Department of Earth Sciences - Institute of Geological SciencesJunior Professor of Paleontology with a Focus on Paleoclimatology/Climate Change Salary grade: Initially W1; after evaluation W2 with tenure Reference code: Paleoclimatology Bewerbungsende: 07.10.2021

This tenure-track professor position is supported financially through the German federal and state governments’ tenure-track program to promote the careers of researchers early on. Applications from researchers who have recently completed their doctoral degree and are in the early phase of their career are strongly encouraged.

The successful applicant will assume research and teaching responsibilities in the field of paleontology with a focus on paleoclimatology/climate change.

Appointment requirements are governed by Section 102a of the Berlin Higher Education Act (Berliner Hochschulgesetz – BerlHG).

The appointee should demonstrate excellent, internationally visible research activities in the field of paleontology and paleoclimatology, including a strong record of publications. They should also have a research focus in paleoclimatic reconstructions of continental and/or marine systems in Earth’s geological history. They will also concentrate on the geological aspects of climate change and extreme weather events in geological history, with an emphasis on climate developments in the Earth‘s history where the conditions for these developments are comparable with current climate change. The appointee will be involved in planning and conducting terrestrial and/or marine field studies and have experience in linking paleontological field studies with paleoclimatic models. They should also have experience with projects financed through third-party funding. The candidate should be able to demonstrate a record of successful academic teaching at the university level and have excellent knowledge of German or English enabling them to teach in the respective language. Ideally, they should also have experience in interdisciplinary collaborative projects.

Along with the regular official duties of professors listed in Section 99 of the Berlin Higher Education Act, we expect the appointee to engage in the following activities:

The successful applicant will assume teaching and research responsibilities in the foundations of paleontology as well as the paleoclimatic development of the Earth system, factoring in and applying methods used in paleontology, paleoclimatology, paleoecology, and other related areas such as geochemistry and geochronology. They should be willing to engage in interdisciplinary projects with thematically relevant working groups on a department, university, and state level. We expect the junior professor to participate in designing and leading joint projects. They should also be prepared to fill any gaps in their knowledge of German by the time of their tenure review so that they demonstrate at least B2-level (CEFR) proficiency. They will also be expected to teach courses and conduct their research in ways that are sensitive to gender and diversity issues

The position entails a three-year appointment as a civil servant for a fixed period (“Beamter/Beamtin auf Zeit”). Following a successful midterm review (“Zwischenevaluation”), the position can be extended for another three years. If the appointee then successfully passes their tenure review, they will be appointed to a permanent professorship through a streamlined appointment procedure (i.e., the permanent appointment will not be advertised as a separate position). As part of this process, performance goals will be negotiated at the time the junior professor is hired. The fulfillment of those goals will be assessed as part of the tenure review (Section 102c of the Berlin Higher Education Act, BerlHG).

The performance goals will cover (but are not limited to) the following areas:

• Research
• Teaching
• Promoting early-career researchers
• Academic committee work
• Leadership and management
• Language proficiency

At the time of appointment to the permanent professorship, all general regulations and conditions regarding public sector employment must be fulfilled.

In addition, any candidates who are employed at Freie Universität Berlin as their main employer must comply with the regulations stipulated by the Berlin Higher Education Act, Section 102c, paragraph 3.

Applications should be accompanied by the usual documents, including a CV with information pur-suant to Section 102.a.1.4 of the Berlin Higher Education Act, copies of all certificates of academic qualification in German or English, a list of publications, a list of courses previously taught, and evidence of teaching aptitude. Please include information on involvement in ongoing and future research endeavors, joint research projects, and externally funded projects. If necessary, please include language certificates. If applicable, please give information on experience in primary and secondary education, partnerships with industry, inventions/patents, and spin-offs.
Please submit all application materials electronically as one PDF file (maximum 5 MB) by October 7th , 2021. Be sure to include a personal postal address and email, as well as the reference code for the position. For formal purposes, (i.e., for formatting application documents), you may use the following postal address, but please send your application to the e-mail address below:

Freie Universität Berlin

Department of Earth Sciences

Dean’s Office

Attn: Mrs. Herm

Malteserstr. 74-100

12249 Berlin
Germany

E-mail: [email protected]

Application documents will be deleted from our servers after the legal retention period has lapsed.

The regulations defined by the Berlin Higher Education Act that are relevant to professorships (Sections 99,100,101,102a,102c BerlHG) can be found online: https://www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/berufungen/index.html .

On the given occasion and for the duration of the essential on-site operations by Freie Universität Berlin, we kindly ask you to apply electronically by e-mail. The processing of a postal application cannot be guaranteed.

With an electronic application, you acknowledge that FU Berlin saves and processes your data. FU Berlin cannot guarantee the security of your personal data if you send your application over an unencrypted connection.

Freie Universität Berlin is an equal opportunity employer.