About the position
The Department of Arctic and Marine Biology (AMB) is strengthening our team with an Associate professor in coastal ecology and sustainability. The position is affiliated with the Arctic Sustainability Lab, which is a research group specializing in interdisciplinary – and transdisciplinary approaches to better understand and deal with sustainability challenges relating to climate change and biodiversity loss.
The Department of Arctic and Marine Biology (AMB) has an international team of scientific, technical and administrative staff ensuring high quality teaching and research across a broad range of biological disciplines. The research relates to land, freshwater and marine ecology in the High North, and we are part of the FRAM – High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment, encompassing 20 different research institutions that work with interdisciplinary environmental research. The research activity is organized into the following research groups: Arctic marine system ecology, Northern populations and ecosystems, Freshwater ecology, Arctic chronobiology and physiology, Microorganisms and plants and the Arctic sustainability lab.
The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time, after receiving the offer.
The position’s field of research or work
We are searching for a candidate with expertise in coastal and marine ecology, and who has led research projects that aim to understand and address sustainability challenges by using inter – and/or transdisciplinary sciences. The candidate is thus expected to work with complex socio-ecological interactions in coastal areas. The research should move beyond documentation of ecological impact of human activities to demonstrate how ecological sciences can contribute to restoration, protection, and sustainable management to halt loss of biological diversity and enhance resilience of coastal systems.
The Arctic Sustainability Lab plays a leading role in two Atlantic-Arctic lighthouse projects relating to the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters”, focusing on large-scale ecosystem restoration and ecosystem-based conservation measures for reducing pressures from human activities to address marine biodiversity loss at basin/regional level. We are looking for a colleague with expertise in coastal ecosystem-based conservation and/or restoration who could build upon these lighthouse projects. We therefore expect the candidate to position UiT – The Arctic University of Norway at the forefront of international research on sustainable management of coastal marine ecosystems in the North Atlantic and Arctic regions.
The successful applicant is expected to contribute to collaborative research and apply for external funds from nationally and internationally recognized research programs relating to coastal ecology & sustainability.
The position will be assigned to teaching sustainability science, ecosystem-based management, or related subjects relevant to other research groups at AMB or UiT, and collaborate in teaching teams to improve our study programs. The position will also supervise MSc and PhD students relating to ecology and sustainability.
The position will contribute to collaborative research and to stakeholder and public communication to accelerate research and societal impact.
Qualifications
Required qualifications:
- Norwegian doctoral degree related to coastal ecology or foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree within the topic.
- Documented educational competence (read more below).
- Documented good written and oral proficiency in English and good command of Norwegian or another Scandinavian language (see how). Applicants lacking scandinavian language skills must be willing to learn Norwegian within three years.
- International recognition in coastal marine ecology and sustainability.
- Documented experience in leading in inter– or transdisciplinary research teams.
- Documented ability to achieve external funding from nationally or internationally recognized research program.
- Demonstrate knowledge and skills relevant for researching sustainability challenges in coastal marine areas in northern Norway or similar environments, preferably relating to ecosystem-based approaches to restoring or protecting biological diversity.
- Personal characteristics that make you ambitious, a good communicator and a collaborative team worker. In addition, you must be willing to be involved in the development of the Department and the University research and teaching portfolio.
Additional desirable qualifications:
- Complement ongoing research at the Department/the Arctic Sustainability Lab.
- Experience in working with public management and other stakeholders.
At UiT we put emphasis on the quality, relevance and significance of the research work and not on where the work is published, in accordance with the principles of The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).
Pedagogical basic competence
All applicants for teaching and research positions shall document their pedagogical competence. You must have acquired basic competence for teaching and supervision at higher education level. This includes basic skills in planning, conducting, evaluating and developing teaching and guidance.
Documentation requirement for pedagogical basic competanse
- a) Applicants who have completed education or courses designed to provide teaching competence for teaching at universities and colleges, equivalent to a minimum of 200 hours, must attach diploma and curriculum for the completed course.
- b) Other applicants shall describe, assess and document their competence as a teacher and supervisor. The skills must be documented in the form of a teaching portfolio.
Those who do not satisfy the requirements for basic pedagogical competence may be appointed on a permanent basis on the condition that they satisfy the requirements within two years of appointment. For information about basic pedagogical competence and teaching portfolio, see: https://result.uit.no/om-pedagogisk-mappe/ (Only in Norwegian)
Application
The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee’s mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants’ qualifications on the basis of the written material presented by the applicants, and the description draw up for the position. The application must include:
- Cover letter including a description of motivation and ideas, including how your research profile would complement the The Arctic Sustainability Lab research activities (2-4 pages).
- CV containing a complete overview of education, experience and professional work.
- Diplomas, diploma supplements and transcripts (all degrees, in original language and translated).
- Letter(s) of recommendation if applicable.
- Two references with contact details.
- Documented pedagogical competence (according to above mentioned qualifications). The applicants are also asked to provide a short written account on how they envisage implementing and developing teaching and supervising student in coastal ecology and sustainability topics (1-4 pages).
- Documentation of language proficiency corresponding above mentioned requirements (learn more).
- A list and a description of your academic production, stating which works you consider most important. The list of works shall contain the following information:
- author(s), the work’s title
- for articles: the journal’s name and volume, the first and last page of the article, year of publication
- for publications: publisher, printer, year of publication, number of pages
- Published or unpublished work you wish to be take into consideration during the assessment.
Documentation has to be in English or a Scandinavian language. The application and submitted documents must be sent electronically via www.jobbnorge.no. The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview shall among other things, aim to clarify the applicants personal suitability for the position and motivations. A trial lecture may also be held.
The offer
- Sabbatical conditions which are considered some of the best in the country
- Good welfare arrangements for employees
- Good arrangements for pension, insurance and loans in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
The remuneration for Associate Professor is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1011. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. As a state employee, you have one of the best pension schemes availiable. For more information see: spk.no. Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services. The allocation of working hours is flexible and allocated on a case-by-case basis. In general, Associate Professors will spend an equal amount of time on teaching versus research and development work after time spent on other duties has been deducted. As a norm, the time resources spent on administrative duties constitutes 5 % for academic staff.
General information
The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants.
More information about moving to Norway and working at UiT: http://uit.no/mobility
UiT The Arctic University in Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity is a strength and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.
If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.
According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.
In case of discrepancies between the Norwegian and the English version of this description, the Norwegian version takes precedence.
More information
Vera Hausner, Professor, +47 77 64 59 05 – vera.hausner@uit.no
Vidar Sørum, Head of Department / instituttleder – +47 77 64 66 75 – vidar.a.sorum@uit.no
For further information about this opportunity click here.