PhD Fellow in Nature‐based climate solutions

The Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics  (BFE) has a position vacant as PhD fellow in Nature‐based climate solutions. The position is attached to the Department of Arctic and Marine Biology  (AMB) and the Arctic Sustainability Lab in the research group Northern Populations and Ecosystems .

The Department of Arctic and Marine Biology (AMB) includes 5 research groups distributed across several buildings. Research and teaching at AMB has a broad span, from molecular mechanisms at cellular/subcellular levels via studies of adaptations at the organismal level, to ecological interactions in aquatic and terrestrial environments. The department is an exciting and cutting-edge academic and research unit in biology that addresses professional challenges in basic research, industrial and administrative-oriented research with a strong focus on North. The department has extensive national and international research collaboration including regional institutions like Framsenteret, IMR and NIBIO. The staff counts 56 permanent scientists, 25 technicians, 12 administrative positions and 50 temporary employees (researchers, postdocs, PhD research fellows, technicians).

The position is for a fixed term of four years. The nominal length of the PhD programme is three years. The fourth year is distributed as 25 % each year and will consist of teaching and other duties. The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.

The PhD fellow will be a part of the EU Horizon project GreenFeedBack that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Arctic ecosystems to achieve the goals of climate-neutral societies in 2050. The PhD fellow will be a part of the team working with the objectives of WP2 to identify the climate footprint of human activity and design a tool to reduce the overall pressures on land, freshwater and marine ecosystems along with users. The project is pan-Arctic with cases in Norway, Finland, Sweden, Greenland, and Canada. The PhD will primarily work with nature-based climate solutions in the coastal areas of the Arctic. Nature-based climate solutions in coastal areas are about reducing impacts on ecosystems that lead to climate emissions and loss of blue carbon (including wetlands), as well as protecting or restoring ecosystems to strengthen their resilience thereby contributing to climate adaptation. The knowledge about nature-based climate solutions in marine ecosystems and wetlands is currently deficient. It is therefore desirable that the PhD fellow identify the cumulative pressures on both land and sea resulting from growth in marine industries.

The task includes development of methodologies to link pressures to emissions by developing human footprint maps, so that nature-based solutions can be identified and discussed at co-design workshops. In GreenFeedBack, a tool will be created to reduce the pressures that causes climate emissions, but in the PhD project it is also desirable that protection and restoration of ecosystems is included to enhance resilience and adaptation to climate change. The PhD fellow will be supervised by Prof. Vera Helene Hausner and Dr. Ann Eileen Lennert, both having experience from pan-Arctic grants. The PhD fellow can also draw on members from the international team in the GreenFeedBack for supervision. We also recommend that the candidate plan for a research stay abroad.

Applicants should deliver a two-page scope for the PhD project including a motivation statement for researching nature-based solutions in the coastal Arctic. The final project description will be developed in cooperation with the supervisors.

For further information about the position, please contact Professor Vera Helene Hausner: 

Required qualifications:

• A Master's degree or equivalent in biology, environmental or sustainability science
• A quantitative background in analytical and statistical methods
• Familiarity with stakeholder involvement or citizen science through experience or coursework
• English proficiency

Desired qualifications:

• Knowledge about ecosystem-based management or nature-based solutions to climate change
• Experience with collaborative teamwork using interdisciplinary-or transdisciplinary methods
• Experience with GIS data and analysis using multi-variate statistics.
• Programming experience: R or other relevant.
• Experience working with Arctic socioecological systems
• Peer-reviewed publications can be considered

Applicants must document fluency of in English and be able to work in an international environment. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.

Prior work experience in research is beneficial as is teaching experience in ecosystem-based management or sustainability science. Personal skills such as ability to work independently and provide constructive criticism while engaging in the joint work of a collaborative research team is important. We will also put weight on the motivation for applying for this PhD.

A statement of the motivation of taking a PhD degree, and a short description of the scope of the work and the project idea (total max. 2 pages) must be included in the application.

In the assessment, the emphasis is on the applicant's potential to complete a research education based on the master's thesis or equivalent, and any other scientific work. In addition, other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme may be given consideration.

As many as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.

For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics  /and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.

Admission normally requires:  

• A bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS and a master's degree of 120 ECTS, or an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS. 
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 30 ECTS for a master's degree of 120 ECTS. 
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS. 

Grade requirements applies both to the master thesis as well as courses part of the master’s degree. The minimum requirements are grade C or better on the master’s degree, and grade C or better on courses that are part of the master’s degree. A grade lower than C in one course may be compensated by a higher grade than C in another course. If the applicant has two subjects with the grade D or lower, the applicant is not qualified for admission. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here .

Applicants with a foreign education will be subjected to an evaluation of whether the educational background is equal to Norwegian higher education, following national guidelines from NOKUT . Depending on which country the education is from, one or two additional years of university education may be required to fulfil admission requirements, e.g. a 4-year bachelor's degree and a 2-year master's degree. 

If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final admission must be submitted no later than six weeks after taking up the position.

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity are a strength and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite at least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.

• Involvement in an interesting research project 
• Good career opportunities 
• A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues  
• Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement  
• Pension scheme through the state pension fund  
• More practical information for working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility

Your application must include: 

• Cover letter
• A statement of the motivation of taking a PhD degree, and description of the scope of the work and the project idea (max. 2 pages)
• CV
• Diploma for bachelor's and master's degree
• Transcript of grades/academic record for bachelor's and master's degree
• Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
• Documentation of English proficiency
• References with contact information
• Master’s thesis, and any other academic works

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. Diplomas and transcripts must also be submitted in the original language, if not in English or Scandinavian. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline. 

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants . 

A shorter period of appointment may be decided when the PhD Fellow has already completed parts of their research training programme or when the appointment is based on a previous qualifying position PhD Fellow, research assistant, or the like in such a way that the total time used for research training amounts to three years. 

Remuneration for the position of PhD Fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1017.  A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted.

We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act (Offentleglova). According to the Personal Data Act information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication, if you have requested non-disclosure. 

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is a multi-campus research university and the northernmost university of the world. Our central location in the High North, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio, and our interdisciplinary qualities make us uniquely suited to meet the challenges of the future. At UiT you can explore global issues from a close-up perspective.

Credibility, academic freedom, closeness, creativity and commitment shall be hallmarks of the relationship between our employees, between our employees and our students and between UiT and our partners. 

The Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics (BFE) consists of Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Norwegian College of Fishery Science (NFH) and School of Business and Economics. The main task of BFE is to conduct teaching and research dissemination at a high national and international level within all relevant fields. Prioritized research areas are aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, climate, life in the arctic, marine bioprospecting, fish health, seafood products, business and macroeconomics, resources and environment, markets and management of marine resources. The interdisciplinary profile of the faculty provides good opportunity to develop research projects involving several research groups at the faculty according to its strategy.