Postdoctoral fellow in environmental psychology in the research project Nature in Your Face

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 42,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You can find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here .

The positions are part of a four year interdisciplinary and practice focussed research project funded by the Research Council of Norway. The project is coordinated by Christian Klöckner and Erica Löfström from the research group for “Citizens, Environment, and Safety” at the Department of Psychology. Below you can find a short description of the project.With less than ten years to reach big reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, changes in our lifestyles are necessary. So far, the consensus has been that citizens must not be disturbed and changes need to be introduced gradually, without challenging people’s assumptions and ways of doing. The project “nature in your face” (NIYF) takes a different approach. We can only reach the target of limiting climate change to manageable degrees if all parts of society draw in the same direction; and that includes politicians, administration, industry, citizens, and education. Getting all important actors in society at the same table is not easy, and we hypothesize that you need events that disrupt everyday life to create the motivation to engage in such a process.

Thus, the NIYF project will develop a method further, which combines creating unexpected and, to a certain degree, disturbing events with a series of future workshops stimulating creativity and leading to unusual and new solutions.

Such interrupting events could be art installations in the public space that intervene in daily life, elements of nature popping up in unexpected places, temporary closures of roads to host a playful street theatre around mobility, or something the like. We will develop these events with our many project partners and artists. We create the events to get an emotional reaction to the topic (and may that be a negative reaction at first). Then we design the workshops afterwords to link the different sectors in society in a creative process, thinking out of the box, daring to question established assumptions. Finally, the participating partners will implement these solutions. We will test the method in four cases around Norway on questions of food, mobility, plastic, and housing. We will quantify the achieved savings in greenhouse gases and develop a strategy for spreading the methodology to other cases to make a real contribution to fighting climate change at the local level in Norway. The majority of the project’s research will be qualitative, but there might be quantitative components.

You will report to Head of Department.

• Contribution to the design of the disruptive communication elements together with the research team, the practice partners, and external artists.
• Design of data collections, including structuring of the theoretical background, development / adaptation of measurement instruments, data curation, and data analysis. 
• Writing of academic papers both within psychology and in the interdisciplinary team of NIYF
• Presentation of the results in national and international fora and conferences as well as the NIYF meetings
• Collaboration with the user partners in NIYF
• Dissemination of the findings to policy makers and other stakeholders 

• You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree in psychology or related behavioral science. A corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree is required if you apply without a Norwegian degree. In order to be considered for the position, the applicant must have completed and obtained a public defense by the application deadline.
• Good knowledge and experience in behavioral science, preferably within some of the following areas; environmental psychology, social psychology, or cognitive psychology.
• Methodological competence with qualitative methods. Solid expertise with empirical work and the use of psychological research methods
• Experience with action-based field research, such as participatory processes, workshops and/or in-depth interviews
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Experience with scientific publishing

A postdoctoral research fellowships is a qualification position in which the main objective is qualification for work in academic positions.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant   

• Experience in interdisciplinary work will be regarded as an advantage
• Personal suitability to enter cross-disciplinary research teams. Suitable candidates should have the ability to cooperate, have good communication skills, be flexible and solution-oriented
• Since we have many local collaborators and will work with local stakeholders, the ability to communicate in Norwegian will be regarded an important advantage
• Experience from field work on low-emission neighborhoods (housing) and or food

• Experience in interdisciplinary work will be regarded as an advantage
• Personal suitability to enter cross-disciplinary research teams. Suitable candidates should have the ability to cooperate, have good communication skills, be flexible and solution-oriented
• Since we have many local collaborators and will work with local stakeholders, the ability to communicate in Norwegian will be regarded an important advantage
• Experience from field work on low-emission neighborhoods (housing) and or food

The employment period is 2 years. As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 553 500 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund. 

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work. 

The position is subject to external funding. 

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis. 

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English or Norwegian.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above. 

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

The application must include:

• Please submit a motivation letter of maximum 3 pages together with your application, arguing for why your background matches the position and why you are motivated to work on the project
• CV, certificates and diplomas
• transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's-, master's- and PhD degrees.
• Academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 5 maximum)
• Research plan
• Name and address of three referees

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education. Description of the documentation required can be found here . If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your motivation letter, CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Diploma Supplement is required to attach for European Master Diplomas outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma from China Credentials Verification (CHSI) .

If you are invited for interview you must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters. Please refer to the application number SU-631 when applying.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA. 

Working at NTNU 

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background.   

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.  

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted. 

Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants. 

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Christian Klöckner ([email protected] ) or Erica Löfström ([email protected] ). If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Nine Jonstad ([email protected] )

Application deadline: 19.09.2021

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Psychology

Our research and teaching are based on five perspectives: biological, cognitive, social, personality and developmental psychology. We offer a clinical programme in psychology as well as study programmes in the psychology of learning and in work and organizational psychology. We have also three outpatient clinics in which we treat patients as part of the clinical programme. The Department of Psychology  is one of seven departments in the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences .