Up to four positions as Associate Senior Lecturer - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Welcome to apply to become one of our new associate senior lecturers. With this faculty-wide venture, we want to give early-career researchers the opportunity to develop a long-term research activity over six years and to qualify for promotion to senior lecturer. We welcome your application!

About the positions
To rejuvenate and renew the academic staff at the faculty, we are now recruiting up to four associate senior lecturers. Employment as associate senior lecturer is a tenure-track position, whose holders are to be given the opportunity to develop their independence as researchers and teachers. To support the establishment of a research team, resources corresponding to at least one PhD position and one two-year postdoctoral position will be covered by the faculty.

The call is open to all research fields at the Faculty of Science. To facilitate the establishment of a competitive research programme, the applicants’ research should relate to research areas already present or under development at the faculty. The Faculty of Science campus is located close to the large research facilities MAX IV and the European Spallation Source (ESS), which provide unique opportunities for research using synchrotron light or neutron sources. Accordingly, one of the four positions will be dedicated to a candidate aiming to develop a research programme using techniques or methods that are or will be available at MAX IV or ESS.

Type of employment: fixed term of 6 years, with the opportunity for promotion to senior lecturer.

Job description
The persons we seek will conduct research and contribute to establishing strong research environments in their respective field. The work duties include the development of teaching qualifications, which comprises teaching in the first and second cycles, as well as supervision of PhD students and postdocs. The holders of the positions are expected to actively seek external funding for their research activities.

The employment includes teaching duties equivalent to 10-30% of a full-time position, calculated over the entire term of employment. The content of the work assignments, as well as the distribution and scope of research and teaching, may change during the term of employment.

Qualification requirements
A person who holds a PhD or has the corresponding research expertise shall be qualified for appointment as an associate senior lecturer. Priority should be given to candidates who have completed their degree or have obtained corresponding expertise no more than five years before the last date for applications. A person who has obtained a PhD or the equivalent expertise earlier may be eligible if there are special grounds. Special grounds include authorised leave due to illness, parental leave, or other similar circumstances.

The PhD or corresponding research expertise must be in a field of relevance to the Faculty of Science.

For academic staff at Lund University the general qualification requirements are to be suited to and having the general ability required to complete the duties of the post well.

Very good skills in English, both written and spoken, are requirements for the position.

Assessment criteria
A very good ability to develop and carry out high-quality research and teaching. The main selection criteria for the position are research and teaching expertise, with an emphasis on research expertise. In addition, the ability to lead research projects, act as a leader in academia, interact with wider society, and provide public information on research will be considered.

Research expertise
The criteria for assessment are:

• breadth and depth of research – quality and scope,
• originality in research,
• contributions to the international research community,
• commissions of trust within the research community,
• ability to competitively obtain research funding.

The degree of research expertise will primarily be assessed from scientific work published in internationally recognised academic journals and proceedings of academic conferences that apply a peer-review system. Particular emphasis shall be placed on the quality of the publications where the applicant is the main author or has provided major contributions. Documented ability to competitively obtain research funding, especially from more competitive and highly recognised funding bodies, is an additional qualification.

Experience of a postdoctoral period in a research environment other than the university at which the applicant obtained his/her PhD is a requirement.

The applicant is to submit a research plan with a clear independent focus describing the research that will be conducted during the employment. The plan is to describe how the applicant’s research could complement and reinforce research at the faculty and in which research environment/s the applicant could develop collaborations. Moreover, the research plan is to specify whether the candidate intends to use techniques or methods that are, or will be, available at MAX IV and/or ESS. The quality of the research plan shall be given substantial weight in the selection of candidates.

Teaching expertise
The criteria for assessment of teaching expertise are:

• ability to plan and implement teaching,
• ability to supervise students,
• a reflective approach to student learning and one’s own role as a teacher.

Candidates who do not speak Swedish at the time of appointment are expected to learn sufficient Swedish within  five years of the start of the appointment to teach and communicate with the different university bodies.

Other assessment criteria
The ability to work as an academic leader can be demonstrated through experiences of leading and organising research projects, national or international workshops, and seminars.

Documented ability for research dissemination and interaction with wider society is an additional qualification.

Assessment criteria and their weight
In the selection of candidates, the degree of research expertise shall be decisive. In addition, the degree of teaching expertise as well as the potential to lead activities and staff at the University, interact with wider society, and provide public information on research will be considered.

To be considered, the following requirements must be fulfilled:

1. The applicant must have a PhD or corresponding research expertise in a field of relevance for the Faculty of Science.
2. The PhD degree or corresponding research expertise should have been obtained no more than five years before the application deadline (15 February 2022). Special grounds including authorised leave due to illness, parental leave, or other similar circumstances are to be reported in the application.
3. The applicant must have experience of a postdoctoral period in a research environment other than the university at which the applicant obtained their PhD.
4. The application must contain all parts.

Promotion
An associate senior lecturer is to be promoted, on application, to employment as a senior lecturer on an indefinite-term contract if he or she has the qualifications required for the post and is assessed to be suitable in accordance with the qualification requirements and assessment criteria established by the Faculty of Science. An associate senior lecturer may only apply for promotion once.

Qualification requirements and assessment criteria for promotion to a permanent position as senior lecturer:

• Well documented research expertise that is important for the discipline. The following criteria will be applied:

           - High national and international standing as a researcher 
           - High-quality publications in international research journals.
           - Independent research profile.
           - Qualifications corresponding to those of a reader.
           - Participation in scholarly conferences or workshops.
           - Research funding from national or international funding bodies.

• Well documented teaching expertise. The following criteria will be applied:

           - Good subject knowledge and documented experience of teaching at different levels of higher education.
           - Documented ability to develop and renew courses and teaching methods.
           - Documented ability to lead and organise education.
           - Documented ability to supervise Master´s and PhD students.
           - Five weeks´training in teaching and learning in higher education or the equivalent.

• An ability to interact with wider society and provide public information on current research and development.
  
  
• An ability to work as a leader in higher education, including leading research projects and participating in decision-making bodies at university, faculty or department level.

An application for promotion to a permanent position as senior lecturer is to be submitted to the faculty at the latest 6 months before the appointment as associate senior lecturer ends. The application for promotion is to be judged by the teacher’s appointment board after acquisition of the opinion of at least two experts on the subject.

Format and content of the application
The application is to be written in English. Instructions on how to write the application are found here. Your application should be compiled in one PDF file and submitted through Lund University's digital recruitment system Varbi on 15 February 2022, at the latest.

Interviews of the most qualified candidates are scheduled for 7-9 June 2022.

Read about the research conducted at our departments here.