Stilling:

Professor / Associate Professor in Vegetation Ecology

Deadline: February 20, 2019

University of South-Eastern Norway

University of South-Eastern Norway has about 18 000 students and about 1500 employees. The university is organized in four faculties, with instruction and R&D activities on eight campuses. The main profile of the university is to provide socially relevant education, geared towards specific professions, and adapted to the requirements of the workplace, as well as to produce applied research and development.

The Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences has a vacant permanent position as Professor/ Associate Professor in Vegetation Ecology from 01.08.2019.

The position is attached to the Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health and reports to the Head of Department. The place of employment is Bø in Telemark, a small town in beautiful surroundings, within two hours travel of Oslo.

Responsibilities and duties

The department offers a BSc program in Natural sciences, with specialisations in 1) Ecology and Natural resources and 2) Pollution and the Environment, MSc programs in Environmental Science and a PhD program in Ecology. An active and appropriate participation in the teaching and supervision duties at all levels in the Department’s programmes and in academic self-governing is expected. More specifically, relevant courses to teach are Botany, Alpine Ecology, Alpine Biodoversity and Climate Change.

The university also considers distance learning and e-learning as a priority area, and the successful candidate must be able to supervise and teach students using online tools and digital media.

The successful applicant is expected to be actively engaged in Vegetation Ecology research and related areas at the department. The person will be central in the further development of the research group working on the impact of climate change on ecosystems. With a focus on alpine ecosystems in Scandinavia, this research group represents central research disciplines including climatology, botany, zoology, terrestrial and aquatic ecology. Field experiments and observations are used in modelling relationships between climate variables, resource availability and distribution, and space use of selected species of interrelated taxa of various trophic levels. The research group is one of four active research groups at the department. The department offers excellent opportunities for research, with access to good laboratory facilities, and with low-alpine ecosystems at its doorstep. Moreover, the group has active collaboration with many national and international partners. Acquisition of external research funding is regarded as important, and it is expected that the successful candidate will contribute in such efforts and to the development of national and international networks.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will have a broad and overall good ecological understanding and a strong background in vegetation ecology and related research. He or she has proven research- and project experience in the field of vegetation ecology. Documented background in botany and experience with plant species identification is required. Experience with one or more of the following subjects within vegetation ecology will be emphasized:

  • Field experiments and observations
  • Numerical analyses of ecological data
  • Genetic methods
  • Autecology
  • Biodiversity
  • Ecoclimatology

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate an active professional network, and the ability and willingness for project acquisition.

The staff at the faculty work within subject teams to a large extent, and the candidate must be motivated to share his or her knowledge and cooperate. We emphasize good cooperation and communication skills, and the candidate should be able to demonstrate experience, and ability and willingness to work in an interdisciplinary team.

For appointment as professor an academic level in accordance with established international or national standards is required.For appointment as associate professor it is required that applicants hold a Norwegian doctorate within the relevant field, or an equivalent foreign doctoral degree or qualifications at the same level as documented by scientific production of equivalent scope and quality.

Our education is research oriented, both in terms of teaching practice and content. We therefore want our teachers to have experience from, or have the motivation to focus on, the development of teaching practices and the interaction between education and research.

Applicants should possess pedagogical competence involving at least a half-year Post-Graduate Certificate in Education, or a shorter university college pedagogy course, and a minimum of one year’s teaching experience. Applicants who do not possess such pedagogical qualifications may be employed on the condition that they acquire such qualifications within three years of the date of their employment. Courses within university college pedagogy will be offered.

It is expected that newly employed staff in academic positions who do not already master a Scandinavian language (Norwegian, Swedish or Danish) will acquire knowledge of Norwegian at an equivalent standard to advanced level Norwegian test ("Bergenstesten") within 2 years.

We offer

  • A professionally stimulating working environment.
  • Good opportunities to develop your career and your academic skills.
  • A good social environment.
  • Attractive welfare benefits in the State Pension Plan.
  • Opportunity for physical activities within working hours.

Salary

Professor (code 1013): NOK 658 300 – 922 300 per year. Associate professor (førsteamanuensis) (code 1011): NOK 534 100 – 731 400 per year. Salary placement depending on seniority. A statutory contribution will be made to the state pension.

Additional information

The Academic Appointments Board is responsible for appointments to academic positions at University of South-Eastern Norway. An expert committee will evaluate the applications. On the basis of the committee’s recommendations, short-listed applicants will be called in for interviews and must be prepared to give a trial lecture.

The successful applicant must comply with the laws, regulations and agreements that apply to the position.

As an equal opportunities employer we welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status. All appointments are made on merit.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information act § 25 2 paragraph, information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, even though the applicant has requested non-disclosure. The applicant will be informed if his/her request has been declined.

For further information concerning the position please contact:

  • Live Semb Vestgarden, Head of Department; live.s.vestgarden@usn.no / +47 35952797

How to apply

University of South-Eastern Norway uses online applications in the recruitment system Jobbnorge. We therefore ask applicants to register their application and CV online. The application must include the following documents:

  1. Certified diplomas, certificates, and transcripts
  2. List of publications and descriptions of these
  3. Academic publications (up to 15 academic works for professors and 10 for associate professor)
  4. List and documentation of pedagogical qualifications
  5. Names and contact information of three referees

Please note that all documents must be translated into English or a Scandinavian language by an authorized translator. In order to be fully evaluated for the position all applicants must upload their application with relevant attachments in our electronic recruiting system (Jobbnorge) within the application deadline.

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