Professor/Associate Professor in Renewable Energy and Leader of Arctic Centre for Sustainable Energy (ARC), Department of Physics and Technology

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is in 2016 establishing the Arctic Centre for Sustainable Energy (ARC). This is an interdisciplinary centre focusing on Arctic challenges and conditions within renewable energy and greenhouse gas management. The centre will combine expertise in physics, humanities, chemistry, social sciences, applied mathematics, marine biology, computer science, and electrical engineering. The initiative will permeate the university in its entirety and will strengthen existing research activities at UiT within the scope of the centre.

The centre is a 110 MNOK initiative by UiT, which will finance eight new professors within renewable energy and greenhouse gas management. Each new professor will receive one PhD student and/or one postdoctoral posi­tion at his/her disposal as part of a start-up package. The applicant should value working in an interdisciplinary environment.

The centre’s main objectives are:

• interdisciplinary R&D excellence within renewable energy and CO2 management in order to create sustainable societies in the Arctic
• to create an internationally competitive and outstanding environment that is an attractive R&D partner for the commercial and public sectors
• to ensure that graduates receive high quality education and expertise within renewable energy and CO2 management that is relevant for the business and public sector in the north

The focus themes of the centre, seen in an Arctic context, are ethical and responsible prosumption of distributed renewable electricity, fuels and thermal energy, and an accountable management of greenhouse gases.

Application deadline: 30. December 2016
Ref.no: 2016/6413

The Faculty of Science and Technology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, has a vacant position as profes­sor/associate professor. The applicant should be an established researcher within renewable energy and/or energy storage and will function as the leader of the new interdisciplinary Arctic Centre for Sustainable Energy (ARC) at UiT. The position is attached to the research group in Energy and Climate at the Department of Physics and Technology.

Further information about the position is available by contacting:

• Professor and Acting Leader of ARC Tobias Boström,
  phone +47 77 64 51 53, email tobias.bostrom@uit.no
• Associate Professor and Acting Head of Department Stian Normann Anfinsen,
  phone +47 77 64 51 73, email stian.normann.anfinsen@uit.no
• Professor and Dean Morten Hald,
  phone +47 77 64 44 12, email morten.hald@uit.no

The position’s affiliation
The Faculty of Science and Technology consists of the following six departments:

• Department of Chemistry
• Department of Computer Science
• Department of Engineering and Safety
• Department of Geology
• Department of Mathematics and Statistics
• Department of Physics and Technology

The Department of Physics and Technology (DPT) consists of five research groups:

• Earth Observation
• Electrical Engineering
• Energy and Climate
• Machine Learning
• Space Physics

DPT provides education at the Bachelor, Master, and PhD levels. The department comprises 17 permanent scientific positions and a technical/administrative staff of 10 persons. The department conducts research and education at a high international level. The members of our academic staff are engaged in several international collaborative projects.

UiT is currently conducting a strong strategic effort within renewable energy and the number of new professor, postdoctoral fellow and PhD student positions within this field is expected to grow substantially within the next few years. The new position will be part of the Energy and Climate Group at DPT. The current research fields of the group members are solar energy and energy storage, hybrid energy systems, wind and tidal energy, fusion energy, and climate dynamics.

The position’s field of research
The aim is to strengthen and further develop the existing renewable energy research at DPT. The person holding this position should be an experienced researcher within renewable energy and/or energy storage and should have experience from interdisciplinary work.

We seek a candidate with a strong background in basic physics and mathematical methods, and with the analytical skills to apply these to the exploitation of renewable energy. Possible fields of expertise could be solar energy, tidal and wave energy, wind energy, bioenergy and geoenergy (e.g., geothermal energy). However, if exceptionally strong candidates apply, also fields not mentioned so far could be of interest.

The successful applicant must participate in the teaching of general physics and renewable energy oriented physics and technology to students at all levels, including supervision of Masters and PhD thesis projects. The personnel of the Energy and Climate Group at DPT are crucial for the Masters programme in Energy, climate and environment and its course portfolio. Commitment to the department’s standard for teaching quality, recruitment and public outreach activities is expected.

The applicant will become the leader of the interdisciplinary Arctic Centre for Sustainable Energy (ARC). The leader has the overall responsibility and management function for the academic and administrative activities of the centre, and will contribute to ensure long-term financing. All candidates must submit a statement of their vision for ARC and the physics-related research on renewable energy in particular, including their thoughts about a focused research profile that can make the centre and the renewable energy group at UiT competitive on a national scale. It should also discuss how the applicant’s expertise would contribute towards this goal.

Qualification requirements
We are looking for an experienced professor in renewable energy and/or energy storage with good knowledge within general physics and experience from and the ability to work interdisciplinary. The applicant should have sound teaching skills and experience with supervision of PhD/MSc students, as well as the ability to build networks, create trust and communicate well. The applicant should have experience of leadership and research management within the university, college, research institute, knowledge-based industry or public sector. Previous success with research funding is required. We consider experience from research collaboration with industry as an advantage.

The applicants must document scientific knowledge at high international standard and experience in executing independent original research in renewable energy or energy storage. In assessing the applicant’s qualifications and merits, we will give special consideration to scientific publications in internationally recognised peer review journals. The position requires in addition an individual with proven scientific excellence, leadership skills and success in obtaining research grants from external sources, such as research councils or similar. When ranking the candidates, we will consider how their competences complement those of the current personnel in the Energy and Climate Group in relation to strategy for developing the research group’s overall profile and strength.

