented, and openly shared research framework, with strong emphasis on methodological rigour and reproducibility.

In addition to the core replication studies, the position includes dedicated time and support to develop complementary research ideas within the broader themes of TMS, spatial attention, and methodological innovation. You will have the opportunity to shape additional experimental work, contribute to ongoing projects in the lab, and pursue your own lines of inquiry that align with the research environment.

In this position, you will be responsible for:

• Designing and implementing TMS experiments on spatial attention within a pre-registered research framework
• Collecting and analysing behavioural, TMS, and fMRI data using appropriate statistical and computational methods
• Contributing to preregistration, documentation, and open sharing of data and analysis pipelines
• Writing scientific manuscripts and presenting findings at conferences
• Collaborating with PhD students and other researchers within the group and providing supervision of student projects where relevant
• Helping maintain a collaborative and supportive lab environment

Are you ready to set the course for the years ahead? Then we’d love to meet you.

What you bring
We are looking for a researcher with a clear interest in spatial attention and brain stimulation, and an understanding of the importance of replication and methodological rigour in cognitive neuroscience. You work independently, take responsibility for structured experimental workflows, and contribute constructively to a collaborative research environment with shared open science practices.

The position requires the following qualifications:
• A completed PhD in a relevant field: A doctoral degree in cognitive neuroscience, psychology, biomedical sciences, neuroimaging, neuromodulation, or a related discipline.
• Background in attention or visual cognition: Strong experience with experimental research on attention, perception, or related domains.
• Experience with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS): Hands-on experience with TMS in human participants, including experimental implementation.
• Experience with neuroimaging: Familiarity with fMRI is considered an advantage.
• Experimental and analytical skills: Experience with experimental design, data collection, and data analysis using tools such as Python or MATLAB.
• Scientific writing and independence: Proven ability to independently design and execute studies and communicate findings in scientific writing (English).
• Supervision and collaboration: Experience supervising students or supporting junior researchers, and the ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team.

PhD Candidate: Eyewitness memory under pressure

PhD Candidate: Eyewitness memory under pressure: How stress and arousal affect memory recall—and how to reduce their impact (Legal Psychology / Neuropsychology)

Our goal: We are looking for a PhD candidate with a specific interest in arousal, stress, and eyewitness memory. The aim of the project is to determine how acute stress and arousal at retrieval affect eyewitness recall, and to test interventions that may mitigate negative effects while supporting eyewitness well-being.
Your colleagues: The section Forensic Psychology consists of 12 permanent staff members, several internal and external PhD candidates and two postdoctoral candidates (see here for more information https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/fpn/forensic-psychology). You will also collaborate with colleagues from the Faculty of Health, Medicine, and Life Sciences and the Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology.

What you do
As PhD candidate in the section Forensic Psychology, you will have the following responsibilities and tasks:

• Conduct empirical research for your PhD trajectory, applying eyewitness paradigms, stress and arousal manipulations, eye tracking, psychopharmacology etc.
• Publish your research in (inter)national peer-reviewed journals and present findings at national and international scientific meetings;
• Endorse the principles of open science;
• Make positive contributions to the organization and cooperation within the section and faculty and have a strong proactive and collaborative approach;
• Have excellent communication (oral and written) skills in English;
• Fulfill a small teaching role (10%), teaching courses in the Masters’ and Bachelor programs at FPN, and supervising students.

What you bring

• A Master’s degree in legal psychology, neuropsychology, a Research Master, or a comparable psychology degree;
• Proven affinity with research in the field of eyewitness memory and/or arousal and memory;
• Ability to design and carry out high quality research;
• Experience with quantitative data analysis.

PhD Candidate on the Dynamics of Employee Resilience

PhD Candidate on the Dynamics of Employee Resilience

Our goal: To advance scientific insight into employee resilience by examining how work characteristics influence psychological and physiological resilience processes over time.
Your colleagues: You will join the Work and Organizational Psychology (WOP) section within the Department of Work and Social Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN), working closely with an enthusiastic and collaborative team of researchers and PhD candidates.

What you do
In this four year PhD project, you will investigate how working conditions — such as workplace stressors — shape employee resilience across time. The project combines field research with longitudinal, laboratory based studies, allowing you to explore how individuals respond and recover from repeated exposure to acute stress.

