Welcome to Maastricht University!
At Maastricht University, we study how we can create working environments in which people can stay healthy, resilient and engaged in the long-term. In this PhD position, you will contribute to research that helps explain how working conditions shape employees’ ability to recover from stress over time, combining scientific depth with clear societal relevance.
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.
What we offer
At Maastricht University, you’ll work in an international, open, and engaged environment. We offer:
- A 12-month contract (1,0 fte) with the prospect of a 3 year extension.
- A gross monthly salary between €3059,00and €3881,00 (based on full-time employment of 38 hours per week). 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus.
- 29 vacation days (based on full-time), four additional days off (Carnival Monday and Tuesday, Good Friday, and Liberation Day), and the possibility to accrue up to 12 extra days through compensation hours.
- Flexible working hours, a home office allowance, and the option to work from home.
- Freedom and space to shape your work independently and develop your ideas.
- A close-knit community of colleagues to collaborate and grow with.
- A solid pension plan via ABP, company fitness schemes, and access to various university sports facilities.
- An inspiring work environment in the heart of Europe.
About the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN)
At FPN, we share a curiosity about the human brain and behaviour. Together with our students, we explore how our brains function and learn why we do what we do. We connect perspectives and contribute to living together in society.
Interested?
Would you like to know more about this PhD position or about working at Maastricht University?
Please contact Dr Miriam Schilbach (miriam.schilbach@maastrichtuniversity.nl) or Dr Bram Fleuren (bram.fleuren@maastrichtuniversity.nl).
Ready to apply?
Apply no later than 31 May 2026. Please upload your CV, motivation letter, grade list and Master’s thesis (or a thesis proposal, if the thesis is not yet available).
Interviews will take place at the beginning of June.
Apply now via the button below. We look forward to getting to know you!
About Maastricht University
At Maastricht University, we collaboratively seek solutions to help move the world forward. We do this with 23,300 students and 5,400 employees across 5 regional locations, 6 faculties, and more than 70 research institutes. We encourage you to push boundaries and discover new opportunities for yourself and the world around you. Together, we can find the answers for tomorrow.
The vacancy is open for internal and external candidates. In case of equal qualifications, internal candidates will be prioritized.
At Maastricht University, we prefer to contact potential candidates directly. We therefore kindly ask that no agencies or intermediaries submit offers or approaches.
Maastricht University is committed to promoting and nurturing a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that diversity in our staff and student population contributes to the quality of research and education at UM, and strive to enable this through inclusive policies and innovative projects led by teams of staff and students. We encourage you to apply for this position.
