Associate Professor in Marine Mycology

 The position

A permanent position as Associate Professor in Marine Mycology is available at the Norwegian College of Fishery Science (NCFS) at the Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics. The position is affiliated with the research group Marbio.

Marbio is a high-capacity screening platform for bioactive compounds from plants, animals and microorganisms. The platform has three focus areas: 1. Bioactivity profiling of natural products. 2. Analytical chemistry for identification and isolation of natural products. 3. Microbiology for isolating and cultivation of microorganisms. The position will be contributing to the work within microbiology by isolating, cultivating and identifying marine fungi, including describing new species. 

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

The position’s field of work

The successful candidate is expected to perform independent basic research within marine mycology and contribute to research based teaching. The proposed research is expected to comply and support the research and strategy of Marbio focussing on the identification of bioactive natural products. For example, research fields may include fundamental research in the areas of marine mycology and microbiota with focus on diversity, taxonomy, biosystematics and cultivability. The research focus can be in developing culturing methods that allow isolation and identification of novel microbial diversity that can be characterized and processed for downstream bioactivity testing. 

We welcome competitive candidates’ alternative research perspectives within the outlined framework. All candidates must submit a statement of their vision for how they will strengthen this research.

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

Qualifications

Required qualifications:

• Document a Norwegian doctoral degree or a corresponding foreign doctoral degree, or competence at a corresponding level documented by academic work of the same scope and quality.
• Document a high international standard in the field of marine mycology and experience in executing independent original research.
• Document extensive experience with field sampling, including research cruises and work in Arctic conditions. The candidate must document experience in isolating and culturing of microbes, and utilization of molecular ecology approaches for characterizing microbial communities.
• Document pedagogical basis competence (can be obtained - read more below). 
• Possess excellent verbal and written English communication skills.
• Non-Scandinavian applicants must be willing to learn Norwegian and pass the language exam level B2 (“Bergenstesten” or equivalent) within a three-year period.  Arrangements will be made to facilitate the completion of Norwegian courses.
• Outline the ability to attract external funding. We expect you to secure substantial additional funding through national or international grants.

It is considered advantageous if the candidate in addition can document

• experience in applying whole genome sequencing for characterizing fungi and their biosynthetic potential
• experience with the development and application of microbial culture collections in bioprospecting for various medical applications
• experience in describing new microbial species.
• mobility in terms of research visits to collaborators and participation in international research networks
• experience with project acquisition and management, student supervision at MSc and PhD levels, and outreach activities
• experience in teaching at BSc, MSc and PhD level

The assessment will emphasize scientific excellence and potential as documented through scientific publications in internationally recognised peer reviewed journals, as well as motivation and personal suitability for the position, including ability for communication and collaborative work. Dedication to teaching and supervision of students are also essential. The candidate must commit to the department’s standard for teaching quality, and participation in recruitment and public outreach activities is expected. The successful candidate must be willing to get involved in the ongoing development of their department and the university as a whole.

 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).

Pedagogical basic competence

All applicants for teaching and research positions shall document their pedagogical competence. You must have acquired basic competence for teaching and supervision at higher education level. This includes basic skills in planning, conducting, evaluating and developing teaching and guidance.  

Documentation requirement

• a) Applicants who have completed education or courses designed to provide teaching competence for teaching at universities and colleges, equivalent to a minimum of 200 hours, must attach diploma and curriculum for the completed course. 
• b) Other applicants shall describe, assess and document their competence as a teacher and supervisor. The skills must be documented in the form of a teaching portfolio. 

Those who do not satisfy the requirements may be appointed on a permanent basis on the condition that they satisfy the requirements within two years of appointment. For information about basic pedagogical competence and teaching portfolio, see: https://result.uit.no/om-pedagogisk-mappe/  (Only in Norwegian) 

Application

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications on the basis of the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailde description draw up for the position.

The application must include: 

• Cover letter including a short description of interests and reasons for applying for the position.  
• Statement with vision for how you will strengthen alternative research perspectives within the outlined framework.
• CV containing a complete overview of education, experience and professional work. 
• Diplomas, diploma supplements and transcripts (all degrees, in original language and translated) 
• Letter(s) of recommendation if applicable.
• Two-three references with contact details. 
• Documentation of English language skills. Learn more.
• If you have: Documentation of Norwegian (or Scandinavian) proficiency in accordance with the requirements above. 
• If you have: Documented pedagogical competence in accordance with the requirements above.
• A list of your academic production. 
• Description of your academic production, stating which works you consider most important. 
• Description of scientific production showing key scientific works, up to ten, of which the doctoral thesis is counted as one work, and indicating which works are the most significant. Furthermore, the other works are briefly described to show the breadth of the production.
• A short project description (1-2 pages) outlining how the candidate will integrate the work with marine fungi in the strategy of the research group.

Documentation has to be in English or a Scandinavian language. The application and submitted documents must be sent electronically via www.jobbnorge.no. The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview shall among other things, aim to clarify the applicants personal suitability for the position and motivations. A trial lecture may also be held.

We offer

• Opportunity of R&D sabbatical leave 
• Good welfare arrangements for employees
• Good arrangements for pension, insurance and loans in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund

The remuneration for Associate Professor is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1011. The allocation of working hours is flexible and allocated on a case-by-case basis. In general, Associate Professors will spend an equal amount of time on teaching and research and development work, after time spent on other duties has been deducted. As a norm, the time resources spent on administrative duties constitutes 5 % for academic staff. As a state employee, you have one of the best pension schemes availiable. For more information see: spk.no. Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services.

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. More information about moving to Norway and working at UiT: http://uit.no/mobility

UiT The Arctic University in 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.​ Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.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.

In case of discrepancies between the Norwegian and the English version of this description, the Norwegian version takes precedence.