Exciting news: the recruitement for my project Social Inequalities in the Risk and Aftermath of Miscarriage has started. The project will start on 1 January 2024.
In the first instance we are looking for a researcher (initially for 3 years, but with a possible extention until the end of the project on 31 December 2028). More details below. Please do contact me if you have any questions.
Description of the employer
L’Institut national d’études démographiques (INED) is a public scientific and technological institution in France. Its mission is to conduct research on various demographic issues (such as fertility and family, health and mortality, and migration) and to inform the public and researchers of current developments in the field. INED has 250 staff members (including tenured and contractual researchers and other staff members, as well as PhD students) and it also hosts many affiliated researchers. INED works with a wide network of national and international research partners.
Context of the job
We are looking for a researcher to work in the “Social Inequalities in the risk and aftermath of miscarriage (SOC-MISC)” project financed by the European Union (ERC Starting Grant, Horizon Europe Programme, Grant agreement ID: 101077594). The principal investigator (PI) of the project is Dr Heini Väisänen.
The researcher will be working as part of the SOC-MISC team, which is hosted at INED in the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights research unit, and which collaborates with partner institutions in Finland (University of Helsinki and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare) and the UK (University of St Andrews).
One in four women experience a miscarriage. Loss of pregnancy may affect fertility intentions and lead to adverse mental and physical health. Yet, we know little about how social inequalities affect the risk of miscarriage; how miscarriages may exacerbate social inequalities in population health; or how context shapes these experiences. Thus, the project will:
- Analyse underreporting patterns of miscarriage and use this information in further analyses to obtain more reliable results than before.
- Show how social inequalities affect miscarriage risk over the life course.
- Establish how health consequences of miscarriage depend on one’s social background and may widen social inequalities in health.
- Uncover the role of context in social inequalities in miscarriage.
We will use population registers and surveys in Finland, France and the UK to examine the issue. The project will lead to a better understanding of miscarriage and make policy recommendations.
Main tasks of the researcher
The researcher brings methodological and substantive expertise to the project. The researcher will use quantitative methods, such as regression models, multi-level analysis, path analysis, and/or event-history analyses. Training opportunities will be available to complete and enhance existing knowledge on research methods. The researcher is invited to bring their own ideas within the project remit. Also, a proportion of time (20%) can be used on independent projects.
Specific tasks and conditions
The researcher will work mainly on the following tasks:
- Quantitative analysis of administrative and survey data including French administrative health data (SNDS), and surveys such as Constances, FECOND, and British cohort studies (BCS1970 and NCDS).
- Scientific publication activities such as preparing and submitting manuscripts for publication; presenting project results at academic conferences; and constructing an international catalogue of miscarriage data.
- Dissemination of the results to non-academic audiences via project website, social media and policy briefs.
- Organising and attending meetings with other team members, partner institutions, the advisory board and other stakeholders.
Profile of the candidate
The candidate should have a PhD (or be close to completing one) in a field such as demography, sociology, social statistics, social epidemiology, public health, human geography or in another quantitative social science field.
Knowledge of quantitative research methods including experience with analysing survey or administrative data, and knowledge of at least one statistical software such as R, Stata, SAS, MPlus or similar is required.
The candidate must have strong oral and written knowledge of English; and working oral and written knowledge or French.
Independent thinking; strong communication and organisational skills; and ability to work independently and collaboratively in an international team are required.
Experience on working on a population or sexual and reproductive health research topic is desirable.
Experience in outreach activities to the scientific community, policy makers and/or the general public are desirable.
General Information
| Start date | 1 February 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter |
| Duration (fixed-term or secondment) | 3 years (with a possible extension until 31 December 2028) |
| Working hours: | Full time 37 hours 55 mins per week 32 days annual leave and 10 days RTT (statutory additional leave for those working more than 35 hours per week) |
| Options for remote working | Yes (maximum 2 days per week) |
| REMUNERATION | According to internal remuneration scale and experience (minimum €2829 gross per month) |
| Location | INED Campus Condorcet 9 cours des Humanités, Aubervilliers, France Metro line 12: Front populaire |
Application Process
| Application deadline | 13 November 2023 |
| Application Process | Please send your cover letter (max. 2 pages) and curriculum vitae including a list of publications in English or French before the application deadline by email, with the subject line “Researcher SOC-MISC” To: recrutements@ined.fr and heini.vaisanen@ined.fr |
| CONTACT | Please send your questions about the job to Dr Heini Väisänen (heini.vaisanen@ined.fr) under the reference “Researcher SOC-MISC questions”. |
Heini Väisänen 