Assistant Professorship (tenure track) in comparative political economy and/or comparative welfare studies

The Department of Political Science and Public Management, University of Southern Denmark, Odense invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professorship in comparative welfare studies as of June 1, 2022 or as agreed. 

The successful candidate is expected to support the department’s strategic objectives: excellence in research, high-quality teaching, and societal impact. The Department of Political Science and Public Management values a diversity of competences and academic profiles, and applicants must present a clear academic profile. By academic profile we understand the combined quality of research, teaching and societal engagement. For more information about the department and its strategy, please visit the website .

The successful applicant(s) will be affiliated with the Danish Centre for Welfare Studies (DaWS ). DaWS is a cross-disciplinary research center focusing especially on the development and reform of welfare states, outcomes and effects of welfare policies, and welfare state institutions. The research group covers a broad range of policy fields and methods, sharing interest in topics such as inequality and political dynamics of welfare and public policies. Established in 2005, DaWS is an internationally recognized and dynamic research group. We emphasize scientific curiosity, high-quality research on topics of high societal relevance, and team spirit.

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Conduct and publish research on political economy and/or comparative welfare studies at a high international level in areas of relevance to the Danish Centre for Welfare Studies
• Conduct teaching and supervision within the department's entire portfolio of study programmes, including the full-time political science programme
• Perform research-related tasks such as taking active part in developing the research collectively by e.g. support the development of research projects within the group, seeking external funding, engaging in knowledge exchange activities with the surrounding society, outreach activities, and co-supervision of PhD students

For applicants to qualify for the position, the following criteria must be met (please also consult the Scholarly Qualification Matrix :

• A well-described research profile aligned with the strategy of the Danish Centre for Welfare Studies
• An excellent research trajectory documented by high quality publications and an ambitious publication strategy
• Experience in university-level teaching knowledge exchange (documented)
• Document the ability to engage in professional networks and international research cooperation

We expect applications to include a 5-year research plan that includes research themes, publication strategy, potential cooperation (in/outside SDU), and related plans for external funding.

The transition from assistant professor to associate professor

The tenure-track assistant professor is expected to transition into an associate professor position no later than 6 years after being employed in the tenure track. Transition can take place sooner. The transition requires a positive assessment conducted by a formally approved assessment committee, consisting of a chair appointed by the University of Southern Denmark and two external committee members (researchers with relevant qualifications) approved by the dean, the academic council and the tenure-track committee of the university. For more information see details on Danish tenure track employment below.

Applicants are expected to have good interpersonal skills and dedicated to taking part in the everyday academic and social environment at the department. Within a three-year period, foreign applicants are expected to master the Danish language at a level which enables reading Danish exam papers and administrative documents. The department offers free language classes and a reduction in workload to support non-Danish speaking employees.

The department believes in fostering a stimulating and inspiring environment for both faculty members and students. The department's ambition is therefore to recruit, develop, and retain talented scholars committed to both academic excellence and departmental development. Furthermore, the department wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and, thus, welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

For further information, please contact Director of the Danish Centre for Welfare Studies, professor Klaus Petersen: [email protected] or Head of Department, Signe Pihl-Thingvad, [email protected] .

Application, salary, etc.
Appointment to the position requires a PhD or equivalent and will be in accordance with the salary agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations.

An application must include:

• Detailed CV
• An elaborated research plan (max 3 pages) for the next 5 years that describes:
• Potential to advance the field (both empirically and theoretically)
• Publication strategy
• Relationships to the aim and goals of the Danish Centre for Welfare Studies
• Planned national and international collaborations
• Potential of obtaining external funding
• Certificates/Diplomas (Master and PhD degree)
• Teaching portfolio (please see below)
• Complete list of publications, indicating which publications are most relevant for the position
• Up to 3 of the most relevant publications. Please upload a pdf for each publication. NOTE: If publications have been co-authored, co-author statements must be a part of this pdf and must include information like in this example . The statement is just for your inspiration.

