Doctoral Research Fellow in Conservation and Heritage Management
Deadline: 30.04.2026
Publisert
The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest ranked educational and research institution, with 26 500 students and 7 200 employees. With its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally recognised research communities, UiO is an important contributor to society.
The Museum of Cultural History is research-intensive and a university department of equal status to a UiO Faculty. The museum has two museum buildings - the Historical Museum in Central Oslo and the new Museum of the Viking Age, which opens in 2027 in the beautiful area of Bygdøy. The Museum's extensive expertise in cultural history positions us as a leading research museum in Norway. It houses the largest archaeological, ethnographic and numismatic collections in Norway - from the Stone Age, the Viking Age, the Middle Ages and up to recent times.
The Museum of Cultural History's ethos: Open, exploratory, genuine.
About the position
A Doctoral Research Fellowship (SKO 1017) in Conservation and Heritage Management is available at the Museum of Cultural History for a period of three years.
The position is part of the project MORE: Museum objects and reconciliation ethics, funded by the Research Council of Norway, and we are looking for a talent in conservation and heritage management. The position requires a Master's degree in conservation, collections management, museums and heritage, or related disciplines.
For the PhD project, we encourage research focused on the implementation of Sámi knowledge and traditions in the management and care of cultural heritage treated with pesticides. Key concepts include ethical and culturally sensitive issues, material knowledge, community use, health and safety, terminology, and other.
We expect that the candidate will participate in international networks which discuss Indigenous approaches to pesticide issues and collections care.
The place of work is the Department of Ethnography, Numismatics, Classical Archaeology and University History.
The main purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree. The research fellow will be enrolled in the PhD programme at the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History at the University of Oslo and is expected to complete the project within the three-year period.
The applicants must fulfil the requirements for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Oslo, and will be responsible for applying for admission within the given deadlines. A final plan for the researcher education programme must be approved and agreed upon no later than three months after the starting date.
At the Museum of Cultural History, all PhD candidates who submit their doctoral dissertation for assessment with a written recommendation from their supervisor within 3 years after the start of their PhD position, will be offered a 12-month completion grant.
MORE follows up on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report from 2023. As state memory institutions, museums are important sites for reconciliatory exercises. In the museum, repatriation is a central reconciliatory measure. In the period 2012-2019, a collaboration consisting of 6 Sámi museum units and the capital museums Norsk Folkemuseum STI and the Museum of Cultural History (MCH), returned half of the latter's Sámi collections. The repatriation was named Bååstede, meaning ‘Homecoming’ in Southern Sámi. In MORE, the collaboration between the Bååstede parties continues between Sámi museums all over the Norwegian side of Sápmi: Saemien Sijte, Várdobáiki, Árran Lule Sámi Centre, Centre for Northern Peoples, Tana and Varanger Museum Siida, Riddoduottarmuseat, Sámi Museum Association, MCH and SNFM in Oslo. We are proud that Finnish Giellagas Institute for Sámi Studies at the University of Oulu is a partner in the project, along with the Sámi Museum Siida in Inari, and the Ájtte Swedish Mountain and Sámi Museum in Jokkmokk, on the Finnish and Swedish sides of Sápmi.
In the context of reconciliation, a repatriation is the beginning rather than the end of a process. On the premises of Sámi museums, and with the help of Sámi methodologies, MORE investigates how the consequences of the capital museums' management of Sámi artifacts can be remedied. Sámi scholar Liisa-Ravna Finbog writes that the opposite of assimilation, is that Sámi museums operate according to cultural values and practices. A key termin Sámi museum methodology is rematriation, describing activities designed to bring formerly Norwegianized museum objects back to life. MORE explores 3 post-repatriation initiatives: We ask, what efforts are necessary to enable collections with 1. their pesticides, 2. their collection histories, and 3, and alienated objects, to again become part of a living Sámi culture.
