Tenure Track position in marine food webs and cumulative effects

The Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, invites applications for a full-time researcher position (tenure track), focusing on marine food webs and cumulative effects from human and climate pressures.

The position seeks to strengthen the marine sections with new competencies within integrated assessment of food webs from primary producers to higher trophic levels. The position is at the Department of Ecoscience located near Roskilde. The department’s research and advisory activities are project-based with a solid tradition in cross-disciplinary research and international collaboration

Expected start date and duration of employment

This is a full-time position from 1st January 2025 or as soon as possible.

Job description

Marine ecosystems are affected by many stressors affecting different parts of the marine food web. These effects can in turn cascade through the food web with synergetic or antagonistic consequences.  However, the cumulative impacts of external stressors acting on marine food webs and specifically, the complex mosaic of linkages between different trophic groups of organisms are currently not well understood. The work will mainly consider stressors as associated with climate change, nutrient enrichment, fisheries, off-shore constructions, and pollution with the aim of gaining knowledge to support  EU and national policies. An important component of the work will be data analysis of monitoring data using advanced statistical tools.

You will be part of the marine group that covers both research and advisory tasks across the marine environment, mainly related to Danish and Arctic waters. The activities will be conducted in close collaboration with colleagues at the department as well as international partners. You are expected to engage broadly with different stakeholders.

Your profile

Applicants should hold a PhD in marine biology, marine ecology, environmental sciences, engineering, or similar.

• Broad knowledge of marine physical, biogeochemical, and biological processes, and thorough understanding of food web interactions in coastal and/or open waters
• Experience with advanced statistical modelling
• Expert knowledge on analysing large data sets
• Good analytical skills
• Very good skills in scientific programming (e.g., R, Phyton, MatLab, SAS)
• Publications in high-ranking journals
• Good collaboration skills and ability to work in an interdisciplinary team within marine science
• Very good knowledge of English (written and oral)
• Good communication skills (scientific community, the public, stakeholders, and managers)
• Advantage to have experience with advisory work

Who we are

The Department of Ecoscience is engaged in research programs and advisory work covering the major biological sub-disciplines. We conduct innovative state-of-the-art research in the areas of aquatic biology and ecology, Arctic environment and ecosystems, biodiversity, conservation biology and wildlife management. The Department currently employs approximately 300 academic and technical staff, as well as many PhD students.

The successful candidate will work in a dynamic and internationally engaged scientific environment at the Section for Applied Marine Ecology and Modelling (for more information see: https://ecos.au.dk/en/researchconsultancy/research-areas/applied-marine-ecology-and-modelling).

The department is, and wishes to continue to be, an active, dynamic and inspiring workplace with exciting challenges, enthusiastic colleagues and academic opportunities for development. The department supports employees in creating a good work-home balance and aims to maintain and attract talented and committed staff, where freedom, creativity and respect for the long-term perspective are core values. For more information on the Department see: http://ecos.au.dk/en/.

What we offer

The department offers:

• a well-developed research infrastructure, laboratories and access to shared equipment
• an exciting interdisciplinary environment with many national, international, and industrial collaborators
• a research climate encouraging lively, open and critical discussion within and across different fields of research
• a workplace characterised by professionalism, equality, and a healthy work-life balance.

Place of work and area of employment

The place of work is Department of Ecoscience, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark. 

Contact information

For further information, please contact: Head of Section, Professor Marie Maar +45 21 73 07 11, mamecos.au.dk.

Ensuring gender balance at the Department of Ecoscience is a high priority at Aarhus University, and therefore, we particularly encourage women to apply for this position. No candidate will be given preferential treatment, and all applicants will be assessed on the basis of their qualifications for the position in question. 

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 Researcher for a period of six years with the prospect of performance- based advancement to a tenured position as Senior Researcher.

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

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 Taxation 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 Taxation 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.

Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/