The Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University, Denmark, invites applications for a position as full professor in the area of weed science. The professorship is a full-time and permanent position starting on 01-01-2023 or as soon as possible thereafter.
You are expected to contribute significantly to the department’s research and teaching and to promote the overall research strategy. You are expected to teach and supervise students at the Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD levels and to carry out individual and group-based research of the highest international standard contributing to the development of our academic field.
You will be part of a research environment focusing on Integrated Pest Management. You will be contributing specifically to the area of weed biology, non-chemical weed control and integrated weed management. The main focus of the position is to:
- Conduct research of high international quality, including publication in top international journals and communicating research in national and international academic networks
- Teach, supervise and examine BSc, MSc and PhD students as well as contributing to the development of the department’s PhD courses
- Attracting external research funding
- Assessment and committee work at Aarhus University
- Research-based collaboration with private and public-sector stakeholders as well as research-based policy consultancy
- Dissemination of your research to the outside world
We further expect that you will be an active part of the research environment and that you will contribute positively to the social working environment. We also expect that you will take part in our teaching activities and that you will report research results in high-impact scientific journals.
Your profile
You have established yourself as a prominent researcher within weed science and you possess solid research and teaching qualifications at a high international level. You have excellent collaborative skills and a broad academic network which you are able to bring into play both nationally and internationally. You have experience of research partnerships with private and public-sector stakeholders. At the same time, you have experience of attracting and leading significant competitive research funding from national and international funding bodies.
As a person, you are a helpful and motivational leader who inspires other researchers and builds trusting relationships with students, colleagues, and partners. You communicate the newest and relevant knowledge in a committed, clear and comprehensible manner and as a supervisor you are competent, inspiring, supportive and responsible.
You are ready to take co-responsibility for the development of the department’s research, education and policy support at the highest international level and for ensuring that we maintain a good work environment. You naturally involve yourself in interdisciplinary collaboration at departmental, faculty and university level as well as nationally and internationally.
In order to be assessed as qualified for a full professor position, you must:
- Hold a PhD in agronomy, preferable specializing in weed science, or have similar experience
- Document experience in scientific writing with numerous papers in high-quality journals or other high-quality publication channels
- Possess an excellent H-index (depending on research area)
- Prove a high degree of independent research of high international standard together with a substantiated research plan
- Document that you have extensive international research collaborations and experience
- Have spent time on long-term research stay(s) abroad at another internationally acknowledged university or research institution
- Demonstrate the ability to perform ground-breaking research
- Have thorough experience in supervision at BSc, MSc and PhD level
- Document experience with policy support
- Be dedicated and possess the ability to collaborate and build relationships.
Further, we will prefer candidates with some of the following qualifications:
- Experience in planning and conducting field-work
- Experience in planning and conducting simi-field and laboratory work within weed science
- Insight into both the theoretical and applied aspects of weed management
- Experience with policy support
Who we are
At the Department of Agroecology, our main goal is to contribute to sustainable solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems within the areas of soil, plants, animals, humans, and the environment. We want to make a difference by contributing to both fundamental knowledge generation and the attainment of sustainable production systems via state-of-the-art research, contracted policy advice, and education. We offer state-of-the-art laboratories, greenhouses, semi-field, and field-scale research facilities, advanced computing capacities as well as an extensive national and international researcher network. The department consists of eight research sections with around 270 highly dedicated employees, of which approximately 50% are scientific staff.
What we offer
- An informal and multicultural research environment with high professionalism, where accountability, commitment, helpfulness, flexibility, and close collaboration is a prerequisite solving the core tasks
- A good social environment with activities and routines that make it possible to talk across and strengthen the collegial relationship, and where mutual trust, respect, kindness, and professional sparring are emphasized
- A flexible workplace with a good work-life balance
- An exciting and varied working environment, where two days rarely resemble each other. We are often busy, and we work creatively for solutions to societal challenges
- Subsidized preschool child care and a free education system from primary school up to university level
- Universal health insurance as a resident of Denmark, including family members officially residing in Denmark
- Five weeks paid holiday per year
- In connection with childbirth: the right to have a total of 52 weeks shared maternal/paternal leave with full or partial salary pay
Place of Work
The place of work is Aarhus University, Campus Flakkebjerg, 4200 Slagelse. The affiliation will be with the Department of Agroecology.
More information can be obtained from Head of the Crop Health Research Section, Professor Per Kudsk per.kudsk@agro.au.dk
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).
Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance 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 Finance 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.
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 8,000 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 885 million.