Associate Professor in Sport Psychology

About the position

There is a permanent 100% position vacancy for an associate professor in sports psychology at the Department of Sports and Social Sciences (IIS) at the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences (NIH). 

IIS consists of a broadly focused academic, professional group that conducts research, development work, and teaching sports psychology, ball games, philosophy, history, sociology, the coaching role, sports management and sports, culture and development cooperation.

The sports psychology group at NIH has long been one of the leading international sport psychology research groups in key fields such as motivation, stress and mastery, and perception in football. 

We study children and youth groups, as well as top athletes and coaches, working closely with the field of practice. 

IIS has a modern ball game analysis lab and a new sports psychology laboratory.

Requirements for competence and professional tasks

We are looking for a colleague who can contribute to the areas where we already have good expertise but also has internationally recognized research from associated areas in sports psychology. This can be research focused on sports but with different types of focus, such as (but not limited to) motivation and stress in sports, cognitive and perceptual factors in sports, motor learning, team processes and communication in sports, or applied sports psychology. We are particularly interested in a person with research and applied expertise in technology, preferably with programming and AI competencies.

We are seeking an ambitious associate professor with an active international network and experience applying for and obtaining external funding for research projects. It is also favorable if you have been and are close to an active sport setting. Experience in developing and administrating studies at all levels (BA, MA, PhD), preferably on digital platforms, is desirable. Documented strong qualifications within quantitative and/or qualitative methods are required.

The person hired must participate in teaching and supervision at several levels and must be able to document teaching and supervision experience in sports psychology. The new employee is expected to have the skills needed to take on the role of program manager for the bachelor program in the coaching role and sports psychology within a few years. The new employee is expected to have course responsibility for 2-3 courses pr. study year. Responsible for the new field of study in sports psychology course at the master’s level.

It is expected that the employee has a significant presence on Campus (NIH).

Selection criteria

When ranking competent applicants, emphasis will be placed on the following (not listed in order of importance):

• Quality, relevance, and scope of scientific work within sport psychology.
• Insight, experience and competencies within technology, programming, digital teaching and/or AI, is desirable.
• Quality, relevance, and scope of practical teaching, coaching, or counseling experience in sports and sports psychology.
• Experience in supervising master's and, preferably, PhD students.
• Documented ability to obtain external funding for research projects.
• Other documented qualifications that are relevant to the position, such as the ability for popular science and public dissemination.
• The person hired must have a good command of the Norwegian / Scandinavian language orally and in writing and have strong oral and written English skills.
• Proficiency in oral and written English is required. Applicants who do not have adequate proficiency in a Scandinavian language, must acquire Norwegian skills corresponding to at least level B2 within three years of commencement.
• Personal suitability and strong collaborative skills will be particularly emphasized.

A prerequisite for permanent appointment is that the applicant meets the requirements for university teaching competence. Applicants without formal university pedagogic qualification, is given the opportunity for an approved course within two years employment.

Relevant candidates will be called for an interview with a subsequent trial lecture and a case assignment. The candidate who best meets the various criteria will be offered the position.

The Application

Applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. By the application deadline, please upload the following documents together with your application:

• Application letter
• CV (including teaching and supervision experience and the name and contact information of at least three references)
• A complete list of publications. The list should include up to 10 publications (pdf files to be submitted) that the applicant believes to be most important, along with a statement indicating their relevance to the announced position
• Copies of certificates/diplomas (including formal education in pedagogics, if applicable)
• A statement of future research plans and information about research activities
• Teaching portfolio (3-6 pages, including documentation of formal university pedagogical competence and a reflection note about the candidate’s own pedagogical practice and view of learning anchored in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) criteria (focus on student learning, development over time, a research-based approach, and a collegial attitude and practice)
• Management experience

The Application must be in English.

If the applicant wants other material to be considered in the evaluation (publications and other documentation of research and teaching qualifications, as well as management experience), such material must be clearly specified and available electronically.

We offer and working conditions

• salary is offered according to the main collective agreement in the Norwegian State, as Associate Professor, employment code 1011, on a scale from NOK 780,000 to NOK 925,950 gross annual salary
• the appointment will be made according to terms applying to civil servants
• NIH is a member of the Norwegian State Pension Fund
• excellent training facilities, corporate sports team, and opportunities for training during working hours
• immediate proximity to the subway, as well as locked bicycle parking

Other Information

Selected candidates will be interviewed.

Inclusion and diversity are strengths, and NIH has a personnel policy goal of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, NIH seeks employees with diverse skills, subject combinations, life experiences, and perspectives.

If you are a qualified applicant with a disability, a gap in your CV, or an immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box in the job applicant portal for this. NIH will invite at least one applicant for an interview if they are qualified, and if you get the job, we will strive to accommodate any needs you may have. The ticking is used solely for anonymized statistics, apart from selecting the right candidate.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of 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 our recruitment system, applicants will be given the opportunity to request to be exempt from public access, but it is up to the employer to determine whether the request shall be approved or not. If the applicant's desire to be exempt from public access is not approved by the employer, the applicant will be notified so that he/she can withdraw the application.

Working place is the Department of Physical Performance at NIH: Sognsveien 220 0863 Oslo

Contact us

Interested applicants are advised to contact the academic community in preparing the application. 
See below for contact information

• Professor Lone Friis Thing, Head of Department, e-mail: loneft@nih.no
• Professor Geir Jordet, e-mail: geirj@nih.no 
• Bente Johansen-Aarbostad, Senior Adviser HR (for questions regarding the recruitment system JobbNorge / submitting the application), e-mail: bentejoh@nih.no