UiT The Arctic University of Norway

UiT is a multi-campus research university in Norway and the northernmost university of the world. Our central location in the High North, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio, and our interdisciplinary qualities make us uniquely suited to meet the challenges of the future. At UiT you can explore global issues from a close-up perspective.

Credibility, academic freedom, closeness, creativity and commitment shall be hallmarks of the relationship between our employees, between our employees and our students and between UiT and our partners.

Faculty of Law

The position

At the Norwegian Center for the Law of the Sea at the Faculty of Law a position is available for a Postdoctoral research fellow.

NCLOS is a UiT Aurora Centre (2021-2025), a funding program of research groups that demonstrate excellence in their field of science. The Centre has a staff of 20 - 25 employees: academic staff and PhD students.

The Centre is located at the Faculty of Law, providing for close contact and collaboration between the staff. The Centre also has an extensive national and international academic network. The Centre is part of the Faculty of Law, which has about 950 law students, 25 PhD students, 35 members of the academic staff and 16 members of the administrative staff. The Faculty may award the degrees of Master and PhD in Law as well as the degrees of Master of Laws (LL.M.) in the Law of the Sea and Joint Nordic Master`s Programme in Environmental Law.

The position is a fixed term position for a duration of two years. Appointment to the position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow is mainly intended to provide qualification for work in top academic positions. The applicant must be able to carry out the project over the full course of the employment period. No person may hold more than one fixed term position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the same institution.

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

The objective of NCLOS is to identify the limits and possibilities of the current law of the sea and ocean governance framework to adapt and respond to systemic challenges such as environmental pressures and consequently assess the need for rethinking the framework in order to achieve global goals of ocean resilience and sustainability. NCLOS seeks to fill one postdoc position to be integrated at the research at NCLOS.

The Postdoctoral fellow is expected to undertake research within one of the following themes:

• Ocean Space;
• Sovereignty:
• or Ocean Commons

The themes are based on hypotheses on limits and possibilities of aspects of the current regime:

Ocean Space: The legal architecture of ocean space might not effectively/systematically address ocean resilience and sustainability.

Sovereignty: The logic of sovereignty needs to be reassessed. Sovereignty of coastal states (also sovereign rights and jurisdiction) over ocean space has not adequately respected common interests or offered adequate responses to the systemic challenges.

Ocean Commons: The governance of the Ocean commons needs to be reassessed, and of different reasons. These include the fragmented legal framework and whether the freedom of the high seas and common heritage provide adequate means for protecting marine biodiversity.

Any project proposal is expected to address either of these themes by building on the elements of the objective. Especially encouraged are project proposals that entail innovations in legal theory and methodology. The candidate selected for employment must be willing to adjust her/his project proposals to the plans of the Centre.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact:

• Professor Ingvild Ulrikke Jakobsen, phone: +47 77 64 62 08, email: ingvild.jakobsen@uit.no

Qualifications

The applicant is required to hold a Norwegian doctoral degree in law or a corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree.

When applying for a Postdoctoral Fellowship, the applicant shall submit a project proposal for the qualifying work. The proposal shall include a progress plan. It is required that the applicant will be able to complete the project during the period of appointment.

In addition, he/she must be able to document proficiency in English equivalent to Norwegian Higher Education Entrance Qualification. The applicant must understand Norwegian or commit himself/herself to participate in the Norwegian Language Courses held by the University of Tromsø at the outset of the employment. Nordic applicants can document their capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.

In the assessment the main emphasis will be attached to the submitted works and the project proposal for the qualifying work. Emphasis shall also be attached to experience from popularization/dissemination and academic policy and administrative activity.

During the assessment emphasis will be put on the candidate’s motivation, potential for research, and personal suitability for the position.

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).

Inclusion and diversity

UiT The Arctic University i 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.

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 
• More practical information for working and living in Norway can be found here.

Application

Your application must include:

• Application letter
• Project proposal
• CV
• Diplomas and transcripts (all degrees)
• Contact information to 2-3 references
• A list of your academic production
• Description of your academic production, stating which works you consider most important
• Academic works, up to ten. The doctoral thesis is regarded as one work.

You must submit a project proposal that describe how you scientifically can contribute to (the project/described field of research). The proposal must include a progress plan.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.

Assessment

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position.

The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview should among other things, aim to clarify the applicant’s motivation and personal suitability for the position. A trial lecture may also be held.

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.

The remuneration for Postdoctoral research fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1352. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted.

The successful candidate must be willing to get involved in the ongoing development of their department and the university as a whole.

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.

Apply for position