Tenure Track Researcher in Marine Benthic Ecology

The Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University (Roskilde), invites applications for a full-time researcher position (tenure track), focusing on marine benthic ecology.

Expected start date and duration of employment
This is a full-time position starting on 1 November 2023, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Job description
You will contribute to research and advisory work for the authorities on marine ecosystems in the cross-field between the development of off-shore wind energy and national and international obligations to protect the marine biodiversity.

The work will consider characterisation and mapping of bottom fauna communities in Danish waters and characterisation of effects from off-shore wind structures and parks. Other topics will be related to Marine Protected Areas and effects on benthic species and communities by other anthropogenic pressures like hazardous substances, trawling, eutrophication etc. You will also be involved in the efforts to identify, monitor and model the distribution of benthic non-indigenous species. Further, it is expected that you participate in the general advisory work related to the marine EU directives, and other international conventions.

You will be a part of the marine group that covers research and advisory tasks across the marine environment mainly related to Danish and Arctic waters. Activities will be conducted in close collaboration with particularly the staff in the section for marine biodiversity and experimental ecology as well as national and international partners.  

Your profile
Applicants should hold a PhD in marine ecology, environmental sciences, or similar. We expect that you have:

• Expert knowledge on bottom ecology
• Expert knowledge of pressures and effects on benthos
• Very good skills in tools for characterization and mapping benthic communities
• Experience in field work
• Experience with molecular techniques for marine monitoring
• Experience in data analysis, databases and statistical tools
• Publications in high-ranking journals
• Good collaboration skills and ability to work in an interdisciplinary team within marine science
• Very good knowledge of English (written and oral)
• Good communication skills (scientific community, the public, stakeholders, and managers)
• Preferable experience with advisory work

Who we are

The Department of Ecoscience is engaged in research programs and advisory work covering the major biological subdisciplines. We conduct world-class research in the areas of aquatic biology and ecology, Arctic environment and ecosystems, biodiversity, conservation biology and wildlife management.  The Department currently employs approximately 275 academic and technical staff, as well as many PhD students.

The successful candidate will work in a dynamic and internationally engaged scientific environment at the Section for Marine Biodiversity and Experimental Ecology (for more information see:
https://ecos.au.dk/en/researchconsultancy/research-areas/marine-diversity-and-experimental-ecology

The department is, and wishes to continue to be, an active, dynamic and inspiring workplace with exciting challenges, enthusiastic colleagues and academic opportunities for development. The department wishes to support employees in creating a good balance between their work and home lives and to maintain and attract talented and committed staff, where freedom, creativity and respect for the long-term perspective are core values. For more information on the Department see: http://ecos.au.dk/en/ .

What we offer
The department offers:

• a well-developed research infrastructure, laboratories and access to shared equipment
• access to >35 years extensive national monitoring data
• an exciting interdisciplinary environment with many national, international collaborators from the scientific, public management and private sectors.
• a research climate encouraging lively, open and critical discussion within and across different fields of research
• a workplace characterised by professionalism, equality and a healthy work-life balance.

Place of work and area of employment

The place of work is Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark, and the area of employment is Aarhus University with related departments. 

Contact information
For further information, please contact  Head of Section, Karsten Dahl, [email protected] +45 21 20 19 70

Ensuring gender balance at the Department of Ecoscience is a high priority at Aarhus University, and we particularly encourage women to apply for this position. No candidate will be given preferential treatment, and all applicants will be assessed on the basis of their qualifications for the position in question.

Technical Sciences Tenure Track

Aarhus University offers talented scientists from around the world attractive career perspectives via the Technical Sciences Tenure Track Programme. Highly qualified candidates are appointed as Researcher for a period of six years with the prospect of performance- based advancement to a tenured position as Senior Researcher.

The aim of the Technical Sciences Tenure Track Programme is to:

• attract outstanding talented individuals that are competitive at an international level
• to promote the early development of independent research success early in the career of scientists
• to create transparency in the academic career path

As part of the tenure track position, the candidate is offered:

• access to research infrastructure
• capability development, including postgraduate teacher training
• a mentoring programme
• support to develop scientific networks and to secure interdisciplinary research at the highest level

As part of the Aarhus University Tenure Track Programme, the University carries out a mid-way evaluation to review the progress of the tenure track candidate after three years, according to the same criteria used in the final tenure review. The final tenure review is conducted after five and a half years. If the review is positive, the candidate will be offered a tenured position as Senior Researcher at Aarhus University.

Please refer to the tenure track guidelines for the tenure review criteria and for the tenure review process.

Application procedure

Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the assessment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. The selection is made on the basis of an assessment of who of the candidates are most relevant considering the requirements of the advertisement. All applicants will be notified within 6 weeks whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee and will receive his/her assessment. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.

Letter of reference

If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

Formalities and salary range

Technical Sciences refers to the

Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found

here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here . Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here .

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.