The Department of Social Sciences and Business (ISE), Roskilde University, invites applications for a position as PhD fellow as part of a large interdisciplinary research project anchored at the Department for Science and Environment (INM) but which is undertaken in collaboration with ISE. The position is from March 1st, 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter and is limited to a period of 3 years.

The project
The PhD Fellow will be hired under the newly initiated interdisciplinary and collaborative research project ROUNDS: Rethinking the cost of care – including the cost of externalities in circular transitions funded under TRACE - A Path to Resilience, and the Innovation Fund Denmark. ROUNDS is a partnership between Roskilde University, Gate21, University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University, and two Danish regions Region Sjælland (soon: Region East) and Region Midtjylland.

Background
Danish hospitals rely heavily on single-use plastics and textiles, a reliance reinforced by procurement practices primarily built around unit price rather than the full cost of a product across its lifecycle. Hidden health and environmental costs - negative externalities such as those associated with PFAS-treated textiles and PVC-based plastics - are rarely reflected in what hospitals pay. This keeps safer, more circular alternatives at an apparent price disadvantage even where they are preferable on a full-cost basis. Addressing this mismatch is central to enabling a circular transition in healthcare. ROUNDS addresses these issues by combining evidence on negative externalities, procurement evaluation, and behavioural strategies. Furthermore, the project will deliver strategic research addressing two key drivers of single-use plastics and textiles consumption by generating knowledge on health and environmental effects and using these insights to inform economic assessments for procurement, and staff training and collaboration to influence behaviour.

Description of the PhD project
The aim of the PhD project, which is embedded in ROUNDS, is to produce applicable, scientific knowledge on how negative externalities can be identified, valued, and integrated into public procurement practices in the healthcare sector. The project will challenge established economic processes for public procurement by applying environmental and ecological economics concepts and methods to suitably value product types. Based on multi-criteria evaluation, the PhD will develop and pilot-test a procurement framework that accounts for health and environmental externalities alongside conventional cost criteria, anchored empirically in two cases: the transition from single-use PFAS-containing surgical gowns to reusable alternatives, and the substitution and reduction of PVC-based single-use infusion sets. Pilot testing with regional procurement teams will validate usability and feasibility in real-world settings.

The PhD project involves four main activities/tasks:

• Mapping current procurement practices: Documenting how procurement decisions for the project's two healthcare case products (single-use PFAS surgical gowns and PVC infusion sets) are currently made and identifying the structural and economic barriers that keep negative externalities out of the calculation.
• Developing a valuation methodology: multi-criteria evaluation to build a methodology for including health- and environmental externalities in the economic assessment of healthcare products beyond single monetary metrics, in dialogue with the project's human health risk assessment work.
• Stakeholder and market dialogue: Engaging procurement and finance departments in the participating regions, and relevant industry and supplier representatives, to test the practical relevance and feasibility of the emerging framework.
• Applying and pilot-testing the procurement framework: Applying the developed framework to the project's two cases and, together with regional procurement teams, pilot-testing its usability in real-world settings, contributing to a final guide for economic valuation and circular public procurement.

Considerations regarding how to work with the four main activities listed above must be included in your project description. The activities may be adjusted and defined in more details in the PhD plan that is to be developed by the PhD candidate, in collaboration with the supervisors, during the first three months of the PhD project.

The PhD Fellow will be a part of the International Section at ISE, where the main supervisor is based, but will also become embedded at INM to gain deeper insights into the ROUNDS project and benefit from co-supervision by an interdisciplinary environmental scientist.

The Doctoral School
You will be enrolled as a PhD fellow at the Doctoral School of Social Sciences and Business with approximately 47 PhD fellows from all over the world.

