Competition for the post of Assistant in the Humanities (OBNT/003/2/2025) - Instytut Pileckiego

Competition for the post of Assistant in the Humanities, department of “Totalitarianism and authoritarianism in comparative perspective (research methodology)” and Assistant in the Humanities, department of “Anthropology and culture of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes” at the Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor

Offer ref. no. OBNT/003/2/2025

INSTITUTION: Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor

CITY: Warsaw

POST: Assistant in the Humanities, departments of “Totalitarianism and authoritarianism in comparative perspective (research methodology)” and “Anthropology and culture of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes”

ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE: History

DATE OF OFFER ANNOUNCEMENT: 4 June 2025

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF OFFERS: 15 September 2025

WEBSITE LINK: www.instytutpileckiego.pl

KEYWORDS: comparative history of the 20th century; Central Europe; authoritarian and totalitarian regimes; social history; historical anthropology; migration; culture under pressure; identity transformations; everyday life; historical research methodologies; totalitarianism

EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Employment contract

WORKING HOURS: Full-time

Core requirements:

1. Master’s degree in history obtained within the last 2 years (for women with children, the deadline is extended by 1 year for each child).
2. Achievements in academic activities related to the history of the 20th century, and in particular the history of Central Europe in the context of the effects of authoritarian and totalitarian rule on social change; cultural transformations, including the formation of cultural trends supporting totalitarian regimes and contesting the prevailing model of power; spontaneous migration and forced displacement of populations caused by the effects of totalitarian rule; changes in everyday life and customs, including communication customs, in particular the symbolic culture of totalitarian and authoritarian societies; contacts between social, ethnic, and professional groups within the above-mentioned communities; various microhistorical and comparative aspects of the functioning of 20th-century societies.
3. Publications related to the candidate’s academic research.
4. Knowledge of two modern foreign languages, including active knowledge of both spoken and written English.
5. Experience of work in archives.
6. An expression of willingness in the form of a statement to be employed at the Pilecki Institute as the primary place of employment on a full-time basis; readiness to prepare in 4–5 years a doctoral thesis under the supervision of a senior academic employed at the Pilecki Institute; readiness to submit statements in accordance with the Law on Higher Education and Science, authorizing the Institute to count the candidate among employees conducting scientific activities (number N) and to demonstrate the scientific achievements of the candidate for the purpose of the evaluation of scientific activities.

Additional criteria:

1. Participation in research projects financed by grant agencies.
2. Experience of international academic co-operation.
3. Completed internships, fellowships or other forms of scientific activity in scientific units in Poland and abroad.
4. Education obtained outside Poland, higher education in disciplines other than history or completed specialized professional courses.
5. Experience in the field of popularizing history.

Documents required from candidates:

1. Cover letter of no more than 3,500 characters with spaces, including the reference number of the relevant offer, as well as information of research interests and research plans for the next 4 years in the context of the Institute’s mission, a description of the 5 most important scientific achievements to date;
2. Curriculum vitae including breaks in work and academic work;
3. Documents confirming education;
4. List of the 5 most important scientific achievements;
5. List of all of the candidate’s publications;
6. List of all research projects in which the candidate has participated, with a detailed description of the role;
7. Opinion of a senior academic concerning the candidate’s academic and organizational achievements;
8. Signed declaration as to acceptance of the terms and conditions of the competition organized by the Pilecki Institute;
9. Signed declaration as to provision of consent to the processing of personal data by the Pilecki Institute, in the following wording as appears in the annex to this offer;
10. Signed declaration to the effect that, in the event of being selected in the competition, the candidate shall recognize the Pilecki Institute as his/her essential (primary) place of employment, as well as a statement of readiness to make the declarations referred to in point 6 of the core requirements of the competition;
11. Application for employment at the Institute, including mailing address and contact information (e-mail address and telephone number).

If the candidate voluntarily provides data other than the essential items for participation in the recruitment process, the following consent to its processing is required:

– for ordinary data: “I consent to the processing of my personal data contained in my (e.g., CV, cover letter, or other attached documents) by the Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor in the recruitment process for the position of...”

– in the case of special categories of data: “I consent to the processing of special categories of my personal data referred to in Article 9(1) of the GDPR, contained in my (e.g. CV, cover letter or other attached documents) by the Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor in the recruitment process for the position of ...”.

Applications:

The competition application and documents confirming the qualifications of candidates shall be elaborated in Polish, while any original foreign-language documents shall have to be translated into Polish.

Persons interested in the competition are requested to send in the abovementioned documents:

• in electronic format to the e-mail address: rekrutacja.obnt@instytutpileckiego.pl including the offer reference number, position and department/working group name in the subject field.

by 24:00, 15 September 2025.

Contact regarding the announcement: by e-mail or at 600 902 938 or 880 751 505.

The competition shall comprise the following stages:

1. Evaluation by the Committee of applications and accompanying documents regarding formalities, and a substantive evaluation of the fulfillment of the conditions of education and qualifications of the candidate.

2. After evaluating the submitted documents, the Committee may conduct interviews with candidates who meet the formal requirements specified in the competition announcement. Only selected candidates shall be invited to the interview. Candidates will be informed of the date of the interview by phone or e-mail.

3. The Academic Council of the Institute shall give its opinion on the qualifications of the successful candidate for a scientific position.

4. Employment of the candidate selected in the competition shall be by order of the Director of the Institute.

If the Competition Committee finds that none of the candidates meets the requirements, the competition shall remain unresolved.

Interviews with selected candidates will be conducted in either Polish or English.

Informational materials concerning the functioning and the activities of the Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor are available on the website: www.instytutpileckiego.pl

Please be advised that the Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor enables the reporting of violations of the law in accordance with the “Procedure for reporting violations of the law and taking follow-up action,” pursuant to the Act of June 14, 2024, on the protection of whistleblowers.

The full text of the procedure is available on the website of the Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor:

https://instytutpileckiego.pl/pl/procedura-dokonywania-zgloszen

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