Associate senior lecturer in health law - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Lund University is a full-scale and research-intensive university, and the only Swedish university to be part of the strong international networks League of European Research Universities (LERU) and Universitas 21 (U21). Lund University has partner universities in close to 70 countries and attracts more international students than any other higher education institution in Sweden. 

The Faculty of Law is characterised by internationalisation, the intertwining of education and research, interdisciplinarity, as well as close and boundary-crossing collaboration with wider society. The Faculty’s research environment and PhD-education are markedly international and, alongside the professional law degree, the Faculty offers several international Master’s programmes.

Lund University and the Faculty of Law offer an inclusive work environment that fosters development within the broader dynamic research and innovation area of the Öresund region.

Subject

Health law

Subject description

The subject medical law covers various legal aspects of international, national, local and private functions and activities related to human health. Medical law spans over a wide range of traditional areas of law, such as administrative law, criminal law, EU law, international law, migration law, private law, and social-welfare law. Medical law often raises fundamental human rights issues, such as the right to protection of life, the best attainable health, protection against inhuman and degrading treatment, protection of privacy and protection against deprivation of liberty. The subject deals with issues that affect people at different and vulnerable stages of life. Many areas within the field of medical law concern the protection of the individual's life, integrity, human dignity, and health. The area of ​​law also includes public health and social-welfare perspectives through rules that establish a framework for targeted initiatives that can reduce significant risk factors for certain population groups (e.g. children and older persons). The field of medical law also concerns public efforts to prevent or tackle health-related problems through general contributions or actions in a society. Medical law often adopts an interdisciplinary approach, which can include fields such as social work, medical technology, artificial intelligence (AI), social work, economics and ethics. The current Covid-19 pandemic illustrates the important role of medical law in society, its timeliness and its multifaceted place on the legal map.

Work duties

The post as associate senior lecturer is a career development position and is to offer opportunities for gaining research and teaching qualifications. The position shall first and foremost provide scope for developing research qualifications, and the primary duty is to conduct high quality research. The research must result in national and international publications, and the associate senior lecturer must also actively apply for external funding. Additional duties include teaching in the faculty’s undergraduate, Master’s and PhD programmes, as well as in distance learning and contract education. The successful candidate will have special responsibility for research and teaching within health law as well as a responsibility for certain administrative and coordinating role tasks within the subject. The associate senior lecturer will be a part of the faculty´s research environment in health law, the Health Law Research Centre.

Furthermore, he or she is to maintain and further develop a stimulating research and study environment through teaching, supervision and collaboration with teaching staff, researchers, doctoral students, students and external contacts, and to contribute to the faculty’s other activities.

The researchers and teachers at the Faculty are expected to contribute to a dynamic research environment as well as to other Faculty activities, and to perform work primarily in the workplace provided by the Faculty.

The scope of the position shall also provide an opportunity for training in teaching and learning in higher education corresponding to at least five weeks.

Qualifications

A person qualified for appointment as an associate senior lecturer is a person who has been awarded a PhD or has the corresponding research expertise. Primary consideration should be given to a person who has been awarded a PhD or achieved the equivalent expertise within five years of the deadline for application for employment as an associate senior lecturer. However, a person who has been awarded a PhD or achieved the equivalent expertise at an earlier date may also be considered if there are exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances are sick leave, parental leave or other similar circumstances.

For an associate senior lecturer, the general qualification requirements concern being suitable for and having the ability in general that is needed to satisfactorily carry out the duties of the appointment in question.

Assessment criteria

For appointments to associate senior lecturer, the following shall form the assessment criteria:

• a good ability to develop and carry out high quality research, and teaching skill. The focus of the assessment shall be on research skills.

Particular emphasis will be placed on good subject knowledge in health law according to the subject description above as well as on a Swedish, Nordic or European research approach.

Emphasis will also be placed on:

• documented experience of running and leading international research environments. 

