The House of Innovation at SSE is announcing two fulltime positions as a Research Assistant

The positions have a one-year duration, starting as early as possible in Spring 2026. The post will be based at the SSE premises in the heart of Stockholm. We offer competitive salaries with pension and social security contributions.

The primary responsibility of the Research Assistants (RAs) will be to assist faculty members in the House of Innovation with research-related tasks. This could include, for example, conducting interviews, collecting archival data, participating to and co-facilitating workshops, conducting qualitative analysis, creating presentations, and surveying parts of the literature.

Fluency in English is essential; knowledge of Swedish is meritorious. Familiarity with qualitative research methods and research experience is a strong advantage. Applicants should have at least a bachelor’s degree in a social science discipline (e.g., business, economics) by the time the positions start; more advanced studies will be considered a merit.

The RAs will work under the direct supervision of Professor Mattia Bianchi and postdoctoral researchers Maria Cecilia Flores and Ricardo Coelho da Silva and will actively collaborate with academics inside and outside SSE.

The projects

The RAs will be involved in the activities of the research group at the House of Innovation coordinated by Professor Mattia Bianchi. The group’s research broadly examines how individuals, organizations, and businesses relate to, organize with, interact with, and develop new business models with nature. It addresses important questions concerning how sustainable businesses and communities are formed, how they operate and evolve over time, and how they both affect and are affected by nature.

The projects the RAs will work on draw on different organizational theories. For example, one project focuses on place and embeddedness, to explore how forest owners’ ecological and emotional ties to their land shape sustainable practices, and how external threats—such as climate or regulatory pressures—can reshape these ties and activate new forms of custodianship. Another project focus on the development of novel market categories, looking how entrepreneurs develop business models that significantly incorporate nature in their products or services
The methods used are mainly qualitative, and the data is based on interviews, observations, archival data, and workshops. The RAs will receive resources, support and mentoring to produce sound research that will contribute to sustainable management of natural resources, organization theory, and communities.

Work tasks

The job involves assisting the investigators at HOI with the following tasks, for example:

• desk research (e.g. archival and secondary data collection and organization of the information)
• conducting, transcribing and analysing interviews and observations
• reviewing literature
• organizing data (e.g. documents, meeting agendas, audiovisuals)
• supporting the research group in organizing and facilitating workshops and other group activities (e.g., meeting minutes, sending invitations, coordinating logistics)

Qualifications

The selected candidate has the following qualifications:

• You are about to finish (or have recently completed) your bachelor studies in management, sociology, economics or related disciplines.
• You have a strong interest in organization, management, and natural ecosystems, as well as
• the ability to conduct qualitative research tasks.
• Fluency in English, knowledge of Swedish is meritorious.
• You can work independently and professionally with the tasks at hand.
• (Desirable) You are comfortable with Excel and can work with a large corpus of texts in a structured manner.
• (Desirable) You are eager to contribute to an exciting research topic and make a difference in the way human beings and organizations relate to and interact with nature.

Further information

If you have questions about the position, you are welcome to contact Maria Cecilia Flores maria.cecilia.flores@hhs.se.

The RA will be provided with a desk in the research lab open space, with other PhDs, post-docs, and affiliates at the House of Innovation, and will be considered an integral part of the research environment within the department. The RA will receive mentorship from the lead investigators of the aforementioned research project. The position can offer a pathway to doctoral studies through direct engagement in research and personal mentorship from faculty. It also serves as an attractive stepping stone for other careers focusing on business, sustainability and/or social impact. Past candidates have gone on to pursue PhD programs at renowned institutions in Europe and the US, as well as careers in other organizations.

We will begin reviewing applications on a rolling basis. The position could be filled before the last day of application has passed. The application should include a CV, a record of courses taken and grades, research documents you have written if available, and a short letter of motivation.

We look forward to receiving your application.

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