Based on existing partnerships, between Sámi museum institutions from across Sápmi, duojarat and other Sámi experts, as well as Sámi and non-Sámi conservators, anthropologists, archaeologists and museum researchers and workers, MORE seeks to jointly create insights and experiences that have value both for the museums, but also for our ongoing state reconciliation work.
The Phd candidate will be employed in WP1, Decolonization of Collections. This WP, led by Dr. Susan Braovac, will provide a general overview of pesticides present on selected groups of objects, repatriated in the Bååstede project to six Sámi museums. This post-repatriation work intends to provide support to Sámi museums which have received potentially contaminated and toxic objects. It will compare known object- and pesticide-histories to concrete results from chemical analyses. Based on these results, WP1 will develop recommendations for safe handling and study. The knowledge generated will be shared with the PhD candidate, who will be a team member in WP1. The PhD will be supervised by WP leader Susan Braovac, Sámi experts, and Dr. Torunn Klokkernes.
For the PhD project, we encourage research focused on the implementation of Sámi knowledge and traditions in the management and care of cultural heritage treated with pesticides. Key concepts include ethical and culturally sensitive issues, material knowledge, community use, health and safety, terminology, and other.
Potential research topics could cover, but are not limited to:
Identification and development of culturally appropriate mitigation methods for pesticide-containing Sámi objects. This may include the exploration of new methods such as vacuum drying or heat treatments, etc.
Establishment of protocols /procedures for handling toxic artefacts/collections which align with Sámi perspectives.
Tracing object stories / collection stories to identify what they have been exposed to, how have they changed and the barriers (and potential solutions) to their use within future Sámi custodianship.
Creating alternative realms of interaction if collections remain contaminated; are there other possible routes for meaningful connection with contaminated collections? (3D scanning, printing, other).
Qualification requirements
A master's degree or equivalent in conservation, collections management, heritage management, or related disciplines
Fluent oral and written communication skills in English
To be admitted to the PhD programmes at the University of Oslo, an applicant must have a five year master's degree or equivalent studies that have been recognized by the faculty as forming a sufficient basis for admission.
To be employed as a PhD Research Fellow, admission to a doctoral program is required, or there must be a binding agreement for admission. Normally, one must apply for admission to a PhD programme within 3 months after the start of the research project leading to the PhD degree.
Desired qualifications
Strong knowledge of Sámi language and culture
Good communication skills in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language
Strong writing skills
Personal qualities
Collegiality and teamwork abilities
Intellectual ambition and integrity
Personal drive and motivation towards the project
Good organization and time management skills
Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal qualifications.
We need different perspectives in our work
UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO’s work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no.
We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We are looking for great colleagues — could you be the next one?
We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.
If you have an immigrant background, a disability, or CV gaps, we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal. We always invite at least one qualified candidate from each group for an interview. In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (Norwegian).
The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports.More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here.
We hope you will apply for the position with us.
We offer
Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development.
Committed colleagues in a good working environment.
A workplace with good development and career opportunities.
Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes.
Salary in position as Doctoral Research Fellow, position code 1017, in salary range NOK from 550 800 - to 595 800, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund.
Read more about the benefits of working in the public sector at Employer Portal.
How to apply
Your application should include:
Application describing the applicant’s research interests and motivation for the position.
CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work).
A research-project proposal (max 5 pages/14,000 characters including spaces, references in addition) answering the following questions: What is it about MORE that you are most interested in and why? How does your research fit into MORE's research questions in WP 1? Which of MORE's research questions would you like to help answer? What methods will you use in your work? See Template for research proposal.
Transcript of records of your Bachelor’s and Master's degrees. Applicants with education from a foreign university must attach an explanation of their university's grading system.
Documentation of English language requirements (hf.uio.no) The appointed applicant will be asked to document these skills prior to admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Humanities.
A complete list of publications and academic works.
Do not submit other certificates, articles, master theses and the like unless specifically requested. If further documentation is necessary for assessment, you will be asked to submit it later.
A list of reference persons: 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone number).
Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for the position".
When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.
General information
The best qualified candidates will be invited for interviews.
Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we cannot, you will hear from us.
