Category: Academic Staff & Researchers
1 - Working at the VUB
For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike.
At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located.
Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again.
Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.
2 - Position description
The Faculty of Languages and Humanities, Research Group SHOC (Social History of Capitalism) is looking for a postdoctoral researcher.
More concretely your work package contains:
- You will conduct high-quality research in the field of the social history of capitalism, understood here as the interaction with and negotiation of capitalist expansion from a bottom-up perspective. Specific research topics can include, but are not limited to, the study of political economy, welfare systems, social relations, migration, colonisation, economic/social inequality, the social history of medicine, the social history of warfare and armed violence, economic/social lobbying and ecological entanglements in any part of the world from the late Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Connections to existing research strengths in the research group are appreciated.
- You will publish your research in international peer-reviewed journals and will present your work at international conferences.
- You will apply for external postdoctoral research funding and will contribute to external funding applications by the research group. We will actively support you in efforts to secure follow-up or long-term research funding.
- You will contribute to the organisation of the SHOC (Social History of Capitalism) research group and will participate in its activities (meetings, research seminars). Regular attendance on the VUB Main Campus in Etterbeek (Brussels) is required.
- You are encouraged to assist in the supervision of master students working on the social history of capitalism.
For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base.
3 - Profile
What do we expect from you?
Doctoral degree or equivalent in History or related disciplines with historical expertise
- Research experience in fields related to the social history of capitalism, i.e. the ways in which people engaged with the expansion of capitalism as a social process that boosted material production but also generated structural inequalities.
- Publication history in international peer-reviewed journals and a track-record of presentations at international conferences.
- Expertise on any historical period or across historical periods from the twelfth to the end of the twentieth century.
- Experience with global approaches, taking into account interactions between different societies, is particularly welcomed.
- You are a team player and have good social skills.
The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.
4 - Offer
Are you going to be our new colleague?
You will be offered a contract for an assignment of 1 FTE (full time appointment), for 36 months (depending on the positive evaluation of the research activities after twelve months), with planned starting date between 1 June and 31 August 2026.
You will receive a salary linked to one of the scales set by the Flemish government.
At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to build on your career.
As well as this, you will also enjoy various other benefits:
- An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
- Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
- Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike;
- A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
- Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques;
- Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps;
- The space to form your job content and to continuously learn through our VUB learning platforms and training courses;
- And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.
5 - Interested?
Then apply by sending the following documents as one integrated PDF file to SHOC@vub.be before 31 January 2026:
- your CV;
- your motivation letter (max two pages);
- a letter of recommendation;
- a copy of your diploma;
- A two page research note, setting out your views on the social history of capitalism and your research plans for the next five years.
- Two pieces of written research. These can include published articles and book chapters or chapters of your PhD dissertation.
Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Professor Bart Lambert, Director of the SHOC Research Group, at bart.lambert@vub.be.
Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.