National Knowledge Center for Early Intervention and Family Research is seeking a PhD student

Do you want to contribute to research in early intervention and infant and toddler social and emotional development? The National Knowledge Center for Early Intervention and Family Research at the Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, is seeking a PhD student for a three-year position with start on 1 April 2027 or by agreement

The National Knowledge Center for Early Intervention and Family Research (CIF) is seeking a PhD student for the center's research program “The Child in Statistics.” As a PhD student at CIF, you will be part of a dynamic research center that is a leader in research on early intervention, infant and toddler social and emotional development, and the implementation of research-based tools in practice.

About the position

The PhD student will join CIF’s statistics program. The PhD project will focus on how to develop, adapt, and evaluate complex interventions. These interventions often have many components and are context-dependent, and the project will therefore also focus on how best to adapt the interventions, which mechanisms influence the intervention's effect, and whether some people benefit more from the interventions than others. In addition, the prospective PhD student will also examine how mixed methods can be best used to evaluate interventions.

We emphasize that you

• Have a master’s degree in psychology or a related field
• Have experience with research in infancy and early childhood, e.g., from previous jobs
• Have knowledge of complex interventions and experience in evaluating them
• Have experience with analysis of quantitative and qualitative data
• Have experience with quantitative analyses such as Bayesian statistics and mixed models and experience using R
• Can write and speak Danish, as the project involves data collection in Danish municipalities, datasets in Danish, and communication with Danish professionals
• Can write and speak English and have experience with writing research articles
• Are structured, responsible, and able to work independently

About CIF

CIF is a research center at the Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, and the State Institute for Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, led by Professor Mette S. Væver. The CIF staff consists of about 30 full-time employees (research assistants, PhD students, postdocs, adjuncts and lecturers) mainly with a psychology background, as well as a corresponding number of student helpers.

The CIF research focuses on the mental health of 0-5-year-old children and their parents and is organized into four programs: The Child in the Family, The Child in the Early Childhood Institution, The Child in PPR and The Child in Statistics. The center’s research is conducted in close collaboration with municipalities and professional staff who work with children and families.

CIF is a dynamic and inspiring workplace where we collaborate across projects and share knowledge and ideas with each other. All CIF staff are committed to promoting mental health in infancy and early childhood and their parents, creating a passionate professional environment with good opportunities for both formal and informal knowledge sharing. In addition, you can participate in various social activities in the center, e.g., a running club, a choir, semi-annual parties and Thursday bars.

You can read more about CIF here: National Knowledge Center for Early Intervention and Family Research – Department of Psychology - University of Copenhagen

Employment terms

You will be employed at the Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen. The position is 37 hours per week and is fixed-term for 3 years. The position is expected to start on 1 April 2027 and is paid according to current rules and collective agreements.

As part of the employment, it is a requirement that you have a clean child protection certificate. This condition applies throughout the employment period.

Recruitment process

Information about the recruitment process at the University of Copenhagen can be read here: Recruitment process - for scientific staff – University of Copenhagen

Application procedure and contact information

Your application must include the following documents

• Motivated application
• CV
• Master’s certificate and transcript
• Any other relevant material

Contact information

Information about the positions can be obtained from the head of the center's statistics program, postdoc Anne Christine Stuart, at the email: [email protected]

Further information about the application procedure can be obtained from HR, email: [email protected] - please indicate ID number 211-2570/26-2H in your inquiry .

The application deadline is 16 November 2026.

Applications or supplementary material received after the deadline will not be considered.