Job description
One full-time position as Associate Professor in Personality Psychology* is announced at the Section of Health, Developmental and Personality Psychology (HUP). The HUP Section covers basic and applied research and teaching for the Bachelor, Master, Professional and PhD programs in health, developmental and personality psychology. The HUP Section is divided into three Units: Health Psychology, Developmental Psychology and Personality Psychology and has a joint venture with the Promenta Research Centre. The HUP Section has currently around 70 national and international permanent and non-permanent staff (circa 60% women, more than 20 different mother tongues). The Personality Psychology Unit includes approximately half a dozen of permanent Associate Professors and Professors, several Adjunct Professors 20%, Ph.D. and Post-Doc fellows.
*Personality psychology might be defined as the study of the nature, causes and consequences of typical and atypical individual differences in behaving, feeling, and thinking.
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About the position
The appointee will have to contribute to the HUP Section’s research and teaching in Personality Psychology. The appointee is expected:
- to regularly publish in international peer reviewed journals, present communications to international conferences, apply to external funding (e.g., RCN, EU), disseminate scientific knowledge, and carry out research in accordance with the Open Science standards. Most of these research activities should be within the field of personality psychology
- to teach Personality Psychology in the different programs offered at the Department of Psychology: bachelor, master, professional and doctoral (i.e., course coordination, lectures, seminars, supervisions, and exams, etc.)
- to participate to the administrative functioning of the HUP Section and the Department of Psychology (boards, committees, ad-hoc working groups, leadership, etc.)
Necessary requirements
- Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian Doctoral degree in psychology or in a related field.
- Applicants must have a good research record in personality psychology (i.e., Quality, Productivity, Impact, Dissemination, Innovation). They are expected to have research experience in basic or applied personality psychology, for example: traits, mental health, wellbeing, behavior genetics, or personality related psychometrics and assessment. They are also expected to have relevant expertise in qualitative methods or quantitative methods, for example: structural equation, epidemiological, genetic, or psychometric.
- Applicants must provide three first authored international peer-reviewed scientific publications in English (at least two articles) relevant for the position (personality psychology).
- Applicants must provide a 3-page research project in personality psychology describing one of their future research projects relevant for the position (including a presentation of the scientific originality and interest, methodological correctness, ethical appropriateness, feasibility, risk factors, social implications of the research project, and a plan for research dissemination and acquiring external funding). The 3-page limit is adamant.
- Applicants must have undergraduate and/or graduate teaching experience and competence in topics related to personality psychology, at different levels, for example: psychometrics or personality assessment.
- Applicants must provide a 3-page document describing their different teaching competence and experience in personality psychology at different levels (bachelor, master / professional, ph.d.): Course coordination, lecture, seminar, exam, supervision, teaching administration, etc. (including some figures such as the number of courses and students, and period). The 3-page limit is adamant.
- Applicants without a certified University Pedagogy Education are expected to get this certification within the first 3 years of employment. The Department will support this certification (e.g., coverage of the costs of the courses at the University of Oslo, recognition of the hours of these courses in the departmental teaching accounting system).
- Applicants must have fluent oral and written communication skills in English (equivalent to CEFR Proficient user Level C or equivalent). Applicants who are not fluent in one of the Scandinavian languages (Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish) are expected to learn Norwegian within the first 3 years of employment so they can participate in the functions the position entails (expected proficiency: CEFR Independent user Level B or equivalent). The Department will actively support the learning of Norwegian (e.g., coverage of the cost of the courses at the University of Oslo, reduction of teaching and administrative duties, Norwegian coach)
- Applicants must have the relevant personal qualities for the position: (i) to be highly motivated, (ii) to be able to work both independently and to cooperate with others, (iii) to have high teaching and research ambitions, and (iv) to be interested in administrative tasks.
Desired additional qualifications (not necessary but would be an advantage):
- A Ph.D. degree in personality psychology or in a related field.
- Relevant administrative and/or clinical competences and experiences.
Evaluation of applicants
The applications will be evaluated by two committees:
A. A “Scientific committee” responsible for evaluating the written documents and to provide a provisional ranking of the applicants based on their written academic qualifications.
B. An “Interview committee” responsible for evaluating the overall qualifications of the best qualified applicants (i.e., scientific committee’s report, trial lecture, interview, and reference-checking) and to provide a final ranking of the applicants.
The report of the scientific committee and report of the interview committee will be submitted to the Board of the Department of Psychology normally by the end of 2022. The expected starting date of the position is Spring 2023.
