Call for Applications: Postdoctoral Position 2018

The Research Center for Integrated Disaster Risk Management (CIGIDEN) and the Centre
for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (COES) jointly call for applications for a
postdoctoral researcher position in Santiago de Chile.
The Research Center for Integrated Disaster Risk Management (www.cigiden.cl) is a
multidisciplinary research Center funded by CONICYT and located in Santiago, Chile. It
brings together four universities and researchers from diverse fields (e.g., Anthropology,
Design, Earth Sciences, Geography, Engineering, Psychology Sociology, and Urban
Studies). The aim of CIGIDEN is to produce excellence-level and interdisciplinary research
on all aspects of the disaster cycle (preparedness, response, participation, recovery, and
mitigation) and to mitigate disaster impacts by building more resilient communities.
CIGIDEN is hosted by the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (www.uc.cl), ranked first
in Latin America by the 2018 QS international ranking and third by the Times Higher
Education Latin America University Ranking 2017.
The Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (COES) develops collaborative research
on issues related to social conflict and cohesion (coexistence) in Chile through a
multidisciplinary team from social and human sciences. COES focuses its academic and
dissemination activities on the analysis of the multiple manifestations of social conflict in
Chile, its causes, and its cultural and historical context. The Center is sponsored by
Universidad de Chile (www.uchile.cl) and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
(www.uc.cl), and its partner institutions are Universidad Diego Portales (www.udp.cl) and
the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (www.uai.cl). COES is funded by the FONDAP program of
CONICYT.
This postdoctoral call is shared among institutions; hence, the selected candidate is
expected to integrate research teams at both centers and to contribute to reinforcing joint
work. Contest seeks candidates with an interdisciplinary academic research profile.
The position
CIGIDEN and COES offer a 2-year postdoctoral position focused on the area of disasters
and social cohesion. The selected candidate will collaborate with two specific areas of
each center.
On one hand, at CIGIDEN, the candidate will join the “Social Practices” cluster, which
focuses on understanding both the sociocultural logics of disasters and the role of
communication practices and emerging technologies in citizen participation for disaster
risk reduction and promotion of resilient communities.
On the other hand, at COES the candidate will join the “Geographies of Conflict” research
line, which aims to study inequality and multidimensional segregation at an urban and
territorial level, and its manifestations around the urban and socio-environmental conflict,
sociability, participation, and regional/territorial identities, among others.
The selected candidate is expected to contribute to mixed methods research for the
understanding of social cooperation problems in areas affected by disasters. Thus,
candidates’ applications must also describe potential contributions to research on
segregation and/or territorial inequity and its relationship with disaster phenomena. The
communities and/or territories of study will be chosen once the candidate has been
selected, based on the candidate’s work proposal.
Specifically, the researcher is expected to have experience in design and analysis of
qualitative and quantitative data (for example, surveys). In addition, the candidate must
have experience in fieldwork and will have to contribute to fieldwork of CIGIDEN-COES
research teams’ projects. Knowledge in one or more of the following lines of research is
expected: (i) political accountability; (ii) territorial inequity and resilience. To address the
intersection of these research lines, the application has to explicitly include social conflict
and social cohesion in its research objectives. Knowledge about topics (i) and (ii) in the
field of disaster research is not required, but desirable.
Requirements
Candidates must have a doctorate degree in social sciences (such as sociology, political
science, social psychology, or related fields). The degree must have been obtained during
the last four years or expected to be obtained by May or June of 2018. The candidate
must also be fluent in English, especially for writing, and have basic Spanish knowledge for
research purposes.
Expected achievements
The position will be subject to performance assessment at the end of the first year, taking
into account the following achievements. The selected candidate will have to produce at
least two WOS (ISI) papers, which must be affiliated with both CIGIDEN and COES. At least
one of the papers must be sent to journals during the first year. The second paper must be
sent during the second year. In addition, the selected candidate will have to submit a
postdoctoral proposal to FONDECYT during the first year[1]. The candidate is also
expected to participate in the activities of CIGIDEN and COES and must get involved with
the research lines/clusters indicated above.
Application
The call closes on May 31, 2018, and the working position will start between the end of
August and beginning of September 2018. The positon term length is for a minimum of 12
months and a maximum of 24 months with CIGIDEN/COES funding, according to a set of
achievements in the first year.
The selected candidate will be sponsored by CIGIDEN/COES (e.g., with work space) at
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and/or at Territorial Intelligence Center of
Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez and will reside in Santiago de Chile. The payment will be made
through a monthly payment (with a 10% tax holding) for an amount of $1,800,000 Chilean
pesos (approximately US $30,000 per year depending on the exchange rate). Transfer
costs of researchers residing abroad will also be funded.
To apply, send a motivation letter (1 page), a research proposal (2-3 pages), a sample of
publications or written work, a CV, and two letters of recommendation. The e-mail should
have “Postdoc CIGIDEN-COES” as the subject and be addressed to Luis Maldonado
(lmaldona@uc.cl), Manuel Tironi (metironi@uc.cl), and Luis Valenzuela
(luis.valenzuela@uai.cl). The first selection of candidates will be based on this information.
Candidates could also be invited for an interview (via Skype if necessary).
For additional information, please contact Luis Maldonado (lmaldona@uc.cl).

[1] Post-doctoral program for 2018 is expected to be opened in July 2018,

www.conicyt.cl/fondecyt/category/concursos/postdoctorado/