PhD candidate on sea nomads' fishing territories in the Philippines at KITLV/KNAW

The Project

The project Tracing Evolutionary Pathways in Climate Adaptation in Southeast Asia (TRACE), a European Research Council-funded Advance Grant (ERC Adv) led by Prof. Diana Suhardiman and hosted by the KITLV in Leiden, is looking for four PhD candidates. The project investigates how evolutionary pathways in climate adaptation are created, sustained, and changed over time. Which actors and symbiotic relations connect various place-based knowledge systems and past knowledge (re)production processes with present and future adaptation strategies? Which institutions, local institutional rules, arrangements, and practices serve as cultural and institutional foundations (re)shaping climate adaptation practices over time? Which forces and conditions shape types of agency and political spaces of engagement that are crucial for the creation, sustenance, and reproduction of locally nested inter-scalar adaptive networks?

We address these questions by focusing on and collaborating with communities living in four interrelated socio-ecological systems in Southeast Asia. These socio-ecological systems are: 1) upland cultivation in Laos; 2) irrigated agriculture in Indonesia; 3) forest conservation in the Thai-Myanmar borderlands; and 4) sea nomads’ fishing territories in the Philippines. Each of the four PhD candidates will identify and trace evolutionary pathways in climate adaptation of one specific socio-ecological system.

The project, consisting of a principal investigator and two Postdoc researchers studying grassroots adaptation strategies, is now seeking 4 PhD candidates to join the team. Each PhD candidate will also engage with the respective country researcher team. This research project is led by KITLV in collaboration with various partners in the Global South including national universities and civil society organizations in Laos, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, and the Philippines.  

The Position: PhD candidate to work on sea nomads’ fishing territories in the Philippines 

 The 4 PhD candidates will carry out historical and/or ethnographic research to connect grassroots knowledge systems, cultural values, and agency shaping of the past, how they have evolved over time, and how they are translated to present and future adaptation strategies. With Southeast Asia as geographical focus, each PhD candidate will identify key knowledge systems and institutional nodes, and trace evolutionary pathways of local communities’ adaptation strategies, in specific socio-ecological systems. Treating climate adaptation as an integral part of livelihood (re)making, each PhD candidate will look at how processes of knowledge (re)production are embedded in existing power relations and power interplay and contribute to the development of transdisciplinary concepts and grassroots ontological frameworks in climate governance research. 

What will you do? 

Within the research project, you will work on your PhD research. You will address the project’s main research question of how evolutionary pathways of communities adaptation strategies are (re)shaped by the politics of knowledge reproduction, cultural values, and agency shaping. Your project contains a comprehensive literature review and will also involve extensive fieldwork (a total of 1 year) on sea nomads’ fishing territories in the Philippines. During this time, you will collaborate with country researchers by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews, documenting oral histories, engaging in participant observation, collecting relevant written and audiovisual material, and/or employing other methods in which you are experienced (as outlined in your research proposal).

You will also collaborate within a team context, which includes four PhD candidates, a Principal Investigator, a Postdoctoral Researcher, and a Research Coordinator. This collaboration will involve the co-organization of academic and public events, both in the respective countries where your research take place and regionally as part of the project’s cross-learning process and regional network formation.

Job requirements

• A Master in Social Sciences, specializing in the fields of Human Geography, History, Natural Resource Governance, Anthropology, and/or Development Sociology
• Experience in conducting ethnographic field research in natural resource governance, in particular in the context of sea nomads’ fishing territories in the Philippines  
• Experience and good track record in communities’ engagement in sea nomads’ location in the Philippines (Sama-Bajau)
• Experience in conducting: 1) in-depth, qualitative, participatory research methods; or 2) multiple level institutional and policy analysis; or 3) historical research through oral history
• Willingness to learn how to do systematic archival research to identify and trace knowledge systems of the past and how they have evolved over time, including how they are embedded in governance structure, cultural values, and power interplay
• Willingness to learn how to work with large data bases to understand long term patterns related to (but not necessarily limited to) climatic change (e.g. rainfall pattern, food production patterns, forest covers, and marine-coastal-land use change)
• Strong interest in collaboration with local communities and other key partners in the country you will be working in (e.g. national universities, civil society organizations) in co-designing and conducting the research
• Fluency in at least three of these languages: English, Tagalog, other local languages used by sea nomads (Sinama)
• You are a team player and have strong affinity to work in interdisciplinary and multi-cultural (research) team

How to apply

Candidates are invited to submit their application in English or Dutch. Applications must include, in two PDF files:

• A motivation letter along with a short research proposal (max 800 words) explaining how the candidate will design the PhD research and how this would be relevant for the aims of the project.
• A Curriculum Vitae along along with your most relevant publication related to the project. Publications that have been accepted but not yet published are also welcome.

The deadline for submitting your application is December 15, 2025, midnight CET. Please submit your application via the Apply Now button, you can address the application to the Principal Investigator, Prof. dr. D. Suhardiman. For questions you can contact her at suhardiman@kitlv.nl.

Also note that there is currently an acute shortage of housing in the Netherlands, and the institute is unable to provide accommodation. While we can offer advice on searching for housing, a proactive approach on your part is essential.

About the KITLV
The Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV-KNAW) is an Academy research institute. The KITLV conducts interdisciplinary and comparative historical research. Its research focus is Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, with an emphasis on Indonesia and the ‘Dutch’ Caribbean. It is particularly interested in such issues as state formation, violence and citizenship, processes of mobility and the formation of ethnic and national identity. KITLV is active in the humanities, social sciences and comparative area studies and works closely with Leiden University.

Terms of employment
Depending on education and experience the minimum salary is 3.059 and the maximum salary is 3.881 gross per month for a full-time appointment (scale P cao Nederlandse Universiteiten/KNAW). This is exclusive of 8% vacation allowance, 8.3% year-end bonus, travel allowance, internet allowance, home working allowance and pension accrual with ABP.

The KNAW offers its staff an excellent package of secondary benefits. A package that meets the different needs of employees depending on their stage of life, lifestyle or career ambitions. For example, by working an extra two hours a week, it is possible to increase the number of days off from 29 to 41 days a year (with full-time employment).

For a complete overview of the terms of employment, please refer to the web page: werken bij de KNAW.

Applying for a Certificate of Good Conduct can be part of the employment procedure.

Diversity & Inclusion
The KNAW considers a working environment in which everyone feels welcome and appreciated of great importance. A working environment in which attention is paid to individual quality and where development opportunities are paramount. Together we strive for an inclusive culture in which we embrace differences. We would therefore like to invite candidates who want to contribute to this through their background and experience. In the event of equal suitability, preference will be given to the candidate who thus enhances diversity within the Academy.

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