You will study resilience using both psychological indicators and physiological measures (e.g. heart rate), and examine how these relate to specific working conditions, as well as to employees’ health and well being. Most data collection will take place in the laboratory, complemented by field based insights.

As a PhD candidate, you will design and test hypotheses, collect and analyse data, present your findings at international conferences, and publish scientific articles that together form your PhD dissertation. In addition, the position includes a 10% teaching component, such as tutoring in the Master’s programme in Work and Organizational Psychology and supervising Bachelor’s and Master’s theses. You will also have the opportunity to obtain the University Teaching Qualification (UTQ/BKO).

You will be supervised by Dr Miriam Schilbach, Dr Bram Fleuren, Dr Nicole Jansen and Prof. Ute Hülsheger and be supported by a research team that values learning, collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Are you ready to set the course for the years ahead? Then we’d love to meet you.

What you bring
We’re not looking for checkboxes; we’re interested in who you are and what you bring. Do you recognize yourself in this?
• A strong academic foundation – You hold a Master’s degree in Work and Organizational Psychology or a closely related field.
• Research curiosity – You are genuinely interested in employee resilience, health and working conditions.
• Quantitative skills – You enjoy working with data and have experience with, or affinity for, statistical software such as SPSS, R, Mplus or similar tools.
• Structured and proactive – You can plan, organise and manage research projects independently within a larger team.
• Scientific communicator – You write clearly and are motivated to further develop your academic writing skills.
• Collaborative mindset – You contribute actively to teamwork and knowledge sharing.
• International outlook – You communicate fluently in English and are willing to learn Dutch (or already have a good command of it).

• Experience with laboratory studies or physiological data (e.g. heart rate) is an advantage, but not required.

Sports Coordinator - UM SPORTS

Sports Coordinator UM SPORTS (0.9–1.0 FTE)

• Our goal: To deliver a diverse sports program for various target groups and ensure student sports associations that function optimally.
• Your colleagues: A team of sports professionals, office staff, and internal and external partners (including MUMC+, Maastricht Sport, and other sports providers) who together make sports and physical activity possible.

The University Sports Centre in Randwyck is a vibrant place where sports, study, and social interaction come together. Students, staff, and external users make daily use of our facilities. To further strengthen this dynamic environment, we are looking for a coordinator who brings structure, supports student sports associations, and further develops the sports offering.

In this role, you combine coordination, leadership, and sports expertise (experience with group classes, aerobics, and yoga is a plus). You provide direction to the sports program, manage sports instructors, and translate developments in the sports sector into an attractive and varied offering. You act as a sparring partner for the Head of Department and work closely with colleagues, associations, and external partners.

You will lead approximately 25 sports instructors, often with small contracts. You ensure structure, clear communication, and a working environment in which people can develop. At the same time, you safeguard the quality of the sports offering and make adjustments where necessary.

This position allows for a hands-on role: combining coordination with (limited) teaching is possible. This keeps you closely connected to the practice and content of sports and physical activity.

We are recruiting two coordinators, totaling 1.8–2.0 FTE. One of these positions is temporary (1 year), while the other is part of the regular staff formation. Depending on your profile, experience, and preferences, we will determine a suitable role together. The exact possibilities and division will be discussed during the interview.

What will you do?
Your role is varied and includes:

Leadership and team development

• Recruit staff and establish agreements with external sports providers.
• Conduct development, absence, and performance interviews.
• Coach sports instructors and student sports association boards and act as a point of contact for content-related and operational questions.

Coordination and execution

• Plan and allocate work and prepare schedules.
• Monitor annual working hours and align capacity.
• Organize team meetings and stimulate collaboration.
• Act as a point of contact for multiple student sports associations.

Quality and development

• Monitor and improve the quality of the sports program.
• Initiate training, workshops, and class visits.
• Identify trends and translate them into new offerings.

Strategy and operations

• Contribute to the departmental plan and sports program.
• Monitor staffing and budgets within your teams.
• Advise on sports policy and program development.
• Contribute to events and projects.

Working hours: You will mainly work Monday to Friday and occasionally on weekends. Due to our extended opening hours, this will not always be between 09:00 and 17:00.

Are you ready to take on this versatile role? We would love to meet you.