• documented ability to formulate research applications for external funding. 

• documented international research and teaching experience, for example in the form of publications, research and teaching stays abroad, research collaborations and conference presentations. 

• broad subject expertise.

Terms

The position is a fixed term (4 years) full time post. The term is regulated in the Higher Ordinance Ac (HF), chapter 4, Section 12 a.

Promotion to senior lecturer

An associate senior lecturer’s work and qualifications should be evaluated mid-way through the period of employment. The employee shall receive instructions on the specific areas that need to be developed in order to be promoted to senior lecturer employed for an indefinite term. 

An associate senior lecturer shall on application be promoted to senior lecturer employed for an indefinite term if he or she has the required qualifications and is deemed to be suitable with reference to the qualification requirements and assessment criteria as stated below. An associate senior lecturer can only apply for promotion once. 

The application is to be submitted to the Faculty of law at the latest after 3 years and 6 months of actual service.

Qualification requirements for senior lecturers

Those qualified for appointment as a senior lecturer are a person who has demonstrated teaching expertise, and been awarded a PhD or has the corresponding research competence or some other professional expertise that is of value in view of the subject matter of the post and the duties that it will involve.

The assessment criteria for appointment as a senior lecturer shall be the degree of the expertise required as a qualification for employment.

To be qualified for employment as a senior lecturer according to Lund University Appointment Rules, an individual shall have completed at least five weeks of training in higher education teaching and learning or acquired equivalent knowledge by other means, unless there are valid reasons. If there are valid reasons, an appointment can still be made.

Assessment criteria for senior lecturer

For appointments to senior lecturer, the following shall form the assessment criteria:  

• the overall assessment criteria is to demonstrate strong development during the appointment as an associate senior lecturer regarding research expertise, and a development regarding teaching expertise. The assessment of the candidate’s development during the appointment as associate senior lecturer is to take into account the research plan and timetable submitted by the candidate with the application for the post as associate senior lecturer. 

• a good national and international standing as a researcher or artistic practitioner/researcher. The requirement for international experience shall be assessed with consideration to the character and traditions of the subject. 

• good teaching ability, including a good ability to conduct, develop and lead educational activities on different levels and using a variety of teaching methods. 

• an ability to supervise doctoral students to achieve a PhD.
  
  
• an ability to engage with wider society and communicate his or her activities.
  
  
• a good general ability to lead and develop activities, such as experience of administrative and leadership assignments.
  
  
• the ability to teach in Swedish or another Scandinavian language on the Master of Laws programme is a requirement along with the ability to teach in English.

Emphasis will also be placed on:

• documented ability to formulate research applications for external funding.
  
  
• documented international research and teaching experience, for example in the form of publications, research and teaching stays abroad, research collaborations and conference presentations. 

• broad subject expertise.

Instructions for application

The application is to be submitted electronically in the Lund University application portal. Additions, in the form of research publications/equivalent, are to be sent in three copies to:

The Faculty of Law, Lund University, Helena Josefsson, P.O. Box 207, S-221 00 Lund.

The application shall be in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian or English and must include:

• a personal letter.
• a CV with appendices (max 10 pages of appendices).
• a complete list of publications.
• a list of the PhD thesis and the three other publications the applicant wants to be considered for assessment (state the DOI code for each publication if one is available).
• the four publications to be considered for assessment.
• a description of the planned research activities (including a timetable and publication plan) and plans for the future (max 5 pages).
• a brief summary of teaching activities (such as a list of teaching qualifications, a personal reflection of teaching, a teaching CV (max 3 pages)).
• other documents the applicant wants to submit for assessment.

Please note that documents submitted or drawn up as a result of this vacant employment position (such as applications, expert opinions and minutes) as a general rule are public. The documents may thus (with the exception if a document is classified as confidential) be read upon request.

Terms of employment

The University applies individual salary-setting. You are welcome to state your salary expectations in your application.