The Doctoral School of Social Sciences & Business provides PhD training and research within an interdisciplinary, international, and professional environment. It is part of a dynamic community of researchers who share a commitment to understanding society in diverse contexts of change and global engagement. Researchers come from all over the world and engage in topics that are geographically, theoretically and methodologically diverse. The Doctoral School has one PhD programme. The programme offers work-in-progress seminars, thematic professional development seminars, feedback and social activities for enrolled PhD fellows. As a PhD fellow you will be part of the STEPUP research group and affiliated with the Plastics research team at INM.

Responsibilities and tasks
As a PhD fellow you are trained at an international level to undertake research. You are responsible for carrying out independent research under supervision and receiving constructive feedback in the PhD programme to finish your PhD thesis. During your employment you are required to take 30 ECTS of coursework, and gain experience in teaching and supervision. You are also required to have a research environmental change during your PhD enrollment. The environment change can take place at foreign or local universities or research institutions.

For more information, see chapter 3, Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions. Read more on what it entails to be a PhD Fellow at Roskilde University.

Qualifications
You must hold a master’s degree or equivalent in economics or a field relevant to the topic, for instance, environmental and sustainability sciences.

Qualifications within the following areas are required:

• Strong analytical skills and research potential
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; Danish is an asset.
• Advanced methodological skills both quantitative and qualitative/mixed-method
• Experience with conducting both surveys and qualitative interviews
• Ability to work within a larger project team across disciplines

Relevant knowledge about plastics obtained either from educational background (courses, project work etc.) or from work related experiences is an asset. Moreover, you are required to be enterprising and to possess good communication skills and to be a visible, involved participant in the Department’s daily activities, in addition to being willing to engage in disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Applications are invited from both inside and outside Denmark.

Assessment
In the assessment regarding employment consideration will be given to:

• Relevant master’s degree or equivalent (according to Danish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education)
• Any additional academic requirements stated in the job advertisement.

In the assessment regarding enrollment consideration will also be given to the following criteria:

• Educational skills and any further professional qualifications within the social sciences.
• Grades at a social science master’s program or equivalent.
• Quality and relevance of the project description.
  • Quality and relevance of the methodical and theoretical choices.
  • Consistency and coherence between the problem and the choice of method and theory.
  • If the PhD project seem realistic and feasible
• Ability to complete the PhD project.
• Relevance of the project to the profile of the Doctoral School.
• Your project description shall be no more than 5 pages (excluding references).

Questions
For further information about the position, please contact Head of the PhD school Lena Brogaard ([email protected]). For technical or administrative questions, please contact the PhD Administration ([email protected]).

Terms of employment
The employment is full time, 37 hours per week and you will refer to the Head of Department.

The position will be filled according to the Agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) and Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities.

According to the Pay Transparency Directive, the salary ranges for the various job categories at Roskilde University are listed here.

Application procedure
After the deadline for applications the Head of Department will shortlist applicants for assessment assistance from the recruitment committee.

Shortly after the application deadline all applicants will be notified whether or not their application has been selected for assessment.

The shortlisted applicants will be informed about the composition of the assessment committee, and each applicant will be given the opportunity to comment on the composition of the committee and - later on - their assessment.

Once the recruitment process is completed, all applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application.

Application
To apply for the position go to www.ruc.dk/en/job/

Only applications in English are accepted.

Applications must include:

1. Cover letter

2. CV

3. Documentation of education including grades from Master’s programme or equivalent If your master degree is not awarded within the ECTS frame, please provide us with:

• Your bachelor diploma and grades.
• An official English translation of diplomas
• A description of the master programme including the official duration (in years)

4. Your description of the PhD project (no more than 5 pages)

5. Your time schedule of the PhD project

6. If applicable: Documentation for any research experience, work experience or publications.

Please submit your application no later than 05-11-2026.

Material received after this date will not be taken into consideration.

Roskilde University wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

The hiring process at Roskilde University may include a risk assessment as a tool to identify potential risks associated with new hires, ensuring the safety, compliance, and integrity of the workplace.

Application deadline: Apply no later than 5. November 2026

Location: Roskilde University