Job description

Position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow available at the Department of Biosciences.

The appointment will be for a period of 3 years. No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Oslo. Starting date no later than October 1, 2022.

For the 3-year appointment, 10% of the time is devoted to required duties, usually in the form of teaching activities.

The appointment might be offered for 4-year. This will be contingent on the qualifications of the candidate and the teaching needs of the department. For a 4-year fulltime appointment, 25 % of the time is devoted to compulsory work (e.g. teaching responsibilities at the department).

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

Job description / Project description / Development plan:

We seek a highly motivated, enthusiastic person with the ambition to gain insight and publish papers in leading, international journals, with strong interpersonal skills and the capability to work in close collaboration with others. Experience working in an interdisciplinary team is considered an advantage.

The position is associated with the newly funded (the Research Council of Norway) project “A Norwegian BioGenome initiative: the initial launch phase” (EBP-Nor). As a launch phase, EBP-Nor will establish the protocols and analyses tools for sequencing a selected number of species (around 150) to a high quality reference genome standard (chromosome length assemblies). EBP-Nor is a national consortium – led by UiO (Dept of Biosciences, Centre of Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis; CEES) - that includes the large universities of Norway, research institutes and private and governmental organizations. The post doc will work in a multidisciplinary team that includes both national and international collaborations. The main tasks will be planning and design of reference genome sequencing, genome assemblies and annotation (and part of the large team) – as well as contributing to planned pan-genome and population genomics projects at CEES. In a longer time perspective EBP-Nor will be extended to larger scale biodiversity sequencing to include all eukaryotic species in Norway (as part of an international effort).

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

The main purpose of a postdoctoral fellowship is to provide the candidates with enhanced skills to pursue a scientific top position within or beyond academia. To promote a strategic career path, all postdoctoral research fellows are required to submit a professional development plan no later than one month after commencement of the postdoctoral period.

Qualification requirements

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

• Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree within the fields of genomics, molecular biology/functional genomics, evolutionary, population genomics or bioinformatics applied to genomic applications. Doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the closing date. Only applicants with an approved doctoral thesis and public defence are eligible for appointment.
• Experience with long-read sequencing, methods for genome assembly and annotation, comparative genomics and population genomics will be an advantage.
• Experience with biodiversity genomics projects such as Earth Biogenome project (EBP), European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA), Vertebrate Genome Project (VGP), Darwin Tree of Life (DToL) and the 10,000 Bird Genomes Project will be an asset.
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English

• Interest and experience from teaching will also be considered advantageous.

Personal skills

• Extensive experience with team work
• Good interpersonal skills

We offer

• Salary NOK 534 400 – 615 800 per annum depending on qualifications in position as Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (position code 1352)
• Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement
• Professionally stimulating working environment
• Vibrant international academic environment
• Postdoctoral development programmes
• Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include

• Cover letter (statement of motivation, summarizing scientific work and research interest)
• CV (summarizing education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity)
• Copies of educational certificates, academic transcript of records
• A complete list of publications and up to 5 academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system. 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, as well as the candidates motivation and personal suitability. Interviews with the best qualified candidates will be arranged.

It is expected that the successful candidate will be able to complete the project in the course of the period of employment.

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.

No one can be appointed twice as a Postdoctoral fellow financed with funds from The Research Council of Norway (NFR).

If an applicant has applied for and been granted funding for a fulltime research stay abroad while being employed as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the employment will be prolonged with the equivalent time as the research stay, but for no longer than of twelve months ( thus extending the employment to a maximum of four years)

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. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

Contact information

For further information please contact:

• Professor Kjetill S Jakobsen, phone: +47 22854602/+47 90741779, e-mail: k.s.jakobsen@ibv.uio.no or
• Dr Ole K. Tørresen phone: +47 98813415, e-mail: o.k.torresen@ibv.uio.no

For technical questions regarding the recruitment system please contact: HR adviser Nina Holtan, phone: +47 22854424, e-mail: nina.holtan@mn.uio.no.

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