Research Associate (Post-doc, f/m) in Housing Studies - Ref : 25-06

The Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)

is recruiting a

Research Associate (Post-doc, f/m) in Housing Studies

• Ref: 25-06
• 2 years fixed-term working contract at LISER (with a possibility of a one (1) year extension)
• Full-time, 40 hours/week
• Department: Urban Development and Mobility (UDM)
• Work location: Belval (Luxembourg)
• Deadline: March 14th, 2025 at midnight CET

LISER is looking for a Research Associate (Post-doc) who will play a key role in developing high quality, scientific and policy-relevant work within the Urban Development and Mobility department, in particular in the framework of the Housing Observatory.

The Housing Observatory is a multi-annual collaboration between LISER and the Luxembourg Housing Ministry. It is the authoritative source in Luxembourg for housing prices and rental statistics, information related to residential land (price, availability, ownership), and housing affordability indicators. The Housing Observatory also supports the Ministry of Housing in the development of policy, through the drafting of thematic research reports. Recent reports have focused on the housing situation of different sociodemographic groups (e.g. social tenants, young people), residential satisfaction, the effects of housing subsidies, emerging rental products and the analysis of recent market developments. Current projects involve the analysis of the distribution of the ownership of land and housing, residential choice and mobility, as well as an investigation of rental yields. More information on the Housing Observatory is available here: https://logement.public.lu/fr/observatoire-habitat.html.

The Urban Development and Mobility department brings together researchers from a number of different disciplines (including geography, economics, sociology, and urban planning) who draw on both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, with a strong spatial analysis component. The department has two research teams: Living with Urban Dynamics, focused on individual behaviors related to flexible living, health & space and urban analytics, and Governance of Urban Dynamics, working on cross-border integration, housing, land & planning and networks of finance. Current housing-related research interests in the department include hedonic pricing models, the impact of affordable housing on wellbeing, emerging rental segments (high-density shared housing, co-living and corporate STR), the political economy of land and housing, and housing governance – with a focus on different scales of analysis (local, national, or cross-border) and a comparative approach. The department offers tailored support for those interested in developing research proposals for competitive funding opportunities. More information on the department can be found here: https://www.liser.lu/fr/urban-development.

Your role

The successful candidate will have two main missions:

• To advance the social and spatial analyses conducted in the Housing Observatory;
• To develop an innovative research agenda and produce research outputs in line with the broad scientific interests of researchers in the Urban Development and Mobility department.

Your profile

The successful candidate is expected to have:

• A Ph.D. (or to be close to the completion thereof) in housing studies, geography, sociology, economics or other relevant social sciences;
• Previous research in the field of housing studies, as well as a demonstrable social impact in research outputs;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English. Proficiency in French or German will be considered as an asset;
• All housing-related research themes are welcome, but experience with rental regulation, housing needs assessment, and housing-related discrimination is of particular interest.

LISER particularly encourages female researchers to apply

What we offer

• A dynamic and international research environment with attractive working conditions and a stimulating work environment ;
• Flexibility in the organisation of the working hours and the possibility of teleworking ;
• Competitive remuneration according to the Collective Labour Agreement in force (half of a 13th month salary, meal vouchers, etc.) ;
• Investment in career support and development (trainings, seminars, participation to international meetings and conferences) ;
• 32.5 days of annual leave for a full-time contract.

How to apply

Please submit your complete application in English via https://jobs.liser.lu/jobs by including the following documents before March 14th, 2025 :

• Curriculum vitae ;
• Motivation letter outlining your innovative research agenda and potential research contributions (e.g. topic-wise and/or methodological) to the Housing Observatory and the UDM Department ;
• Recent piece of research ;
• Copy of your PhD diploma ;
• Two reference letters (uploaded with the application or sent separately to recruitment@liser.lu).

Deadline to submit applications: March 14th, 2025 at midnight CET

If you have any work-related questions, please contact Dr. Antoine PACCOUD at antoine.paccoud@liser.lu.

For administrative matters, please contact Mrs. Vanya KIROVA at recruitment@liser.lu.

Why LISER?

LISER is a publicly funded research institute located in Luxembourg and dedicated to applied empirical research in economic, social and spatial sciences. The Institute attracts top researchers from all over the world and high-level student training is a vibrant part of the Institute’s activities. LISER staff consists of approx. 200 employees, about 60% of the staff being researchers; mainly from the fields of economics, geography and sociology. The vision of the institute is to be a socio-economic research institute internationally recognised, focused on scientific excellence and societal impact, able to contribute through multi-disciplinary and intersectoral research, in an active and inclusive way to a sustainable and inclusive society at national and international level.

The institute is located on the new Belval campus in the south of Luxembourg (Cité des Sciences, Luxembourg), which hosts the University of Luxembourg and a substantial part of the country’s publicly funded research facilities, i.e.LISER, the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) cross-national data centre, the Luxembourg institutes of Health (LIH) and of Science and Technology (LIST). Information on research in Luxembourg is accessible via the national EURAXESS platform.

LISER is an Equal Opportunity Employer