What you bring
We are not looking for checkboxes, but for who you are and what you bring:

• Connecting leadership – You lead with trust and clarity and create strong team dynamics.
• Organizational talent – You maintain oversight, plan effectively, and bring structure to a dynamic environment.
• Decisiveness – You make decisions and stand firm when needed.
• Affinity with sports – You have a strong connection with (student) sports, health, and physical activity.
• Collaborative strength – You work smoothly with colleagues, associations, and external partners.
• Flexibility and resilience – You take initiative, recognize opportunities, switch quickly, and maintain calm and overview.
• Solid foundation – A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in sports studies/sports management (or similar) and at least 3 years of relevant work experience, including 1 year in a coordinating or leadership role.
• Strong communication skills – You communicate clearly in Dutch and English (both at least C1 level or willing to reach this level).

Promovendus

PhD Candidate in Smart Industry Labour Markets

• Our goal: The Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) at Maastricht University’s School of Business and Economics (SBE) is seeking a PhD candidate for the NWO-funded Smart Skills @ Scale (S@S) consortium. S@S is an eight-year, multidisciplinary research programme that brings together a national network of universities, universities of applied sciences, TNO, Smart Industry communities, over 450 SMEs, and social partners to develop a scalable skills approach for a human-centric, sustainable, and resilient Smart Industry. The PhD position is a shared appointment between ROA and the Department of Educational Research and Development (ERD) at SBE. The overall scientific objective of this PhD is to generate actionable insights into institutional labour market frameworks and policies that can accelerate skills development and make the Smart Industry labour market future-proof.
• Your colleagues: You will be part of a dynamic, internationally oriented research environment at ROA, one of the leading European research centres on education, training, and the labour market. Your supervisory team includes Dr. Marie-Christine Fregin (ROA, co-supervisor and daily contact person), Dr. Therese Grohnert (ERD, co-supervisor) and Prof. dr. Tum Huijts (formal supervisor at ROA). Within the broader S@S consortium, you will work alongside other PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers from institutions including the University of Twente, Radboud University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, HAN, Windesheim, and TNO. The consortium also has an international scientific advisory committee composed of senior professors from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Germany.

As PhD candidate, you will conduct original empirical research on institutional labour market frameworks and policies that can accelerate skills development and foster a future-proof Smart Industry labour market. Your work sits at the intersection of labour economics, sociology, and innovation policy, and will generate both scientific publications and actionable insights for policymakers and social partners. You will be fully integrated into the S@S consortium, which provides a rich collaborative environment with regular consortium conferences, symposia, and co-design sessions with stakeholders from industry, education, and government.

What you do

• Conduct systematic and longitudinal analyses of institutional labour market policies, examining how formal and informal institutions influence skills development behaviours among organisations and workers.
• Investigate the dynamics of policymaking processes in the Dutch labour market, including decentralised wage bargaining and interactions within the Polder model, using a complex adaptive systems lens.
• Co-create a mission-oriented innovation capability maturity labour market roadmap together with social partners, employer and employee organisations, and Smart Industry stakeholders.
• Develop and validate policy-oriented institutional labour market frameworks that incorporate skill-based approaches to employment and innovation.
• Work with large-scale quantitative datasets and contribute to the consortium’s employee panel study.
• Prepare scientific studies to be submitted to international peer-reviewed journals.
• Contribute to policy briefs, stakeholder engagement activities, and expert sessions with social partners.
• Present findings at national and international academic conferences.
• Contribute to the research community at ROA and UM, for example by raking part in ROA's internal seminars.

Are you ready to contribute to shaping the labour market of the future? Then we’d love to meet you.

What you bring
We’re not looking for checkboxes; we’re interested in who you are and what you bring. Do you recognise yourself in this?

• Academic background: A completed (or near-completion) Master’s degree in economics, sociology, public policy, political science, or a closely related social science discipline.
• Quantitative research skills: Solid training in econometrics, applied statistics, or quantitative methods for the social sciences. Experience with longitudinal and/or institutional analysis is an asset.
• Research and project experience: Experience in empirical research projects and/or project management is valued.
• Substantive interest: Demonstrable interest in labour market institutions, skills policy, lifelong learning, technological change, and/or the future of work.
• Language and communication: Strong academic writing skills in English. Willingness and ability to learn Dutch at a professional working level within the first two years of the appointment.
• Collaborative mindset: A proactive and collaborative disposition, with the ability to work both independently and as part of a team. Affinity for agile work processes is also an asset.