Key tasks:

• Lead an ambitious and internationally competitive research centre
• Ensure quality and good balance between research, teaching, communication, and innovation
• Represent the centre and promote internal and external collaboration
• Provide good technical and administrative support

The applicants must be able to document teaching qualifications in the form of university-level teaching seminars, other teaching education or through having developed a teaching portfolio. Alternatively, after carrying out an assessment of the applicant’s practical teaching skills, the committee may determine that this may be regarded as of equal value to formal teaching qualifications. For further information about requirements for teaching qualifications, refer to the website about basic pedagogical competence for higher education.

The applicants must have a good command of Norwegian, Swedish or Danish; or must be willing to learn Norwegian within a reasonable period. Personal suitability for the work, including leadership capabilities and ability for collaborative work, will be considered. Emphasis shall be attached to personal suitability.

For permanent appointments, the minimum requirement for associate professor is a Norwegian doctorate degree or an equivalent qualification. To be awarded professorial competence, applicants must be able to document substantially more extensive research of high quality than that required to be awarded a doctoral degree. They must also document relevant teaching experience and responsibilities as main supervisor in PhD projects. The fundamental requirement is an academic level conforming to established international standards for a position of professor in the subject area in question. UiT follows guidelines set by the National Faculty Meeting of Sciences and National Council for Technological Education when assessing professorship qualifications.

Working conditions
For the positions Professor and Associate Professor, the following norm is used for working time: As a general principle, all employees in such positions are expected to use as much working time for teaching as for research and development, when time for other work tasks as been deducted. As a norm, all employees in scientific positions, whatever the category, are expected to reserve 5 % of their working time for administrative tasks.

Moreover, applicants shall refer to the Guidelines for distribution of working hours for employees in teaching and research positions.

The successful applicant must be willing to engage himself/herself in the ongoing development of his/her discipline and the university as a whole.

We offer:

• A start-up package with one doctoral and one postdoctoral position at the professor’s disposal
• R&D sabbatical conditions that are considered to be some of the best in the country, cf. Retningslinjer for fordeling av FoU-termin (Guidelines for allocation of R&D sabbatical, only in Norwegian)
• A good working environment
• Good welfare arrangements for employees
• Good arrangements for pension, insurance and loans in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund

The remuneration for Professor is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1013. The remuneration for Associate Professor is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1011.

A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted.

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 material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description drawn up for the position. The main emphasis will be placed on assessment of the submitted scientific work. Teaching qualifications, popularisation/dissemination, and policy and administration work will also be considered. Applicants must document experience in obtaining external research grants.

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

In the event that there are no suitably qualified applicants for the position, an interim appointment for a period of no more than three years may be made, cf. Section 5 no. 1 of the regulations appurtenant to the Civil Service Act and Section 6-5; subsection 1 of the Act relating to universities and university colleges. A permanent appointment shall be made upon application before the three-year period elapses based on a new assessment. The appointment will become permanent in the event that the applicant is found to be suitably qualified.

In the event of an interim appointment on the basis of lacking teaching qualifications, the applicant must document teaching qualifications through developing a teaching portfolio before the three-year period elapses. The appointment will become permanent in the event that the applicant is found to be suitably qualified.

UiT The Arctic University of Norway wishes to increase the proportion of females in senior research positions. In the event that two or more applicants are found to be approximately equally qualified, female applicants will be given priority.

Application
The application must be submitted electronically via the application form available on www.jobbnorge.no and shall include:

• letter of application
• CV (containing a complete overview of education, supervised professional training and professional work)
• diplomas and references
• form for documentation of teaching qualifications
• list of works and description of these (see below). The list of works shall contain 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: The applicant may submit up to ten works that are central to his/her production. The applicant’s doctoral thesis is regarded in this context as one work.
• vision statement (as described above)
• list of external funding
• In addition, the applicant shall provide a description of his/her production stating which works he/she considers the most important and which shall therefore be the main emphasis of the assessment. A brief description of the other listed works shall also be included to demonstrate depth of production. These descriptions shall be an attachment to the application.

All documentation that is to be evaluated must be certified and translated into English or a Scandinavian language.

More information can be found in Supplementary regulations concerning appointment and promotion to teaching and research positions at UiT. Information for applicants for positions at UiT.

Questions concerning the organisation of the working environment, such as the physical state of the place of employment, health service, possibility for flexible working hours, part time, etc. may be directed to the telephone reference in this announcement.

UiT The Arctic University of Norway has HR policy objectives that emphasize diversity, and encourages all qualified applicants to apply regardless of their age, gender, functional ability and national or ethnic background.

The university is an IW (Inclusive Workplace) enterprise, and will emphasize making the necessary adaptations to the working conditions for employees with reduced functional ability.

Personal data given in an application or CV will be processed in accordance with the Act relating to the processing of personal data (the Personal Data Act). In accordance with Section 25 subsection 2 of the Freedom of Information Act, the applicant may request not to be registered on the public list of applicants. However, the University may nevertheless decide that the name of the applicant will be made public. The applicant will receive advance notification in the event of such publication.

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