162153 Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Origin of Life Research

The University of Copenhagen seeks to appoint a tenure track assistant professor to commence 1 June 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Job description
The Globe Institute invites applications for a tenure track assistant professorship in Origin of Life research at the Centre for Star and Planet Formation.

The Centre for Star and Planet Formation is a multidisciplinary research centre focused on understanding the formation of planetary systems, including the Solar System, using a multidisciplinary approach that combines astronomy, astrophysics and cosmochemistry. Globe Institute is a recently established department at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. Globe aims for interdisciplinary research, teaching and outreach and therefore has a strong focus on developing transformative science across our planet’s history.

The successful candidate is expected to lead original scientific research into addressing fundamental questions in the origin of life and/or the connection between the metabolism of a young biosphere and the early planetary conditions. It is an important requirement that the candidate’s research profile complements our existing research groups at StarPlan who focus on understanding planet formation, planetary composition, and the volatile budgets of rocky planets. We further expect candidates to have a strong interest in multidisciplinary approaches to the origin of life that span several disciplines at StarPlan and/or Globe Institute (such as biology, chemistry, geology, geochemistry, cosmochemistry and planetary astrophysics). A start-up package will be provided. The candidate will be supported in actively applying to secure external funding to building and expanding the research group. Potential to successfully apply for external funding is an important assessment criterion.

The tenure track assistant professor’s responsibilities will primarily consist of:

• research, including publication/academic dissemination
• research-based teaching
• sharing knowledge with society
• participation in formal pedagogical training programme for assistant professors

The tenure track assistant professor’s performance will be evaluated through annual evaluations. Furthermore, the tenure track assistant professor will be evaluated in a mid-track appraisal.

After no more than six years of employment and on condition of a positive final appraisal, the tenure track assistant professor will be employed as associate professor. Read more about tenure track at the University of Copenhagen here: https://employment.ku.dk/tenure-track/tenure-track-at-ucph/

Required qualifications
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. Find information about each criterion here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/criteria-for-recognising-merit.

Furthermore, each applicant must be able to document:

• A PhD degree or similar qualifications within the subject area
• Research experience within the field of the position

The tenure track assistant professor must have an academic standing showing internationally competitive research, and/or have internationally recognized high potential to make a future impact.

The assistant professor is also required to possess good interpersonal and communicative skills.

Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Section for Star and Planet Formation, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen K.

About Globe Institute
The Globe Institute is part of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. The Institute’s main purpose is to address basic scientific questions through interdisciplinary approaches. The institute operates at the intersection of natural and medical sciences and the humanities. Information on the institute can be found at: https://www.globe.ku.dk/.

The Globe Institute is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse environment where employees and students can belong and thrive. See website for more information. All qualified applicants will receive full consideration. Candidates who, through their research, teaching, and/or service, contribute to diversity and competencies of our Institute are encouraged to apply. The University of Copenhagen strives to offer a family friendly and flexible working environment with a sustainable balance between work- and private life, including parental leave schemes (up to 47 weeks for both parents) and up to six weeks of paid holidays per year. Researchers that have not been tax liable in Denmark for the last 10 years can apply for a special (reduced) tax scheme. The university offers a variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families.

Terms of employment
The position is permanent and the average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

Salary and other terms and conditions of appointment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations) or other relevant professional organisations.

The position is covered by the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2020.

Questions
For further information, please contact Head of Department Professor Anders Johannes Hansen (ajh@sund.ku.dk) or Professor Anders Johansen (anders.johansen@sund.ku.dk).

Foreign applicants may find the following links useful: https://www.ism.ku.dk/ (International Staff Mobility).

Application
The application must be submitted in English, and must include the following documents:

• Application, including motivation for applying for this position (Maximum 2 pages)
• Curriculum vitae, including information about external funding
• Diplomas (Master’s, PhD and other relevant diplomas)
• A complete list of publications
• Research plan (2-4 pages)
• Teaching plan
• Uploads of maximum 5 publications to be considered in the assessment
• Teaching portfolio, if applicable (Guidelines: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/job-application-portfolio/)

Please note:  It is mandatory to upload a teaching plan in the online application form. Should you not have a teaching plan, please upload a blank document in this box instead.

Application procedure
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the Appointments Committee.  All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment. The Dean then appoints an expert assessment committee in order to make an assessment of the selected applicants for the specific post. Selected applicants are notified of the composition of the committee and each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself. You can read about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.

Please note that the applicant will be contacted if the assessment committee requires further documentation.

The application will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

The University of Copenhagen encourages all interested in this post to apply.

Please submit the application with the required attachments. Only online applications will be accepted.

The closing date for applications is 15 January 2025 at 23.59 p.m. CET.