MSCA SEAS postdoctoral fellow in climate and early human development in coastal Southern Africa
Deadline: 15.01.2024
Publisert
University of Bergen
The University of Bergen is a renowned educational and research institution, organised into seven faculties and approximately 54 institutes and academic centres.
The University of Bergen (UiB) is Norway’s largest marine university, with research and education of a high international standard and several world leading research environments.
Marine collaboration among the academic, business, government, and civil society (e.g., NGOs) sectors is particularly strong in the Bergen region, given the city’s long history as a maritime port and trading centre. UiB’s campus-area, Marineholmen, is a marine hotspot in Europe, with over 150 companies and organisations collaborating in seafood, energy, subsea technology, and other maritime activities. Many of these are partners of the SEAS programme.
Shaping European Research Leaders for Marine Sustainability (SEAS)
UiB - Knowledge that shapes society
Through robust and close interaction with the world around us – globally, nationally and locally – we shall be instrumental in building a society based on knowledge, skills and attitudes.
The position is dedicated to the following research area: Climate backdrop for early human behavioural evolution in Southern Africa during the African Middle Stone Age, using proxy-based reconstructions and /or modelling approaches.
The position is open to incoming candidates, see mobility rules.
Information about the Centre and research possibilities is available here.
For further details about the research and supervision possibilities please contact Professor Eystein Jansen. Upon contact Jansen will direct interested persons to relevant potential supervisors who will be able to offer advice towards the development of a research proposal.
About the SEAS fellowship programme
Shaping European Research Leaders for Marine Sustainability (SEAS) is a postdoctoral research fellowship programme for 37 fellows launched and managed by the University of Bergen. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101034309.
In this fourth call, open November 15, 2023 – January 15, 2024, we invite talented experienced researchers to apply for 3 fellowships. Successful candidates will be employed in fixed-term fulltime postdoctoral research fellow positions at UiB.
The SEAS programme offers
high-quality inter- and transdisciplinary research and training opportunities in the area of marine sustainability supported by a supervision and inter-sectoral mentoring scheme
opportunity to transfer knowledge and skills between disciplines, organisations and sectors
SEAS eligibility criteria and application requirements
Eligible applicants will be evaluated on transparent evaluation criteria by international experts. No restrictions by nationality, age, gender, ethnicity, disability/special needs, or social status will apply. To be considered eligible for academic review, applications must adhere to the following programme requirements:
The research proposal must be relevant to marine sustainability.
Applicants must hold a PhD degree in a relevant field prior to the application deadline or alternatively document that the thesis has been defended successfully, or that the dissertation is currently being evaluated by the PhD evaluation body of their academic institution. It is a condition of employment that the PhD must have been awarded.
Applicants cannot previously have been employed as a postdoctoral fellow at UiB.
Applications must be submitted through the Jobbnorge portal and include all mandatory elements (see below). Applications via email will not be accepted.
Applicants must have a high degree of proficiency in English (self-assessed in the CV and demonstrated in the application).
Outgoing fellowships require a continuous stay in the outgoing host country of minimum 18 and maximum 24 months.
The application and relevant documents must be in English.
Evaluation
We anticipate the whole evaluation procedure to take approximately 4 months from application deadline. Eligible applicants will be evaluated by three international experts and assessed against criteria addressing excellence, impact, implementation, quality of the researcher and training, knowledge transfer, and networking opportunities. Details are stated in the Guide for applicants.
Employment conditions/offers for SEAS fellows
Fixed-term 3-year contract as a postdoctoral research fellow at UiB.
Salary according to position as postdoctoral fellow (code 1352 in the basic collective agreement) and a gross annual salary of NOK 615 700 (approx. € 53.000 depending on exchange rate) (equivalent to pay grade 63) upon appointment. Further increases in salary are made according to length of service in the position.
Welfare benefits* and social benefits including pension-saving, occupational injury insurance, full salary during sick leave for 52 weeks, and paid parental leave**.
Extension of the position term (work contract) due to sick leave and parental leave.
Norwegian language courses free of charge.
High standards for working hours, holidays, place of work, health, and safety.
Access to specific training activities exclusively provided within the framework of the SEAS programme.
An individual research budget of minimum € 300 per month for 3 years is guaranteed, and an additional € 300 per month can be applied for, for activities such as secondment, travels, joint events, etc.
Outgoing fellows will receive full coverage of travel costs for attending the mandatory gatherings (in compliance with UiB-routines for travel procurement and reimbursement).
*) Subject to membership in the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. For non-EU outgoing fellows, individual benefit agreement must be considered.
**) Right to paid parental leave requires 6 months paid work before first day of leave. See full requirements.
About the postdoctoral fellowship
The primary objective of the postdoctoral position is to qualify the appointee for work in top academic positions. Teaching and/or other qualifying duties might be included if the appointee lacks such experience. The UiB-contract may, under certain conditions, be extended by up to one year if a fellow acquires sufficient funding from other sources than SEAS.
For all SEAS fellows, a Personal Career Development Plan (PCDP) is to be developed jointly by the fellow, supervisor, and co-supervisor by the end of Month 2 of the fellowship, including a plan for the individual research budget, and information on additional funding where applicable.
If selected, you must be able to take up the position within four months after receiving the offer unless another concrete start date is approved by the SEAS-administration. Before applying we recommend you familiarise yourself with current visa and work permit regulations for Norway (incoming candidates) or other host country (for outgoing candidates).
How to apply
The application process for these prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowships requires a close dialogue with the named supervisor(s) or contact(s) who, close to the deadline, must sign a supervisor match declaration if an application is to be eligible.
Before starting the online application process, please familiarise yourself carefully with our application requirements in the Guide for Applicants. It is essential that all required attachments (see next section) are uploaded via our electronic recruiting system JobbNorge.
Before uploading any documents in the portal (to minimise repetition of information):
In the ‘JobbNorge-application field’: Only write your name.
In the ‘JobbNorge-CV form’: Only fill in your 1) personal details, 2) information about your PhD-degree (in the field ‘Academic qualifications’) and 3) recent relevant work experience.
You do not need to fill in any other sections in the JobbNorge form, as all the information we need will be provided by you when attaching the mandatory elements listed in the next section.
Elements to be attached when submitting
The following elements or documents are to be attached in separate files. Total amount of pages must not exeed 350. For documents 1-7 you must download and use SEAS templates found in the Guide for applicants. Submit all attachments with your name in the file name (e.g., surname_name_att1).
1. Mobility declaration (including documentation of country of residence last 3 years, e.g., work contract, rental contract, tax slips) (Att. 1).
2. Research proposal (Att. 2).
3. Ethics and security issues: self-assessment form (Att. 3).
4. Motivation letter (Att 4).
5. CV including list of publications (Att. 5).
6. For both incoming and outgoing fellowships: Supervisor match declaration (signed) (Att. 6).
7. Only for outgoing fellowships: Match declaration signed by outgoing host institution (Att. 7).
8. PhD diploma, or an official statement that verifies that you have defended your thesis successfully or that it is currently under assessment by your academic institution.
9. Any relevant publications (do not include entire thesis/book chapters etc).
10. Letters of recommendation from the graduating university or previous employers are encouraged but not mandatory.
If you apply for more than one of the SEAS postdoctoral research positions, you must send separate applications.
General information
Women, people with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position. If multiple applicants have approximately equivalent qualifications, the rules pertaining to moderate gender quotas might apply.
Be aware that some fields of research, especially within sensitive technology areas, might be enforced by Norwegian and international regulations regarding Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in these regulations will be prohibited from recruitment to UiB.
UiB applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff. Information about applicants may be made public even if an applicant has requested not to be named on the list of applicants. If a request to be omitted is not met, the applicant will be notified.