Job description

Applicants are invited to apply for a postdoctoral researcher position in fungal systematics based at Natural History Museum (NHM), University of Oslo (UiO). The contract period is 4 years fulltime, of which 3 years (75%) are devoted to carrying out research and one year (25%) for compulsory work consisting of teaching and supervision, collection work, outreach activities and research assistance.

More about the position

The successful candidate will perform research within the field of fungal systematics and fungariomics, combining targeted field collecting and/or fungarium mining with phylogenomic approaches to discover, delimit, describe, and understand fungal diversity. Applicants are expected to develop (and attach to their application) a state-of-the-art, relevant, and ambitious project plan within this research area. We encourage innovative use of our extensive fungarium collections. Both physical specimens and their metadata are available also from other fungaria through international exchange agreements and digitization efforts, respectively. The applicant is free to chose taxonomic and geographic scope, but the outcome should ideally have direct implications for fungal taxonomy, fungal diversity management, and/or other applied aspects. Please do also include a timeline with milestones indicated, a list of expected results/deliverables, and a rough budget. A basic research budget will be available. The successful candidate is expected to take active part in or initiate research project development and grant applications during the employment period.

Starting date as soon as possible.

Postdoctoral fellows who are appointed for a period of four years are expected to acquire basic pedagogical competency in the course of the of their fellowship period within the duty component of 25 %.

The main purpose of the fellowship is to qualify researchers for work in higher academic positions within their disciplines.

The work environment

The Natural History Museum (NHM) has approximately 160 employees and is located in the Botanical Garden in Oslo. NHM consists of eight research groups that pursue research and education within basic and advanced biosystematics and biodiversity studies. The successful applicant will become member of the research group Integrative Systematics of Plants and Fungi (ISOP). Currently, the ISOP core group of 15 people includes five faculty members, three PhD candidates, seven master students, and a network of associated researchers. The ISOP group members are particularly interested in the systematics of selected groups of flowering plants, fungi, and microalgae. Our work is highly integrative and covers a broad range of collection- and phylogeny-based biosystematics research, including modern sequencing technologies and bioinformatics. The improvement, maintenance and use of scientific collections is central to our work. The fungarium (O) comprises about 350.000 fungal specimens, of which 2/3 are Nordic specimens, ca. 1200 types, and a comprehensive collection of exsiccatae (ca. 30.000). The museum has relevant inhouse research infrastructures, including various molecular- and microscopy laboratories. The successful candidate for this position will work in close collaboration with Associate professor Mika Bendiksby. Norway has a comprehensive and active network of mycologist specialized on various taxa, with whom NHM researchers have a tradition of fruitful collaboration.

Qualification requirements

The candidate must have:

• a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree (PhD) in biology (relevant themes: fungal/plant systematics, phylogenomics, conservation genomics, or bioinformatics for biosystematics)
• fluent oral and written communication skills in English

It is preferable that the candidate has:

• a background and interest in fungal biology and systematics
• hands-on experience with genomic approaches to obtain recalcitrant DNA from museum specimens (museomics)
• experience with biosystematics (e.g. taxonomy, phylogenetics, biogeography)
• experience with teaching, outreach, and collection work

Personal skills

We are looking for a highly motivated, creative, and structured candidate with excellent communication skills and good collaborative qualities

We offer

• salary NOK 526 000,- – 608 200,- per annum depending on qualifications in position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow (position code 1352)
• challenging research questions and a friendly and stimulating working environment
• a beautiful campus located in the Botanical Gardens, which is close to the city centre of Oslo, but also not far from the fjord and the woodlands surrounding the city
• attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include all the following as separate numbered documents:

1. Cover letter (statement of motivation, summarizing scientific work and research interest; max. 1 page)

2. Project description, including a progress plan and a rough budget (max.10 pages)

3. CV (summarizing education, positions held, pedagogical/supervisory experience, project acquisition, administrative experience, and other qualifying activities)

4. Educational certificates (copies of academic transcripts only)

5. A complete list of publications

6. Half-page summaries of up to five academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered

7. List of 2-3 agreed reference persons. Please provide name, relation to candidate, e-mail address, and phone number. The references will be contacted if necessary. Letters of recommendation are therefore not required for the initial application.

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruitment system (use the link "Apply for this job"). Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the documented, academic qualifications, project acquisition and publications, the quality of the proposed project as well as the candidate’s motivation and personal suitability. Interviews with the best qualified candidates will be arranged.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Fellow period at the University of Oslo.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of 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.

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. We also want to have employees with diverse expertise, combinations of subjects, life experience and perspectives. We will make adjustments for employees who require this.

If there are qualified applicants with special needs, gaps in their CVs or immigrant backgrounds, we will invite at least one applicant in each of these groups to an interview.

Contact information

Questions regarding the position:

• Associate professor Mika Bendiksby (mika.bendiksby@nhm.uio.no)
• Professor Brita Stedje (brita.stedje@nhm.uio.no)

Questions regarding the recruiting system and the application procedure:

• HR-adviser Anita Marie Hansen (a.m.hansen@nhm.uio.no)

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