Associate Professor in Political Behaviour

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus on professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 42,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

The Onsager Fellowship Programme

The NTNU Onsager fellowship programme – 16 tenure-track positions

The Onsager Fellowship programme at NTNU is designed to attract talented early-career scholars with documented excellent supervised work, ready to work independently and with the potential to become a research leader.

The tenure-track associate professor’s duties will primarily include research, but also include supervision, teaching and other duties necessary to qualify for a permanent professor position within 6-7 years.

In the NTNU tenure-track programme, associate professors are subject to two types of review during the tenure-track period:

• a mid-career assessment after 3-4 years
• a final tenure assessment at the end of the tenure track period.

If the final tenure assessment” is positive, she/he will be employed as full professor in a permanent position.

The overall purpose of the review system is to ensure and maintain the high academic standards of the university’s senior faculty staff. To help meet these standards, the associate professor is offered an international mentor and favourable terms.

About the position

The Department of Sociology and Political Science is seeking a highly qualified and motivated candidate for an associate professor position in political behaviour. The position is part of NTNU's strategic focus on young, ambitious and excellent researchers (the “Onsager fellowships”). After six years, it is expected that the candidate will obtain full professor qualifications and offered permanent employment.

The position is central in the Department’s strategy for an increased emphasis on international high-quality studies in political behaviour. Applicants with an interest in research on the politics of immigration are encouraged to apply. We are interested in candidates that can demonstrate strong skills in quantitative methods, in particular methods for causal inference. Experience in analyses of different types of data is an advantage. The candidate must have experience in team-work and is expected to be working with broad research topics and methods within the field of political behaviour.

The successful applicants are expected to build up their own independent groups and interact with other groups in their department as well as internationally. We expect that the candidate will be able to secure substantial additional funding (such as ERC starting grants or similar).

The position will include a start-up package, mentorship and support for applying for additional funds. For the tenure-track position we can offer:

• A position with duties primarily related to research (approximately 70%) as well as some teaching/administration obligations (approximately 30%)
• A start-up package, including a yearly research fund of NOK 200,000 for the first four years.
• Two PhD positions to build up a research group (one PhD when starting the position and one PhD after approximately 3-4 years).
• Help with immigration and home finding, if relevant.

The Department of Sociology and Political Science has a wide range of research areas and study programs. The Department currently has around 125 employees, including 35 professors and 15 associate professors in permanent positions. The team that works on political behaviour and related subfields has through several decades contributed internationally and nationally to research on elections, public opinion, election campaigns, value change, and political communication. For more information about the department, please see http://www.ntnu.edu/iss.

In addition to what is listed as qualifications for the Onsager Fellows (see below), it is expected that the successful candidate during the tenure period:

• Develops and submits one or more competitive project applications to the European Research Council.
• Develops and submits project applications to the Research Council of Norway and similar funding sources.
• Develops an active research group at the department that contributes to relevant leading international networks.
• Teaches at the Department of Sociology and Political Science.
• Participates in public outreach activities.

Your immediate leader is Head of Department of the Department of Sociology and Political Science.

Duties of the position

• Specific responsibility for research and teaching in Political Science, and the field of political behaviour.
• Participation in teaching activities in accordance with the Department's study portfolio.
• Contributing to further development of research in political science, the study programs and teaching practice in political science.
• Contributing to the Departments work on Continuing Education and Professional Development.
• Carry out research within his/her professional field and special research interests.
• Examination work.
• Responsibility for administrative tasks.
• Shared responsibility with other academic staff in the Department for academic matters.
• Supervision of bachelor, master and doctoral candidates within his/her discipline.
• Responsibility for dissemination of research findings.
• Representing his/her own field of study and the Department’s discipline at the local, national, and international level.
• Contributing to development of the Department’s discipline-strategic work.

Required qualifications 

The Onsager Fellows programme is designed to attract talented early-career scholars, with documented excellent supervised work, with ambitious research plans to work independently and with the potential for scientific breakthrough. 

The successful candidate must have a strong academic record, an active research programme, an academic standing that demonstrates an internationally competitive research profile, and internationally recognized potential to make a future impact. Moreover, the ideal applicant should have an exceptional publication record with significant first/senior authorships. Applicants must also have spent significant time in research institutions outside Norway.

