Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Global Alliance for Laudato si'

University of Notre Dame • Notre Dame, IN

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The University of Notre Dame invites applications for Postdoctoral Research Fellows to advance the research agenda of the Global Alliance for Laudato si'. The fellows will pursue an independent line of scholarship in integral ecology while supporting the collaborative research of the Alliance's five thematic working groups. The Global Alliance for Laudato si' is an international network of Catholic and mission-aligned researchers, educators, and practitioners, launched in March 2026 through a partnership between Notre Dame's Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative and the Laudato Si' Center for Higher Education. Its inaugural convening at the Borgo Laudato Si' drew roughly 100 participants from five continents. Laudato si'-inspired scholarship has grown substantially over the past decade but remains fragmented, under-resourced, and disconnected across regions and disciplines. The Alliance exists to build the relational, intellectual, and digital infrastructure that allows this work to cohere. Five working groups formed at the inaugural convening and now carry the Alliance's research program: Place-Based Collective Action for Integral Ecology, Translating Knowledge to Action at the Food-Water-Energy Nexus, Transforming Economic Systems Towards Sustainability and Justice, Reimagining Education for Integral Ecology, and Theological Roots of Integral Ecology. The fellows will distribute work across the five working groups according to background and expertise, helping members move from shared interest to publishable, actionable scholarship. Because the working groups span environmental science, political science, theology, economics, and education, this position suits interdisciplinary scholars who are able to collaborate across fields and geographies. The postdoctoral fellow will join a cohort of postdoctoral scholars supported by the Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative, Notre Dame's University-wide effort to build a sustainable future where people and nature flourish together. The cohort works on sustainability research that engages ecological, social, economic, and ethical dimensions together rather than in isolation. This is a full-time, in-person position with an initial appointment of one year, renewable for an additional year on the basis of satisfactory performance and availability of funding.

Requirements

• Ph.D. (in hand by the starting date) in a field relevant to integral ecology, such as environmental science, political science, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, economics, education, and public health.
• Demonstrated research expertise in at least one of the five working group areas, and a clear account of how that expertise would contribute to the others.
• A publication record appropriate to career stage in a field directly relevant to the Alliance's work.
• Experience collaborating across disciplinary and institutional boundaries, and with researchers and practitioners outside North America and Europe.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write for academic and practitioner audiences.
• Willingness to travel internationally, including to Rome.

Nice To Haves

• Applicants with interdisciplinary degrees are welcome.

Responsibilities

• Design and carry out an independent research project in integral ecology that contributes to the agenda of one of the Alliance's working groups.
• Support the working groups in sharpening research questions, identifying collaborators, and developing shared outputs, in coordination with the Alliance's Program Manager.
• Synthesize scholarship across the five groups and identify where their questions intersect, so that the Alliance's research agenda develops as a whole rather than as five separate tracks.
• Co-author and support interdisciplinary publications with Alliance members, including scholars for whom English is a second or language.
• Contribute to the Alliance's knowledge infrastructure, including the searchable member database and shared research resources.
• Support convenings at the Borgo Laudato Si' and elsewhere, including preparation of background materials and follow-up documentation.
• Engage in collaborative grant writing and proposal development to sustain and expand the Alliance's work.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree