The Institute of Design at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) announces a new vacant full-time permanent position as Professor / Associate Professor / Researcher in Service Design

About the position

The Institute of Design wishes to strengthen its professional staff through this new position by building and further developing Service Design particularly in the public sector. This is a prioritized and strategic subject area for the Institute.

We emphasise working closely with industry and the public sector to provide the highest level of professional competence through research both for our students and as a means of participating in professional development. This position in Service Design for the public sector, with particular weight on health services, will include working with research, research leadership, teaching and supervising, and some administrative work.

AHO was one of the first design schools in the Nordic countries to develop courses and research activities in Service Design and currently has a strong position both in Norway and internationally. Service Design has its roots in the commercial sector. Central to AHO’s research portfolio is cooperation with leading commercial service providers. This include the Centre for Service Innovation (a long-term centre initiative under the Research Council of Norway’s Centres for Research-based Innovation (SFI) programme).

Service Design continues to be a field under rapid development, part of which is its approach to innovation, including the public sector. Currently, the public sector has an increasing need for service design. There is a demand for new knowledge and for service designers and service design researchers who understand public services and the framework for innovation in the public sector. AHO has had a strategic focus on Design for Public Services (DOT) since 2013. As a major part of this portfolio in DOT, the Institute has established a second Centre for Research-based Innovation (SFI) funded by the Research Council of Norway; the Centre for Connected Care (C3). Three research fellows and five researchers are affiliated with DOT.

C3 was established in 2016 and is an eight-year research project. The Oslo University Hospital hosts the project and manages the Centre’s 13 partners from the public and private sector. AHO is one of five research partners. The Centre’s main goal is to establish new innovative service models and practices in the health and care sector, where the users are involved and given power to influence their own health. As part of C3, AHO develops design tools and a design lab.

The first five years of this new advertised position will have an emphasis on research and the research leadership of AHOs obligations in the C3 Centre for Connected Care project. There will be limited teaching during this phase, however after the C3 project is completed, the position will emphasise teaching and research equally. The position will be developed through close collaboration with the Institute leader and the Service Design team at the Institute.

We are looking for an experienced researcher who can lead the strategic efforts in Design for Public Services (DOT), including project leadership and management of AHO’s research activity in the C3 research project. The position will have up to a 20% teaching component in continuing education or at master’s degree level and will otherwise comprise research, research leadership and PhD supervision. After 5 years when the research leadership in the C3 project has ended, the position will consist of approximately 40% teaching, 40% research and 20% administration.This is up to negotiation with the Institute leader. The position will then include responsibility for planning and carrying out courses within Service Design in collaboration with other teaching staff at the Institute. These courses may be at Bachelor’s and Master’s levels, as well as in executive courses or programmes.

It is expected that the applicant will further develop the design for public services field in accordance with national competence needs. The applicant must therefore be able to articulate the practice of Service Design at a high level and to develop and implement new visions for Service Design at AHO. This may involve new collaboration projects with public sector and commercial players, new research projects and the development of Service Design as a profession. We are therefore looking for a person who is well established in the field and who can further strengthen the discipline at AHO in cooperation with the Service Design environment at the Institute of Design.

AHO offers and develops new courses and course programmes with specialisation in Service Design for the public sector, both as continuing education and as part of the Master’s Degree in Design. Key to AHO’s research approach is achieving a synergy between research, cooperation with industry/public sector and studio courses at the school. This leads to relevant high-quality research and teaching. All research activity at the Institute of Design is based at the Centre for Design Research which in addition to excellence in Service Design is at the international forefront in design research in several other areas.

Areas of responsibility

We are looking for a highly motivated researcher with leadership qualities who will be responsible for:

• research leadership in the research group Design for Public Services (DOT) including specific research projects
• research in Service Design for the public sector, particularly in the C3 project
• preparing applications for funding of new research and innovation projects
• supervision of master’s and also PhD candidates and teaching and development of teaching modules in Service Design for the public sector
• providing academic supervision and dissemination in service design for public enterprises, and engagement in the public policy system together with policy development.

Qualification requirements

The applicant must have the following qualifications:

• a master’s degree or equivalent in a relevant field (e.g. service design, systems oriented design, interaction design, design management, visual communication, product design) and experience from the practice of service design
• a PhD in a relevant field and/or a body of professional research publication, practice and leadership that will lead to completion of a PhD by the middel of 2020
• experience from research, research leadership and management in service design that qualifies for the position of professor/assistant professor/researcher
• experience with teaching at Master’s and Bachelor’s level
• experience with research applications
• good oral and written communication skills in English.

Priority will be given to a candidate with the following qualifications:

• fluency in written and spoken Norwegian/a Scandinavian language
• excellent visualisation and facilitation skills
• an understanding of public services in a Norwegian/Scandinavian context.

The candidate’s social qualities should include:

• outstanding leadership, cooperation and communication skills
• flexible, proactive and solution-oriented perspectives and approaches
• being able to support the flourishing of an ambitious atmosphere with periods with high work intensity
• good pedagogic skills and related experience

We will prioritise applicants who have research leadership and research publication experience as well as teaching experience, have documented results, and the ability to work in a team, both as the leader and as a participant. We are also interested in applicants who would be motivated to take up a designer-researcher career development path to grow expertise in this area and to extend current competence and experience further.

The position requires residency in the Oslo region.

We offer

• a stimulating and international professional research and teaching environment
• the salary for the position will be between pay level NOK 569 600-815 400 per year, depending on the applicant’s qualifications
• a pension agreement with the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, with 2% of the salary deducted for the social security fund
• standard terms applicable for the position.

The application must contain

• an application letter describing why the applicant believes he or she is qualified for the position
• a list of publications
• a portfolio showing the applicant’s contributions (maximum five projects)
• a CV
• copies of references
• two referees

Additional information

The application deadline is August 19th 2018.

It is a goal for all state-owned institutions to maintain a balanced mix of age, gender and cultural background, and accommodate for people with disabilities.

Contact details

For inquiries or questions, please contact:

• Head of Institute Professor Rachel Troye (rachel.troye@aho.no)
• Dr Marianne Støren Berg (marianne.storen.berg@adm.aho.no)

For more information about AHO, please visit our website: www.aho.no

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