Assistant Professor in agricultural entomology

 

The Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University, Denmark, offers an attractive career opportunity for promising and talented researchers from around the world. We invite applications for a position as Tenure Track Assistant Professor focusing on agricultural entomology and pollination ecology to spearhead research in pollination in agricultural systems. Research topics could include but are not limited to enhancement of bee populations and habitats in natural, agricultural and urban landscapes, integrated pollinator management, pollinator community ecology, impact of parasites and pathogens on bee populations, and pollination efficiency.

The position is a career development position with the possibility of transition to a tenured associate professorship and will be available from 01-04-2022 or as soon as possible thereafter.

As Tenure Track Assistant Professor you will be part of a research environment focusing on agricultural entomology. The ongoing drive towards more sustainable, biodiversity-friendly farming practices demands a greater reliance on beneficial insects, including bees. This requires a better understanding of the functional ecology of insect communities in farming systems.

You will contribute to the development of the department through research of the highest international quality and your primary tasks will be to conduct independent research of the highest international quality, including publication; be responsible for teaching, guidance and examination of BSc and MSc degree students, as well as possible supervision of PhD students; contribution towards attracting external research funding.

You will get the opportunity to collaborate with relevant national and international research environments and in your daily work, and you will work closely with both Danish and international colleagues.

We expect that you will be an active part of the research environment and that you will contribute positively to our social working environment.

Your profile

You have independent research-related qualifications at a high international level. You are a clear communicator and you have some degree of experience of supervision and teaching at BSc and MSc degree level. Completed pedagogical courses in supervision or similar will be an advantage, as will experience with external research collaborations. You have completed one or more productive stays in a different research environment.

In order to be assessed as qualified for a Tenure Track Assistant Professor position, you must:

• Hold a PhD in entomology, biodiversity, ecology, or other relevant fields or similar
• Document experience in scientific writing with several papers in high-quality journals or other high-quality publication channels
• Show innovative research plans and a potential for novel research as well as attracting external funding
• Have proven International research collaborations (e.g. joint papers and applications)
• Be dedicated and possess the ability to collaborate and build relationships

Further, we will prefer candidates with some of the following qualifications:

• Experience in planning and conducting laboratory and field work within entomology and pollination ecology
• Insight into biological/statistical data analysis
• Experience with agricultural plant production

Who we are

At the Department of Agroecology, our main goal is to contribute to sustainable solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems within the areas of soil, plants, animals, humans, and the environment. We want to make a difference by contributing to both fundamental knowledge generation and the attainment of sustainable production systems via state-of-the-art research, contracted policy advice, and education. We offer state-of-the-art laboratories, greenhouses, semi-field, and field-scale research facilities, advanced computing capacities as well as an extensive national and international researcher network.  The department consists of seven research sections with around 270 highly dedicated employees of which approximately 50% are scientific staff. More information can be found here.

What we offer

• An informal and multicultural research environment with high professionalism, where accountability, commitment, helpfulness, flexibility, and close collaboration is a prerequisite solving the core tasks
• A good social environment with activities and routines that make it possible to talk across and strengthen the collegial relationship, and where mutual trust, respect, kindness, and professional sparring are emphasized
• A flexible workplace with a good work-life balance
• An exciting and varied working environment, where two days rarely resemble each other. We are often busy, and we work creatively for solutions to societal challenges
• Subsidized preschool child care and a free education system from primary school up to university level
• Universal health insurance as a resident of Denmark, including family members officially residing in Denmark
• Five weeks paid holiday per year
• In connection with child birth: the right to have a total of 52 weeks shared maternal/paternal leave with full or partial salary pay

We encourage all applicants to apply. All applicants will be assessed objectively and according to the same criteria. Note that female applicants would automatically contribute towards one of the department’s strategic goals, which is to improve gender balance.
The positions will be re-posted if there is a well-grounded presumption that a second advertisement will attract a more diverse and qualified pool of applicants.

Place of Work

The place of work is Aarhus University, Flakkebjerg. The affiliation will be with the Department of Agroecology.

More information can be obtained from Professor Mogens Nicolaisen (email: mn@agro.au.dk, phone: +45 2475 7668)

Technical Sciences Tenure Track

Aarhus University offers talented scientists from around the world attractive career perspectives via the Technical Sciences Tenure Track Programme. Highly qualified candidates are appointed as Assistant Professors  for a period of six years with the prospect of performance- based advancement to a tenured Associate Professorship.

The aim of the Technical Sciences Tenure Track Programme is to:

• attract outstanding talented individuals that are competitive at an international level
• to promote the early development of independent research success early in the career of scientists
• to create transparency in the academic career path

As part of the tenure track position, the candidate is offered:

• access to research infrastructure
• capability development, including postgraduate teacher training
• a mentoring programme
• support to develop scientific networks and to secure interdisciplinary research at the highest level

As part of the Aarhus University Tenure Track Programme, the University carries out a mid-way evaluation to review the progress of the tenure track candidate after three years, according to the same criteria used in the final tenure review. The final tenure review is conducted after five and a half years. If the review is positive, the candidate will be offered a tenured position as Associate Professor at Aarhus University.

Please refer to the tenure track guidelines for the tenure review criteria and for the tenure review process.

Application procedure

Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the assessment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. The selection is made on the basis of an assessment of who of the candidates are most relevant considering the requirements of the advertisement. All applicants will be notified within 6 weeks whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee and will receive his/her assessment. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants. 

Letter of reference

If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

Formalities and salary range

Technical Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

Deadline31 Jan

Expected start1 Apr

• Department of Agroecology - Entomology and Plant PathologyForsøgsvej 14200 Slagelse

• Full-time positionID: 7789

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