Researcher in precision livestock farming

Are you a goal-oriented and proactive researcher who want to contribute to the development of sustainable, climate friendly ruminant production system?

The researcher we are looking for will work together with us in projects on forage production and forage-based livestock production. The overall goal is to deliver research based knowledge that can contribute to the development of sustainable and climate friendly forage and ruminant production systems based on efficient utilization of Norwegian feed resources.

NIBIO Tjøtta research station will be the major arena for the research, but there will also be activities on other locations. On Tjøtta, we have modern research facilities for continuous monitoring of animal behaviour, health status, production and greenhouse gasses from ruminants with high precision.

The work is interdisciplinary, with extensive collaboration internally in NIBIO, and externally with research institutions and stakeholders in Norway as well as in many other countries.

The position will be located at NIBIOs regional unit Tjøtta.

• Lead and/or participate in research projects on ruminant livestock farming in collaboration with other researchers and technical staff
• Develop new research projects within the working area of the department
• Contribute to the development of modern research facilities for precision livestock farming with small ruminants with controlled feeding experiments, animal behaviour studies, and analyses of feed intake, digestibility, and greenhouse gasses
• Disseminate and communicate research findings in oral and written scientific and popular forms
• Contact with regional business life, authorities, and R&D institutions 

• PhD in animal or veterinary science with high relevance for the position
• Published per-reviewed scientific papers within relevant field of research
• Good communication skills in oral and written English

• Good communication skills in oral and written Norwegian or another Scandinavian language (Swedish, Danish). Candidates without knowledge of Norwegian language will be expected to acquire such skills within a short period
• Good knowledge of livestock production under Nordic conditions 
• Experience with practical handling of livestock from farms or research barns
• Experience with laboratory work 
• Good network within research and stakeholders

• Responsible, goal-oriented, proactive
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Contributes positively to the working environment

• Opportunity to work on an important social mission with focus on sustainability and future-oriented projects.
• Challenging, exciting and varied tasks in interdisciplinary teams
• A flexible everyday life with the opportunity to influence one's own work tasks
• A skilled professional environment with good colleagues
• A generous personnel policy with welfare schemes that focus on employees' different stages of life.

The position is remunerated according to the Norwegian State Salary Scale as Researcher code 1109, salary grade 64-75 (NOK 593.500 - 728.100 per year), commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which includes a good occupational pension scheme, occupational injury and group life insurance, and low-interest home loans.

Contact Head of department/Head of research Mats Höglind, + 47 404 75 391 or Research scientist Vibeke Lind, +47 93 499 436

Please send your application with CV electronically via the link on this page.

Take diplomas and letters of recommendation with you if invited to an interview, or submit them as an attachment along with the electronic application/CV.

We would like to point out that information about applicants may be subject to public disclosure, in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (Offentlighetsloven), Section 25. An applicant can request to be exempted from inclusion on a public list of applicants. If the request for confidentiality is denied, the applicant will be notified thereof.

About diversity and inclusion - for applicants living in Norway:

In accordance with the Norwegian Civil Service equal opportunities policy, qualified candidates are encouraged to apply - regardless of age, gender, functional disabilities, gaps in CV or national or ethnic background. As a government agency, we have the opportunity to provide positive special treatment for applicants who have a disability, gaps in their CV or immigrant background. Positive special treatment means, among other things, that you will more easily come to the interview. Read more about this here  (in norwegian).

The Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research  (NIBIO) was established 1 July 2015 and is one of Norway’s largest research institutes. NIBIO’s activities lie within agriculture, food, climate and the environment. The Institute conducts research and management support, and provides knowledge for use in national preparedness, governmental and district management, industry, and the society at large. NIBIO has approximately 700 employees present in all parts of the country. Its main office is located at Ås in Akershus.

NIBIO is owned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and is a merger between the Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research (Bioforsk), the Norwegian Agricultural Economics Research Institute (NILF) and the Norwegian Forestry and Landscape Institute (Skog og landskap). 

The Division for Food Production and Society  is a national leading research and competence unit with key research areas in crop production, agronomy, soil science, ecology, biodiversity as well as economics and social sciences.

The division has approximately 130 employees and is divided into seven departments.

Department for Forage and Livestock  deals with challenges related to the production of forage, with research activities related to climate and soil, composition of seed mixtures, grazing management, conservation and utilization of forage, and animal welfare. In addition, the department has research activities on environmental effects of forage based livestock production and development and optimization of ruminant based production systems. The department has 20 employees allocated to six research stations throughout the country.