Job description

A permanent position as Associate Professor in Systematic Mycology is available at the Natural History Museum, University of Oslo. The appointment is a fulltime position with a starting date no later than 1 January 2021.

The Natural History Museum (NHM) seeks a dynamic researcher for an associate professorship in systematic mycology. The successful candidate should have a research profile in integrative systematics, which preferably addresses questions of deep phylogeny, species delimitation and intraspecific diversity. He/she should also master up-to-date molecular and bioinformatic methods in systematic biology. It is expected that the applicant will develop an independent research program that will have synergistic effects within the research group “Integrative Systematics of Plants and Fungi (ISOP) as well as with other research groups at NHM. The successful candidate will be expected to attract extramural research funding and should document ability and potential to be successful in this respect.

NHM has an array of research facilities, including advanced microscopes and a DNA laboratory for library preps and where high throughput sequencing can be performed. The museum also collaborates with Department of Biological Sciences on several research facilities.

The fungal collection at NHM is the largest in the country and the museum has traditionally had a national role as centre of competence for the diversity of Norwegian fungi, Basidiomycetes in particular. The successful applicant will have the scientific curatorial responsibility for the collection of non-lichenized fungi at NHM, which at present contains about 300 000 objects, including 240 000 objects from Norway and the Artic region. The collection is among the most active museum collections at NHM with a yearly growth of about 4 500 objects and much societal interactions with other institutions and the public. It is a strategic goal for NHM to strengthen the integration of the scientific collections in research, education and outreach activities, and modernise the collections as a research infrastructure in accordance with new research needs. Candidates who combine fundamental research questions with powerful molecular and bioinformatic approaches within a collection-based context, will therefore be preferred.

NHM has a collaborative agreement with the Department of Biological Sciences about teaching and supervision of students at the bachelor and master level, and with the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in the education of doctoral candidates. NHM also hosts an international research school in biosystematics (ForBio). The successful candidate is expected to teach students at all academic levels, including supervision of PhD students and postdocs. Up to 50% of the working time will be devoted to curating collections (main activity), teaching and supervision of students, outreach and administrative tasks at NHM. Lectures and tuition are given in Norwegian and English. Foreign language speakers are expected to be able to teach in a Scandinavian language within two years after being hired.

Qualification requirements

The successful candidate must have:

• A PhD or an equivalent doctoral degree in systematic or evolutionary biology
• Scientific qualifications equivalent to an Associate professor position
• Scientific experience and research merits in systematics, especially systematic mycology
• Excellent English language skills (written and spoken)

The successful candidate should have:

• Experience in curation of scientific collections
• A good systematic overview of fungi and good knowledge of Nordic species and their ecology
• Good competence in nomenclature, preferably documented by experience from taxonomic revisions
• Teaching experience at university level
• An interest and willingness to engage in societal activities to communicate scientific knowledge to nature management authorities, the media and the general public.
• Command of a Scandinavian language

In the assessment of applicants, emphasis will be placed on research quality and potential. The quality and extent of the applicant’s scientific production during the last five years will be given particular weight in combination with documented competence in modern research methods and techniques. Next, curatorial experience with museum collections, formal pedagogical competence and relevant academic teaching and supervisor experience will be assessed. Personal skills, such as the ability to work in teams and independently, initiate research networks and external project collaborations, as well as generic communication skills, will also be evaluated.

We offer

• Salary NOK 640 200 – 765 100 per annum depending on qualifications (position code 1011)
• A professionally stimulating working environment
• Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities
• The opportunity to apply for promotion to full professorship at a later stage

How to apply

The application must include:

• A cover letter (statement of motivation, summarizing scientific work and research interest)
• CV (summarizing education, positions, research profile and merits, grants and awards, pedagogical qualifications, curatorial experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity)
• A list of all scientific publications
• A summary of 7 selected scientific publications the applicant wishes to include in the evaluation describing their significance and impact. PDF of these publications (or open access link to these) must be provided
• A research plan, including a description of how NHMs fungal collections will be utilized in the research, how the research may contribute to the development of these collections, and how synergies can be achieved with other researchers and research groups at NHM (up to 5 pages)
• A teaching portfolio: a document describing the applicant’s pedagogical competence including formal and practical qualifications and teaching philosophy
• List of reference persons: 3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone number). No reference letters should be submitted

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system. Please note that all documents should be in English.

Interviews will be part of the appointment process, along with a trial lecture.

Formal regulations

The basis for assessment will be the scholarly production of the applicant, other qualifications, pedagogical or educational, the applicant’s qualifications within leadership and administration as well as the general personal suitability. In ranking the competent applicants, the full range of qualifications will be considered and explicitly assessed. Cf. the Rules for appointments to Associate Professorships.

The successful candidate who at the time of appointment cannot document basic teaching qualifications will be required to obtain such qualifications within a two-year period. Please see rules for the assessment and weighting of pedagogical competence.

The successful candidate must demonstrate mastery of both English and one of the Scandinavian languages as working languages. If an appointee is not fluent in a Scandinavian language, the appointee will be expected within a two-year period to learn sufficient Norwegian to be able to participate actively in all functions the position may involve.

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.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

The University of Oslo has a goal of recruiting more women in academic positions. Women are encouraged to apply.

Contactinformation

• Research director, Professor Jan T. Lifjeld, phone +47 22851726, e-mail: j.t.lifjeld@nhm.uio.no
• Professor Brita Stedje, phone +47 22851634, e-mail: brita.stedje@nhm.uio.no

For questions regarding the recruitment system: HR officer Thomas Brånå, phone +47 22856374, e-mail: thomas.brana@nhm.uio.no

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