• Applicants must hold a PhD and will primarily be evaluated on the basis of their documented international scholarly achievements.
• Applicants must document scientific excellence in research and through peer-reviewed publications during and after completed PhD.
• Relevance of research area in relation to the Department of Sociology and Political Science’s research strategy. We emphasize the importance of the applicant’s future research potential, and whether this is in accordance with the strategic goals of the Department. Importance is attached to originality and quality in scientific publication during the last five years (excluding law entitled leave)
• You must have the qualifications required for the position of associate professor in the field of Political Science, as outlined in the regulations concerning appointment and promotion to teaching and research posts
• Your Ph.D., or comparable academic work, must be within the field of Political Science (or a comparable relevant field, such as Economics and Sociology). The PhD should normally have been awarded no more than 5 years prior to the application deadline, excluding law entitled leave.
• You must be able to teach in Departments' study programmes in Political Science and contribute to other teaching tasks, where relevant.
• You must document progression in research and publication, and present future research and publication plans. You should also show ability and willingness to contribute to the long-term development of research at the Department. Furthermore, we emphasize your ability to tie your plans and interests to the research areas where the Department has ongoing activity and development potential.
• Excellent skills in written and spoken English are required.
• Pedagogical qualifications will be emphasized.

You must document relevant basic competence in teaching and supervision at a university/higher education-level, as referenced in the Norwegian national Regulations. If this cannot be documented, you will be required to complete an approved course in university pedagogy within two years of commencement. NTNU offers qualifying courses. 

New employees who do not speak a Scandinavian language by appointment is required, within three years, to demonstrate skills in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language equivalent to level three of the course for Norwegian for speakers of other languages at the Department of Language and Literature at NTNU.  

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with teaching and supervision is an advantage.
• Experience with project applications is an advantage.

Personal qualities

Personal and interpersonal skills such as independence, a solution-orientated, cooperative, creative approach, and motivation in contributing to a good working and social environment, will be emphasized.

We offer 

• a start-up package, including a yearly research fund of NOK 200,000 for the first four years.
• two PhD positions to build up a research group (one PhD when starting the position and one PhD after approximately 3-4 years).
• exciting and challenging tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Salary and conditions

As an Associate Professor (code 1011) you are normally paid from gross 636 700,- NOK per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. As required by law, 2% of this salary will be deducted and paid into the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU.    

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis. 

Application Process

You can find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

About the application

Your application and supporting documentation must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

Your application must include:

• CV, diplomas, and certificates
• A teaching portfolio, in which your teaching competence is compiled and presented systematically,   (See guidelines for applicants: Documentation of teaching qualifications in applications and appointments to academic positions at NTNU)
• Academic works – published or unpublished – that you wish to be considered during assessment of your application (up to 5 items)
• A list of your previous works, with details on where they have been published
• A future research plan, especially with a focus on developing a profile as an internationally recognized researcher (max 3 pages)
• Details of projects for which you have served as project manager, including information on financing, duration, and scope
• Names and contact information for three relevant referees

Joint work will also be considered. If it is difficult to identify your specific input to a joint project, you must include evidence of your contributions.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on research output and plans, education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. Our assessment of the pedagogical skills will be based on documented pedagogical material, forms of presentation in your academic works, teaching experience, Ph.D., and Masters supervision, and any other relevant pedagogical background. Both quality and scope will be taken into consideration.

NTNU is obliged by the evaluation criteria for research quality in accordance with The San Fransisco Declaration on Research Assessment – DORA. This means that we will pay particular attention to the quality and academic range demonstrated by your scientific work to date. We will also pay attention to research leadership and participation in research projects. Your scientific work from the last five years will be given the most weight.

Your application will be considered by an expert committee. Candidates of interest will be invited to an interview, and to deliver a trial teaching session. The top candidates will be invited for a campus visit.

General information

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is a strength. We want our faculty and staff to reflect Norway’s culturally diverse population and we continuously seek to hire the best minds. This enables NTNU to increase productivity and innovation, improve decision-making processes, raise employee satisfaction, compete academically with global top-ranking institutions, and carry out our social responsibilities within education and research. NTNU emphasizes accessibility and encourages qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender identity, ability status, periods of unemployment or ethnic and cultural background.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality.

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must continually maintain and improve your professional development and be flexible regarding any organizational changes.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

For the sake of transparency, candidates will be given the expert evaluation of their own and other candidates. As an applicant you are considered part of the process and is stipulated to rules of confidentiality.

If you have any questions regarding the position, please contact professor Henning Finseraas, e-mail henning.finseraas@ntnu.no.

If you have questions regarding the recruitment process, please contact Renate Lillian Johansen, e-mail renate.johansen@ntnu.no

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation. 

Application deadline: 01.02.2023