In addition to the Educational background, emphasis will be placed on the following criteria in the succeeding order of importance (i.e., I to IV) to evaluate the qualifications of the applicants:
- I. Research record relevant for the position**, Quality and relevance of the three selected publications, and Quality and relevance of the research project
- II. Teaching experiences and competences relevant for the position (levels, contents, forms of the teaching; number of students, time span)
- III. Personal qualities, and English proficiency
- IV. Administrative and/or clinical competences and experiences
** The following criteria will be used to evaluate the research record relevant for the position:
- Quality: Originality, interest, and diversity of the scientific publications (articles, book chapters, books).
- Productivity: Number and level of the publications as first author and co-author. Number of communications to national and international congresses (keynotes, invited paper or guest lectures, and papers or posters). Successful external grants (as Principal Investigator or Partner).
- Impact: Number of citations (citations of the most cited 1st author publication and total citations), h-index (Google scholar), and Research awards and prizes.
- Dissemination: Number of publications and communications to practitioners and the public (media: radio and tv interviews, articles in newspapers and magazines, etc.)
- Innovation (patent, app)
- Other research record: Leading research projects, International collaborations, Research administration, Referee for national and international research agencies, Reviewer for scientific journals, Journal Editorship (Editor, Associate, Invited Editor), Guest/Invited Researcher/Professor, Member of scientific societies, etc.
Achievements will be weighed against career stage and adjusted for parental and sick leaves, and professional breaks. Personal suitability for the position will also be given great emphasis in the evaluation.
We offer
- Salary from kr 677 600 to kr 801 300 depending on competencies, in the position of Associate Professor (position code 1011)
- Good pension schemes
- Good welfare benefits
How to apply
The application must include:
- Letter of application explaining the motivation for applying and how the applicant’s research, teaching, and eventually administrative and clinical qualifications are relevant for the position, as well as any other relevant information.
- A CV summarizing personal information, educations, positions, research qualifications, teaching qualifications, and eventually administrative and clinical qualifications, and any other relevant information.
- A complete List of scientific publications (in press or published) and communications (including h-index, total number of citations and number of citations of the most cited 1st authored publication): (i) peer-reviewed scientific articles (including number of citations of each of the 10 most cited articles) (ii) peer-reviewed scientific book chapters, (iii) peer-reviewed scientific books, (iv) other publications, (v) scientific keynotes, invited papers and guest lectures, (vi) scientific papers and posters to conferences, (vii) other communications, and (viii) contribution to knowledge dissemination (radio and tv interviews and interventions, podcast for a large audience, articles and editorials in magazines and newspapers, etc.)
- Three first authored relevant international peer-reviewed scientific publications (at least two scientific articles)
- A 3-page research project
- A 3-page description of teaching competences and experiences
- Copies of educational certificates in English or in one of the Scandinavian languages (academic transcripts only).
- A list of three references (name, relation to candidate (e.g., student, colleague, employee, leader), e-mail and phone number). No letter of reference should be included in the application.
The application with attachments must be submitted in our electronic recruiting system. International applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University’s grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English except for the educational certificates which might also be also in one of the Scandinavian languages.
Formal regulations
Please refer to the Rules for Appointments to Professorships and Associate Professorships at the University of Oslo, the Guide for Applicants and Members of the Assessment Committee and Rules for practicing the requirement for basic pedagogical competence at the University of Oslo.
Pursuant to section 25(2) of the Freedom of Information Act, information concerning the applicant may be made public, even if the applicant has requested not to appear on the list of applicants.
If there are no qualified applicants for a permanent position, the appointing authority may consider appointment to a temporary lower position for up to three years, cf. Section 6-5 of the University and University College Act.
The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.
Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.
If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.
(i) At least one applicant from each gender will have to be considered qualified by the scientific committee. If not, the position will be re-announced.
(ii) At least one qualified applicant from each gender will be invited for a trial lecture and interview by the interview committee whatever their ranking by the scientific committee.
Contact information
Head of Section: Francisco Pons, e-mail: francisco.pons@psykologi.uio.no
HR officer: Sandra Lihaug Gabrielsen, e-mail: s.l.gabrielsen@psykologi.uio.no
About the University of Oslo
The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest ranked educational and research institution, with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. With its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally recognised research communities, UiO is an important contributor to society.
The Department of Psychology is one of seven units of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and has 75 permanent and 70 temporary members of scientific staff. Degrees are offered at bachelor and master level, plus a clinical training programme, and the PhD programme has 140 students.