The Saxo Institute, Faculty of Humanities, Copenhagen University (UCPH), Denmark, invites applicants for a tenure-track assistant professorship in Archaeology to be filled by the 1st of September 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Position description

We are looking for an outstanding junior researcher with an innovative mind-set and intellectual curiosity to strengthen and complement the research profile of Archaeology at the Saxo Institute. Our research group comprises the fields of Classical, Nordic, and contemporary archaeology, and its research focuses on visual culture, landscape, technology and production, archaeo-metallurgy, textile studies, and archaeological theory and epistemology in the humanities. Methodologically, fieldwork, excavations, surveys, experimental archaeology, and museum studies form an integral part of our research. We aim to attract an international top-talent to our ambitious and collaborative environment.

The Saxo Institute is dedicated to the study of human societies past and present, with degree programs ranging from History to Ethnology, Archeology, Classical Languages and Migration Studies. With some 1400 students and a staff of 100 employees, the Institute offers a variety of research and library facilities, servicing a vibrant community of tenured scholars, graduate students, visiting researchers and externally funded projects. The institute also hosts a range of leading research centres and externally funded research projects.

About Tenure-track

A tenure-track assistant professorship is a six-year, fixed-term academic position involving both research and teaching. The successful candidate will be obliged to complete a teacher-training course designed especially for assistant professors, and will be expected to be able to take part in all the activities of the Department, including examinations and administration.

Approximately six months before the end of the six-year tenure-track period, a committee set up by the Dean will assess whether the assistant professor can be considered for promotion to a tenured position as associate professor. 

Read more about the tenure-track program at the UCPH at this homepage: https://employment.ku.dk/tenure-track/tenure-track-at-ucph/.

Qualification requirements

The tenure track assistant professor must have an academic standing showing internationally competitive research, and/or have internationally recognized potential to make a future impact being able to demonstrate her/his potential for impact in the form of publications in internationally renowned, peer-reviewed journals. In particular, we are looking for an applicant who can demonstrate a capacity for working across the fields of material remains, iconography, textual sources, and reception studies. A candidate capable of documenting research integrated fieldwork expertise will be preferred.

The successful applicant must hold a PhD degree in archaeology. Any teaching and/or supervision experience should also be documented. Classical and Prehistoric Archaeology are two separate study programs, collaborating on introductory, theoretical and methodological courses. We expect the tenure track assistant professor to be able to teach courses in Classical Archaeology as well as archaeology courses at a more general level.

The applicant is also expected to provide a statement of his/her academic and pedagogical approaches to university teaching.

Applicants are encouraged to read the University guidelines for teaching portfolio when appointing staff at the UCPH https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/job-application-portfolio/

The duties of the position are evenly distributed between teaching and research tasks (including relevant administration and knowledge-sharing). Documented competences in both of these main fields of activity, as well as the ability to reflect on them, will be weighted in the assessment process (see further below).

Furthermore, emphasis will be placed on the following academic and personal qualifications:

• Research qualifications, which will be assessed in relation to the period of active research, the degree of originality, and academic output, e.g. number of publications published in internationally recognized, peer-reviewed journals or in comparable high-ranking series published with internationally recognized publishing houses. 
• The applicant’s scientific record, academic breadth and depth, rigour, thoroughness, and accuracy.  
• Research qualifications, which will be assessed in relation to the period of active research, the degree of originality, and academic output, e.g. number of publications published in internationally recognized, peer-reviewed journals or in comparable high-ranking series published with internationally recognized publishing houses.
• The applicant’s scientific record, academic breadth and depth, rigour, thoroughness and accuracy
• Teaching qualifications: Read more about our Educational Charter at https://www.humanities.ku.dk/about/vision_and_goals/educational_charter/ and Pedagogic Basis and Guidelines at https://uddannelseskvalitet.ku.dk/quality-assurance-of-study-programmes/university-guidelines/pedagogic-basis-and-guidelines/
• Experience and qualifications with regard to dissemination of research, knowledge-sharing and engagement with the wider public, the media and the world of politics
• Documentation of possible administrative qualifications

Tenure-track assistant professors must hold an academic record demonstrating internationally competitive research, and/or have internationally recognized potential to make a future impact.

Assessment of applicants will primarily consider their level of documented, internationally competitive research. Teaching qualifications are not mandatory, but documented teaching qualifications and teaching experience will be taken into account. Applicants’ outreach qualifications, including the ability to attract external funding, will also be considered.

Within a reasonable period of time (max. 2 years), non-Danish-speaking appointees are expected to acquire proficiency in Danish sufficient to be able to interact with colleagues and students.

For further details about the qualification requirements for assistant professorships, please read the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2019 here: https://ufm.dk/uddannelse/videregaende-uddannelse/personaleforhold-pa-de-videregaende-uddannelsesinstitutioner/overenskomster-aftaler-og-stillingsstrukturer/MinisterialOrderno.1443of11December2019onJobStructureforAcademicStaffatUniversities.pdf

Six overall criteria apply for assistant professor appointments at the University of Copenhagen. The six criteria (research, teaching, societal impact, organisational 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: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/criteria-for-recognising-merit/

You can read more about the criteria for recognising merit for assistant professors here: https://jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabelige-stillinger/kriterier-for-videnskabelige-stillinger/dokumenter-til-meritering/5a_Criteria_for_recognising_merit_-Assistant_professors.pdf

For further information about the position, please contact Head of the Saxo Institute Professor David Bloch, e-mail: bloch@hum.ku.dk

Application 

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

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

• Application letter/cover letter
• Curriculum vitae (with the applicant’s email address, telephone number and list of referees (maximum five names))
• 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).
• Publications. Applicants may choose a maximum of five publications for assessment, of which at least two must have been published within the five years immediately preceding the deadline for applications. At least two of these publications must have been published in internationally recognized, peer-reviewed journals or in comparable high-ranking series published with internationally recognized publishing houses. Publication dates must be clearly marked on the publication list. The publications selected must be uploaded as attachments and listed from 1 to 5.
• References.

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 

After the application deadline, the Head of the Department selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the Appointment Committee. All applicants are then immediately 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 academic officer Rikke Dall, HR, e-mail: hrsc@hrsc.ku.dk. Please refer to ID number 211-0081/20-2N,. 

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 34,655 (EUR 4,657) + a 17,1 % contribution to the pension scheme. It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis.

The Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) have further agreed on a protocol that makes it possible for international researchers employed by the University to achieve a pension exemption, whereby the pension contribution will be paid out as salary. For more information about the different pension schemes, please read more here: https://ism.ku.dk/salary-tax-pension/pension/

A special tax scheme is offered to researchers recruited abroad, read more at this homepage: https://ism.ku.dk/salary-tax-pension/tax/

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 here: https://www.nyidanmark.dk/en-GB, https://www.workindenmark.dk/ and https://ism.ku.dk

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

The closing date for applications is the 1st of March 2021 at 23:59 [CET]

Applications or supplementary material received thereafter will not be considered.

Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.