Associate Professorship (Director of CAET)

The Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies (CCRS), Faculty of Humanities, Copenhagen University (UCPH), Denmark, invites applications for an associate professorship to be filled by 1 November 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter. The employment is temporary and will expire in 2028.

The Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies is home to a number of language-based area studies (Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Arctic and Mesoamerica) and to disciplines concerned with the study of culture and religion globally. Further information about the department may be found at tors.ku.dk

The Centre for Applied Ecological Thinking (CAET) is placed in an innovative environment where researchers, alongside practitioners, will delve into humankind’s relationship with nature and resources, and develop specific, sustainable transformations. The Centre runs for seven years and is financed with DKK 34.4 million from the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation. You can read more about the Centre here.

Job content
The director will be the chief executive of CAET and bear responsibility for its academic and outreach activities as well as daily management. The director refers to the Head of Department of CCRS. A Steering Committee will advise the director in all academic and organisational matters and ensure the high quality of its work. Also, an advisory board will be appointed to advise the Steering Committee and director on matters concerning CAET’s strategic development.

Qualification requirements
The director must have an international academic profile in the field of environmental humanities; a high degree of experience with public outreach and networking; managerial experience; a plan for future research, dissemination, and outreach; and a strong vision for the Centre.

Considering the substantial public engagement of CAET, proficiency in a Scandinavian language is required. The director must be able to establish a creative, engaged, and explorative space for a diversity of scholars and stakeholders while maintaining CAET’s focus and momentum. Furthermore, the director should be able to organise and energise collaborations with environmental academia at UCPH, as well as internationally, in order to expand a growing network of committed scholars affiliated to CAET. Thus, the director will be a visionary, collaborative, and research-based facilitator for the activities taking place at the Centre. 

Since the position will be at the level of associate professor, the applicant must have research and teaching qualifications corresponding to what can be achieved by satisfactory employment as an assistant professor or tenure track assistant professor.
Associate professors are expected to be able to take part in all the activities of the department, including examinations and administration, and to manage research projects, provide pedagogical supervision, support assistant professors, and participate in academic assessment panels.

Applicants are encouraged to read the University guidelines for teaching portfolio when appointing staff at the UCPH.

We are looking for a director of the Centre who can and will contribute to the green transition by making humanistic researchers’ extensive knowledge of ecology and human beings more readily available to the surrounding society.

As Centre director, you will get the opportunity to create and influence a unique, interdisciplinary environment in which researchers from the Faculty of Humanities are placed together with thinktanks, NGOs, and other green organisations.

Through a comprehensive programme for co-creation, knowledge sharing, and experimental outreach activities, CAET must develop new views of nature, visions of society, and proposals for specific sustainable development.

You are a recognised researcher in the field of environmental humanities and have suggestions for how humanities research can be brought into play in order to develop green thinking. You are a visionary, motivating, and networking leader who can involve and engage the faculty's researchers in the new Centre – and will reach out to the outside world and create alliances that support the purpose of CAET.

Six overall criteria apply for associate professor appointments at the University of Copenhagen. The six criteria (research, teaching, societal impact, organizational contribution, external funding, and leadership) are considered a framework for the overall assessment of candidates. Furthermore, each candidate must be assessed according to the specific requirements stated in the job advertisement.

You can read more about the criteria UCPH criteria here.

Find more information for recognising merit for associate professors here. 

Further details about the qualification requirements for associate professor can be found in the ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2019 here.

And you can read more about the position in the job description here.

For further information about the position, please contact Head of Department Annika Hvithamar, e-mail: hvithamar@hum.ku.dk.
           
Application
Submit the application online in Adobe PDF or Word format.

Please note that each field in the application form must only contain a single file of max. 20Mb.

Please click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of the page.

The application must be written in English and must include the following:

• Application letter/cover letter including a description of the applications vision for the Centre
• Curriculum vitae
• Documentation of qualifications (examination certificates/PhD diploma, etc.).
• Complete and numbered list of publications. The enclosed publications must be marked with star*
• Research plan, including a short description of previous research and a plan for the coming years that includes an account of involvement in organising research, establishment of research seminars, symposia and congresses, etc.
• Teaching portfolio. Documentation of teaching qualifications and research dissemination (organisation of classes, materials, courses, and other forms of teaching) (https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/job-application-portfolio/)
• Publications. Applicants may choose a maximum of five publications for assessment, of which at least three must have been published within the five years immediately preceding the deadline for applications. Publication dates must be clearly marked on the publication list. The publications selected must be uploaded as attachments and named from 1 to 5.

Should any material submitted consist of work with named co-authors, or work that is otherwise the result of collective academic endeavours, the extent of the applicant’s contribution to the work must be clearly stipulated. The Faculty may ask for a signed statement from the co-authors stipulating the extent and nature of each individual’s contribution.

Only material in English, German, French, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish will be assessed.

Appointment procedure
The director is appointed after a formal search process that includes an assessment of the candidate’s academic qualifications, leadership experience, and visions for CAET. The assessment and appointment process will follow standard procedures of UCPH (https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/) The Head of CCRS will be the hiring manager, who appoints an assessment committee with four members, taking into account gender balance and diversity of academic and outreach expertise. Two members will be from outside UCPH, while one of the members from UCPH chairs the committee. The hiring manager (head of CCRS) heads the appointment committee and appoints its members. These will include the head of the assessment committee, select members of the Steering Committee, Faculty professor with expertise in environmental humanities, and the Faculty Head of Communications. The appointment committee conducts interviews with candidates, discusses their qualifications, and advises the Head of CCRS, who makes the final decision and appoints the director. 

The recruitment of the director will be organized with the assistance of a professional recruitment agency.

According to standard procedures at the University of Copenhagen, the Head of Department – after the application deadline – selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the Appointment Committee. All applicants are notified whether their application has been accepted for assessment. The Dean subsequently appoints an expert assessment committee tasked with carrying out an assessment of the selected applicants for the specific post. Selected applicants are notified of the composition of the committee. Applicants are ultimately offered the opportunity of commenting on the part of the assessment relating to themselves before the appointment is finalized.

Further information about the application procedure is available from HR, e-mail: hrsc@hrsc.ku.dk. Please refer to ID number 211-0327/21-2E #1. 

Salary and conditions of employment
Terms of appointment and salary will be in accordance with an agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The salary range starts at DKK 40,000 (EUR 5,38) + a 17,1 % contribution to the pension scheme. It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis.

Since special duties are required for this position, the Director of CAET will receive a pensionable special duty supplement of DKK 50,000 per year in addition to the above salary.

A special tax scheme is offered to researchers recruited abroad: https://ism.ku.dk/onarrival/. If you consider applying from abroad, you may find useful information on how it is to work in Denmark and at UCPH. Find more information at: http://ism.ku.dk, http://www.nyidanmark.dk/en-us/frontpage.htm and https://www.workindenmark.dk/

UCPH wishes to encourage everyone interested in this post to apply, regardless of personal background.

The closing date for applications is August 1st, at 23:59 [*CEST/CET]

Applications or supplementary material received thereafter will not be considered.

*(Centraleuropæisk sommertid=CEST/CET = normaltid)

Please write in your application that you've seen the job at Jobfinder.