Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental Archaeology and sedaDNA

The position

A Postdoctoral Research Fellow position is available at the Arctic University Museum of Norway, The Arctic University Museum of Norway and Academy of Fine Arts. The position is on the project “V2C - - Viking to Christian Landscapes across the Norwegian Sea”. Starting date 1st of April 2025.

The successful candidate will be part of a team that will core lakes in Central and Northern Norway, Orkney and Shetland Isles, UK and do metabarcoding and lithological analyses of lake-sediment cores to obtain information on past vascular plant species including crops, and herbivores. These data, together with similar data from southern Norway will be used together with the V2C team (UiT, University of Bergen, University of Durham UK, Highlands and Islands University UK) to 1) investigate landscape change, crop use and farming from c. 500-1500 CE, 2) Examine the causes of these changes and relate to archaeological and textual data, 3) trial new techniques in environmental archaeology from cores including pOSL and pathogens.

The position is a fixed term position for a duration of three years. Appointment to the position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow is mainly intended to provide qualification for work in top academic positions. It is a prerequisite that the applicant can carry out the project over the full course of the employment period. No person may hold more than one fixed term position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the same institution.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.

The position’s affiliation

This position is attached to the Research Group of Natural Sciences and Archaeology and the ArcEcoGEN Auroral Research Centre. Natural Sciences is responsible for developing and maintaining scientific collections of objects (animals, plants, fossils and minerals) as well as public outreach, including the Tromsø Arctic Alpine Botanical Garden. Archaeology is responsible for the archaeological collections at the Arctic University Museum of Norway in Tromsø as well as cultural heritage management and research-based excavations in Northern Norway. All excavated archaeological finds are incorporated into the existing museum collections. Combined the research groups have a permanent staff of approximately 21, of which 16 are in academic positions. At the moment, 9 PhD students and 4 postdoctoral researchers are connected to Natural Sciences. The botany research group has laboratories for environmental archaeology, modern and ancient DNA analyses. These labs will be upgraded significantly in 2025 with full sample integration and robotisation of many sedaDNA processes, making them world class in this area of research. Natural Sciences currently involved in three large projects: “MEMELAND”, “IceAgent” and “Norwegian Barcode of Life”. The latter includes full genome sequencing of the entire Norwegian flora. For more information about Natural Sciences at the Arctic Museum of Norway, visit this site. The Archaeology research group has 5 permanent academic research positions and a variable number of field archaeologists in technical positions. The primary focus of ongoing research is on prehistoric and historic archaeology within the region and comparative regions.
The successful applicant is expected to spend most of the time in Tromsø, but there will also be extensive fieldwork in Norway and the Northern Isles (UK). The candidate may also undertake a research stay abroad for up to 3 months with one or more of the project collaborators.

The project is a collaboration among staff at the Arctic University Museum of Norway (in Tromsø), The University Museum of Bergen, Geography at the University of Durham UK, Archaeology Department at the Highlands and Islands University, Orkney UK. The project also supports a PhD researcher (UiT) and a 2 year researcher at Durham in the UK.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact Professor Tony Brown: 

• phone: +47 77 62 50 18
• email: antony.g.brown@uit.no

Qualifications

This position requires a Norwegian doctoral degree (PhD) in the subject area or an equivalent foreign doctoral degree and experience in environmental archaeology, archaeobotany or other relevant topic given in the work description.

Fluency in English is required and working knowledge of Norwegian or a Scandinavian language is desirable. Nordic applicants can document their capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.

It is considered an advantage if you have:

• Knowledge in vascular plant ecology
• Experience in molecular biology
• Skills in bioinformatics/biostatistics
• Experience in aDNA or sedaDNA

In the assessment the main emphasis will be attached to the submitted works and the project proposal for the qualifying work. Emphasis shall also be attached to experience from popularization/dissemination and academic policy and administrative activity.

During the assessment emphasis will be put on the candidate’s motivation, potential for research, and personal suitability for the position. We are looking for candidates that are:

• Highly motivated move into this interdisciplinary research field
• Will work in both lab and conduct field work
• Have excellent communication and organizational skills
• Have strong documentation, oral and interpersonal skills
• Personal fit to the team and teamwork skills are important

At UiT we put emphasis on the quality, relevance and significance of the research work and not on where the work is published, in accordance with the principles of The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).

Inclusion and diversity  

UiT The Arctic University i Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity is a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.  

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics. 

We offer

• Involvement in an interesting research project 
• Good career opportunities 
• A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues  
• Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement  
• Pension scheme through the state pension fund

Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services.

More practical information for working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility 

Application

Your application must include:

• Letter of application
• CV (containing a complete overview of education, supervised professional training and professional work)
• Diplomas and transcripts (all degrees)
• Documentation of English proficiency
• Documentation of proficiency in Norwegian (or a Scandinavian language) if applicable
• Contact information to 2-3 references
• Complete list of works containing the following information:
  • author(s), the work’s title
  • for articles: the journal’s name and volume, the first and last page of the article, year of publication
  • for publications: publisher, printer, year of publication, number of pages
• Academic works, up to ten (published or unpublished) which the applicant wishes to be taken into consideration during the assessment. The doctoral thesis is regarded in this context as one work.

If you’re at the final stages of your PhD, you may still apply if you have submitted your PhD thesis for doctoral degree evaluation within the application deadline. You must submit the thesis with your application. Documentation of your completed PhD degree must be submitted before commencement.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.

Assessment

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position.

The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview should among other things, aim to clarify the applicant’s motivation and personal suitability for the position. A trial lecture may also be held.

General information

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants. 

The remuneration for Postdoctoral research fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1352. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension: You may be entitled to financial support if you become ill or disabled, your family may be entitled to financial support when you die, you become insured against occupational injury or occupational disease, and you can get good terms on a mortgage. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no.

The successful candidate must be willing to get involved in the ongoing development of their department and the university as a whole.

According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.