Applicants applying for an assistant professorship are requested to submit a teaching portfolio with the application as documentation for teaching experience as well as supervision qualifications. Formal application instructions and guide for teaching portfolio may be found here .

All non-Danish documents must be translated into English.

Applications that are incomplete with regard to the above requirements may be rejected without any substantive evaluation.

Assessment of applications will be done under existing Appointment Order for universities. Applications will be assessed by an academic assessment committee that determines whether applicants are qualified for an assistant professorship. The committee may request additional information, and if so, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary material. The committee reserves the right to arrive at a decision solely based on the material submitted.

Shortlisting may be used in the assessment process.

When the assessment committee has submitted its report, the applicant will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns him/her. The assessment report will subsequently be forwarded to the head of department who will assemble an appointments committee. The appointments committee will manage and complete a series of job interviews with especially promising applicants. On the basis of the applications, the written assessments, the job interviews, and a deliberation within the appointments committee, the head of department determines which candidate(s) will be offered the position.

Applications must be submitted electronically no later than August 15, 2021 using the link "Apply online". Uploaded files must be in Adobe PDF (unlocked) or Word format.

Read the guideline for the applicants

Each field can only contain a single file of max. 10 Mb.

The Danish tenure track employment

The Danish tenure-track employment is a focused assistant professorship with a guaranteed assessment for a position as an associate professor, not limited in time, within the tenure-track assistant professor’s area of study.

The applicants for tenure-track assistant professorships are assessed based on the applicant's potential to reach the assessment criteria during the tenure-track period. The candidate will only be promoted to associate professor when the assessment committee confirms that the candidate has scholarly merits at a level of international excellence beyond what can normally be expected for qualification at the level of associate professor.

The tenure-track assistant professor will be assigned a mentor upon employment. The department will further host annual performance- and development reviews to ensure the progress of the assistant professor’s development towards meeting the qualifications of an associate professorship. A formal midterm evaluation will be conducted by a committee consisting of the head of the department, the head of section, and two external researchers with relevant qualifications, with the purpose of ensuring the focus of the assistant professor’s activities, as well as to create the basis for the planning of the remaining period. 

The transition from assistant professor to associate professor

The tenure-track assistant professor is expected to transition into an associate professor position no later than 6 years after being employed in the tenure track. Transition can take place sooner. The transition requires a positive assessment conducted by a formally approved assessment committee, consisting of a chair appointed by the University of Southern Denmark and two external committee members (researchers with relevant qualifications) approved by the dean, the academic council and the tenure-track committee of the university.

Given the fact that a positive evaluation alone and without competition, guarantees a position as associate professor, a transition only takes place when the assessment committee confirms that the assistant professor has scholarly merits beyond what can normally be expected for qualification at the associate professor level, with reference to the department's Scholarly Qualification Matrix . Specifically, a positive transition evaluation requires the following additional qualifications:

• An internationally recognized research profile aligned with the department's research profile.
• Frequent publication in international journals and/or with university presses. Output volume counts, but we prioritize quality.
• A track record of acquiring external grants.
• Solid experience and good results with course development and coordination and/or contribution to published teaching material.
• Proven ability to identify societal problems and shape one's own research agenda accordingly.
• Evidence of active contributions to the administrative and managerial tasks at the department.
• A progression in Danish skills satisficing the general expectations (see below).

The assessment committee evaluates the tenure-track assistant professor based on the promotion guidelines of the department. The Faculty of Business and Social Sciences at SDU expects the successful tenure-track assistant professor to have performed, progressed and achieved an acceptable record across the six scholarly dimensions: research, teaching, knowledge exchange, fundraising for research, community building and academic administration.

Note that applicants for tenure-track assistant professorships at SDU are not only assessed on the basis of the general qualification guidelines, but also on their potential to reach an international level of scholarly excellence during the tenure-track period.