Associate Professor in Cultural and Community Psychology

Job description

A permanent position as Associate Professor (SKO 1011) in Cultural and Community Psychology is available at the Department of Psychology. Cultural psychology concerns the study of how the human mind and culture constitute each other, and, hence, how people are embedded in, shape and are shaped by, socio-cultural environments. It seeks to correct the taken-for-granted universal perspectives common in most traditional psychology by utilizing critical approaches to the study of psychological phenomena and production of knowledge that arises from within a given culture, reflecting local practices and knowledge, uncovering and avoiding epistemic injustice. It goes beyond using culture as a means of testing the universality of psychological processes or simply comparing results across cultures or countries in that it seeks to understand the development and transformation of culture. 

Community psychology is a field dedicated to understanding and enhancing the relationships between individuals and their communities, through value-based approaches. Core focus areas include social justice, empowerment, and systemic change. Community psychology emphasizes collaborative work with community members to identify challenges and develop participatory and transformative strategies to promote inclusive social change. 

The appointee must be able to lead and initiate research, supervise doctoral degree students, participate in teaching and examination work at all levels, and undertake administrative tasks, in accordance with applicable provisions.
 

More about the position

The position requires an innovative, active and strong research profile with excellent documented potential for performing high-quality research. Topics of relevance that speak to ongoing research in the group involve the study of psychological phenomena related to collective action, identity and political leadership, power and ideology, cultural grounding of interpersonal violence, masculinities and male shame, decolonizing knowledge and being, critical psychology, environmental issues, therapeutic cultures, language and discourses, well-being, social inequality,  and political attitudes including the study of protest. The candidate is expected to initiate and publish high-quality research at the department.

The Section for Methodology, Work-, Cultural-, and Social Psychology (MAKS) covers basic and applied research and teaching for the Bachelor, Master, clinical training and PhD programs in methods, work and organizational, social and culture, and community psychology. The section strives to offer an inclusive and diverse environment with good onboarding and openness to researcher-driven initiatives. We facilitate collaboration, learning and career development.

The cultural and community psychology unit includes four permanent academic positions in addition to PhD-students and postdoctoral research fellows, thus providing ample opportunities to develop joint research projects. The candidate will also be expected to teach and supervise at all levels (bachelor, master, professional, and PhD) in Cultural and Community psychology. Hence, pedagogical experience within the field is an advantage. The position also involves administrative and other duties in accordance with university regulations.

The position is also directly relevant to the clinical psychology professional training program. Cultural and community psychology contribute essential perspectives on psychological practice in diverse and systemic contexts, helping students develop critical insight into social justice, identity, and the cultural embeddedness of mental health. The successful candidate is expected to contribute to teaching and supervision within the professional program, and to help integrate these perspectives into the education of future psychologists.
 

Qualifications

Qualification requirements

• PhD or equivalent qualification in psychology or a related discipline. Applicants who have not yet received their PhD must have documented submission of their thesis for evaluation by the time of application. Appointment to the position is contingent upon the approval of the PhD thesis.
• An innovative, active and strong research profile in cultural and/or community psychology with excellent future potential for performing research. The applicant should have research expertise in one or, preferably, several of the research topics that are central to the research group as highlighted above.
• Solid methodological skills are required.
• An innovative, active and strong teaching profile, such as experience with designing courses and curricula, innovating teaching, producing teaching material, working with course evaluations, or successful supervision of master and PhD students, is an advantage. The candidate is expected to contribute to the further development of teaching in Cultural and Community psychology.
• Documented pedagogical skills (i.e., a certification in university pedagogics) and an ability to take active part in teaching and administrative work. Applicants that cannot document basic pedagogical competence at the time of employment must acquire this within the first two years subsequent to their appointment. 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. Applicants who are not fluent in a Scandinavian language (Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish) will have to learn Norwegian within the first three years of employment to effectively participate in the functions required by the position (documented proficiency: CEFR Independent user Level B2 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).
• The successful candidate is expected to take up residence in the greater Oslo region to actively participate and contribute to the working environment at the Department of Psychology.

Preferable qualifications

• The successful candidate is expected to actively contribute to the development of the research environment within cultural and community psychology. This includes taking initiative to build collaborative research projects and seek external research funding, both nationally and internationally. A documented interest and potential for attracting research grants counts positively.
• In accordance with University of Oslo’s internationalization strategy, international collaborations and networks, and documented research mobility are a clear advantage.
• Teaching experience for topics related to practical and theoretical cultural and community psychology. 
• A documented experience in dissemination to the general public, management and administration will count positively.

UiO has developed a matrix for the assessement of qualifications, which exemplifies results/competence, documentation, and reflection for all areas of the competency profile. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with this matrix and make use of it when applying for the position.

Personal skills

We value:

• A good fit between the candidates’ goals and the position, resulting in a high motivation for all aspects of the position. 
• Openness and a respectful and friendly engagement with students and colleagues. 
• Taking initiative, as well as collaborating with colleagues. 
• Taking responsibility for the workplace and contributing to common tasks.
• Sharing one’s expertise and knowledge generously and investing in the careers of junior scholars.
   

Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal qualifications.

We offer

• Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development.
• Committed colleagues in a pleasant and academically-stimulating work environment.
• Good welfare schemes.
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours.
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities. 
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes.

• Salary in position as Associate Professor, position code 1011 in salary range NOK 750 000 - 900 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund.

   

Read more about the benefits of working in the public sector at Employer Portal.

Career development at PSI

The Department of Psychology wants to facilitate future career opportunities for PhD students, postdocs and associate professors at the Department. We follow UiO's personnel policy, which requires the individual leader to actively follow up his or her employees, among other things by ensuring the individual's opportunity for development at work.

UiOs competence development offer

Inclusive worklife and diversity at UiO

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. The Department of Psychology shall work actively for equality, ensure equal opportunities and rights, and prevent discrimination.

Gender equality initiative at UiO: Career development for female associate professors

Gender equality initiatives at the Department of Psychology: Action plan for gender equality, diversity and inclusion at the Department of Psychology 2022-2025

We hope that you will apply for the position. 

Application

The application must include the following documents in English:

• Application letter. The letter should include a 1-3 page description of the applicant’s academic profile, how the applicant views his/her academic interests in relation to the core areas of this position and the research group, and how the applicant wishes to contribute to the development of research and teaching in Cultural and Community psychology at the department in the short and long term.
• CV (complete list of education; positions; research, pedagogical, administrative, research communication and public dissemination qualifications and experience; as well as other qualifying activities).
• A complete list of scientific publications.
• Copies of educational certificates (in English or a Scandinavian language).
• Academic works (up to 5 publications) and a brief account of these. (Please note that these publications should be articles, chapters, brief reports or the likes. Please do not submit entire books).
• Educational portfolio of 3-6 pages documenting educational competence and experience, including a reflection note in which your own practice and learning vision is related to the characteristics of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL).
• References (list of 2-3 persons with name, title, email and phone number).
• Applicants who have had statutory care leaves should document that.

The application with attachments must be submitted via our online recruitment system. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

Interviews and trial lecture will form part of the appointment process. The entire breadth of qualifications will be assessed in ranking competent applicants. In the assessment of academic achievements, quality, originality, scope, open research practices (e.g. open access sharing of data and code, transparency and reflexivity in analysis) and impact rather than quantity and journal metrics will be emphasized. A range of scientific outputs beyond traditional journal publications will be considered. Assessments will also take into careful consideration that different methodological approaches and different subfields of psychology have quite different publishing traditions and different access to outlets. This can influence the number of publications, percentage of publications in high-impact journals and certain author-level metrics such as the h-index. Quality should be assessed based on criteria relevant to the type of research that the different candidates conduct.

Academic achievements will be assessed in relation to seniority and career breaks (e.g. parental leave).

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

General information

Interviews and trial lecture will be used in the selection process. The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews.

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we cannot, you will hear from us.

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. At least 1 qualified applicant of the underrepresented gender must be invited to an interview when applying for an Associate Professor position, cf. Action plan for equality, diversity and inclusion at the Department of Psychology 2022-2025. If there are no qualified applicants of the underrepresented gender, consideration must be given to advertising the position again, cf. Action plan for equality, diversity and inclusion at the Department of Psychology 2022-2025.

Please refer to the Rules for Appointments to Professorships and Associate Professorships at the University of Oslo, Rules for practicing the requirement for basic pedagogical competence at the University of Oslo and Guide for applicants for Professor and Associate professor positions - University of Oslo. 

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.