A PhD position is available at the Department of Arctic and Marine Biology (AMB), Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics (BFE). The position is affiliated with the research group Arctic Marine System Ecology Populations (AMSE) and will be associated with the recently funded EU project ‘Polar Ocean Mitigation Potential’ (POMP).
The Department of Arctic and Marine Biology (AMB) also has a position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow available affiliated with the same research group and project. The two successful candidates will work closely together.
AMB includes 6 research groups. Research and teaching at AMB has a broad span, from molecular mechanisms at cellular/subcellular levels via studies of adaptations at the organismal level, to ecological interactions in aquatic and terrestrial environments. The institute is an exciting and cutting-edge academic and research unit in biology that addresses challenges in basic research, industrial and administrative-oriented research with a strong focus on the North. The Institute has extensive national and international research collaboration including regional institutions like Framsenteret, IMR and NIBIO.
The position is for a period of four years. The nominal length of the PhD programme is three years. The fourth year is distributed as 25 % each year and will consist of teaching and other duties. The objective of the position is to complete research training at the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position.
The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.
The position’s field of research
The successful applicant will work together with an international team to improve our understanding of carbon uptake, transfer, export and sequestration in Polar marine systems. Common for both positions is that they will establish and utilize trait-based approaches to address these questions from a functional biodiversity perspective. Most of the work that is planned within the project will be based on data collected in recently completed or ongoing research projects.
The aim of the PhD project is to evaluate carbon storage and sequestration potential of benthos in selected Arctic areas. To this end, the PhD candidate will update an earlier biodiversity assessment of benthic fauna (at a pan-Arctic scale). In addition, the candidate will compile benthic biomass data and apply traits-based approaches in project focus areas to describe their potential for carbon storage and sequestration.
You must submit a statement of personal and scientific interest and a separate outline of a potential PhD project idea (total max. 2 pages). The final project description will be developed in cooperation with the supervisor.
Qualifications
Qualifications required:
- A master’s degree or equivalent in biology, marine biology, biological oceanography, marine science or related area.
- Familiarity with community ecology and biodiversity data.
- Knowledge of inferential statistics.
- Familiarity with statistical software and scientific programming in R, Matlab, Python or other relevant programming languages.
- An interest in working with large data sets and compiling data.
- Documented fluency in English. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.
Desired qualifications:
- Knowledge on traits-based approaches to ecology.
- Knowledge of inferential statistics: familiarity with statistical applications for hypothesis testing and estimation in empirical research. Experience with statistical modelling and multivariate statistics.
- Knowledge of high latitude ecology.
- Previous experience with writing peer-reviewed publications will be considered an important asset.
In the assessment, the emphasis will be on the applicant’s potential to complete a research education based on the publication-based PhD thesis, and any other scientific work. The project idea will also be considered. In addition, other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme may be given consideration.
Prior work experience in a research team setting is beneficial as is teaching experience. We are looking for motivated individuals who can work independently yet function well within a team in research and teaching settings. Hand-on experience in marine field sampling will be regarded positively, but are not required. Soft skills are therefore also of importance. We will emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position.
As many people as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.
Admission to the PhD programme
For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.
Admission normally requires:
- A bachelor’s degree of 180 ECTS and a master’s degree of 120 ECTS, or an integrated master’s degree of 300 ECTS.
- A master’s thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 30 ECTS for a master’s degree of 120 ECTS.
- A master’s thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for an integrated master’s degree of 300 ECTS.
UiT normally accepts higher education from countries that are part of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.
Grade requirements apply both to the master thesis as well as to courses part of the master’s degree. The minimum requirements are grade C or better on the master’s degree, and grade C or better on courses that are part of the master’s degree. A grade lower than C in one course may be compensated by a higher grade than C in another course. If the applicant has two subjects with the grade D or lower, the applicant is not qualified for admission. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here.
Applicants with a foreign education will be subjected to an evaluation of whether the educational background is equal to Norwegian higher education, following national guidelines from NOKUT. Depending on which country the education is from, one or two additional years of university education may be required to fulfil admission requirements, e.g. a 4-year bachelor’s degree and a 2-year master’s degree.
If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final admission must be submitted no later than six weeks after taking up the position.
Inclusion and diversity
UiT The Arctic University of 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 are 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 at 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.
We offer
- Involvement in an interesting research project
- Good career opportunities
- A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues
- Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement
- Pension scheme through the state pension fund
- PhD Fellows are normally given a salary of 532 200 NOK/year with a 3% yearly increase
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.
More practical information about working and living in Norway can be found here.
Application
Your application must include:
- Cover letter explaining your motivation and research interests
- CV
- Diploma for bachelor’s and master’s degree
- Transcript of grades/academic record for bachelor’s and master’s degree
- Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
- Documentation of English proficiency
- References with contact information
- Master’s thesis, and any other academic works
- Outline of project idea (max. 2 pages)
Qualification with a master’s degree is required before commencement in the position. You may still apply if you are in the final stages of the master’s degree, but the master’s thesis must be submitted for evaluation within the application deadline. You must submit the thesis and transcript of grades for the master’s degree with your application.
All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. Diplomas and transcripts must also be submitted in the original language, if not in English or Scandinavian. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.
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.
Remuneration for the position of PhD Fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1017. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension: You may be entitled to financial support if you become ill or disabled, your family may be entitled to financial support when you die, you become insured against occupational injury or occupational disease, and you can get good terms on a mortgage. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no.
A shorter period of appointment may be decided when the PhD Fellow has already completed parts of their research training programme or when the appointment is based on a previous qualifying position PhD Fellow, research assistant, or the like in such a way that the total time used for research training amounts to three years.
We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act (Offentleglova). According to the Personal Data Act information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication, if you have requested non-disclosure.
For more information about this opportunity, please follow this link.