The position
The Department of Geosciences at UiT The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø has a vacant full-time position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow in terrestrial Quaternary geology and palaeoclimatology.
The position is for a fixed term duration of 4 years. The position involves teaching, student supervision, and related work in an amount equivalent to 25 % of full-time employment. Teaching and education development work take place within iEarth Centre for Excellence in Education.
Appointment to the position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow is mainly intended to provide qualification for work in top academic positions. It is a prerequisite that the applicant can carry out the project over the full course of the employment period. No person may hold more than one fixed term position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the same institution.
The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. The successful applicant must be able to start in the position within 3 months after receiving the offer.
The position’s field of research
The field of research for the position is terrestrial Quaternary geology and palaeoclimatology. The postdoctoral research project should focus on palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of Quaternary environments in the Arctic and/or Antarctic using sedimentary records. The position focuses, in particular, on the use of sedimentary biomarkers to reconstruct past precipitation, humidity and/or temperatures, and on the biomarkers’ dependencies on environmental parameters. An interest in proxy development and willingness to explore and apply proxy system modelling is expected.
Some of the research takes place under the umbrella of the UiT Aurora Center Arctic Ecosystem Genomics (ArcEcoGen). Therefore, we also encourage the willingness to perform research aiming to reconstruct past ecosystems using sedimentary ancient DNA or aligning well with such research activities (e.g., through reconstructions of past lacustrine and/or terrestrial environments). The postdoctoral researcher will be involved in all aspects of the research, including study design, planning, and conducting fieldwork, laboratory work, data analyses, and publishing results. The research work will be performed in collaboration with national and international partners, and progress and results are expected to be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented at international conferences/workshops.
The successful applicant will be involved in teaching and supervision at the bachelor’s and master’s programs in geology. This includes teaching and developing a course in Quaternary geology in the bachelor’s program. The course focuses on the regional Quaternary and glacial geology of North Norway. Hence, previous teaching and research experience within these fields is considered a major advantage. The working and teaching language of the bachelor’s program is Norwegian.
Affiliation and collaboration
The position is affiliated with the research projects of Professor Anders Schomacker at the Department of Geosciences. It also involves activities in iEarth Centre for Excellence in Education and the UiT Aurora Center Arctic Ecosystem Genomics (ArcEcoGen).
Contact
The Principal Investigator for this postdoctoral fellowship is Professor Anders Schomacker. For further information about the position, please contact:
- phone: +47 95 52 34 64
- email: anders.schomacker@uit.no
Qualifications
The successful applicant must hold a PhD degree in Science and have completed a doctoral project within terrestrial Quaternary geology and/or terrestrial palaeoclimatology. You may still apply if you have submitted your PhD thesis for evaluation within the application deadline. You must also submit the PhD thesis with your application. Qualification with a PhD degree is required before commencement in the position.
The candidate is required to have research experience with Arctic Quaternary environmental history and palaeoclimatic reconstructions from lacustrine sediments, with documented training in organic geochemistry. Experience with leaf wax hydrogen isotopes and at least two of the following topics is required:
- age-depth modelling using radiocarbon chronology
- tephrochronology
- stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes
- plant macrofossil analyses
- vegetation history
We also value experience with other proxies for palaeoclimatic reconstructions based on lake sediment records or other geological archives. Experience in working with programming languages (e.g., R, Python) and/or geospatial analyses in ArcGIS is a strong advantage.
The candidate must have a documented excellent command of English (both written and oral) and must be fluent in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language. The working language for the teaching duties of this position is Norwegian.
The position involves fieldwork on Svalbard, in North Norway and elsewhere. It is expected that the successful candidate is able and willing to participate in physically demanding field campaigns of up to several weeks each year. Experience in such work is considered an advantage.
Willingness to longer visits at international and national partner institutions is expected. The research is carried out in collaboration with researchers abroad, and the successful candidate must be able and willing to spend significant amounts of time for lab analyses, data analysis, and scientific collaboration abroad.
Additional required qualifications include:
- Independence, creativity, and engagement
- Strong problem-solving skills
- Excellent communication skills
- Excellent work ethics
- Good skills in handling, analyzing, and visualizing data
- An excellent track record of publication in international, peer-reviewed scientific journals
- A documented ability to successfully obtain external research funding
- Experience with lake sediment coring and terrestrial fieldwork in Arctic environments
- Teaching and student supervision experience at university level
During the assessment emphasis will be put on the candidate’s submitted works, potential for research, motivation, and personal suitability for the position. As teaching is part of the position, emphasis will also be attached to teaching experience and qualifications.
At UiT we put emphasis on the quality, relevance and significance of the research work and not on where the work is published, in accordance with the principles of The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).
Inclusion and diversity
UiT The Arctic University i 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 is 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 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.
Application
Your application must include:
- Cover letter explaining your motivation, research interests, and experience relevant for conducting the work within the vacant position (max. 2 A4 pages).
- A brief project description identifying outstanding research questions within the topics of the position, and a research plan for how to answer them (max. 2 A4 pages).
- CV (containing a complete overview of education and professional work; max. 3 A4 pages).
- Documentation of teaching experience and qualifications.
- Diplomas and transcripts (all university degrees)
- Documentation of proficiency in English and Norwegian (or another Scandinavian) language. Scandinavian applicants can document their language capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.
- A list of your academic production.
- The academic works (published or not) you wish is taken into consideration in the assessment, including a PhD thesis.
- Contact information to 2-3 references, including reference letters if applicable
All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or in English. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.
We offer
- A cross-disciplinary, interactive and stimulating working environment.
- National and international mobility to work closely with the research partners and to present the work in conferences/workshops.
- Opportunities to join Arctic research expeditions and field work.
- Opportunity to develop academic components of the career, i.e., working closely with graduate and undergraduate students and teaching/supervision.
- Guidance and support to identify and apply for relevant research grants
- UiT has good welfare arrangements for employees including beneficial arrangements for pension and insurances.
- A unique hometown, Tromsø, combining a multicultural urban scene with nearby Arctic wilderness. More practical information for working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility
Assessment
The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee’s mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants’ qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position.
The applicants who are assessed as the best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview shall among other things aim to clarify the applicant’s personal suitability for the position. During the assessment, emphasis will be placed on the candidate’s potential for research, motivation, and personal suitability for the position. As teaching is part of the position, emphasis will also be attached to teaching experience and qualifications.
UiT wishes to increase the proportion of women in academic positions. In cases where two or more applicants are found to be approximately equally qualified, women will be given priority.
General information
The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants.
The remuneration for Postdoctoral research fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1352. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted.
The successful candidate must be willing to get involved in the ongoing development of their department and the university as a whole.
According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.
UiT – Developing the high north
UiT is a multi-campus research university in Norway 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.