Full Professorship in Social Anthropology with a Focus on Business Anthropology and Life-Enhancing Design

The Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, invites applications for a permanent position as Professor in Social Anthropology with a specific focus on business anthropology and life-enhancing design. The position is available from January 1st, 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter. The professorship is offered within the broad discipline of social anthropology, with a focus on the subfield of business anthropology and life-enhancing design, innovation and societal impact.

The Department of Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen is one of Europe's largest anthropological research institutions, with a research and teaching staff of about 30, approximately 450 students at the BSc and MSc levels and approximately 20 PhD students. In addition to the BA and MSc in Anthropology, the Department also contributes to two cross-disciplinary MSc programs in Global Development and Global Health.

The Department of Anthropology has a strong international research profile and a vibrant and dynamic research and teaching environment. The University has a 2030 strategy, just as the department has a strategy (2023-2028), and the new Professor is expected to contribute actively to these, with a particular responsibility for further development of the Department’s research, teaching, and outreach activities in the field of business anthropology, in collaboration with Department colleagues. Business and organisation is a major research field of the Department, with a dedicated researcher group (Organisation and Economy), and the appointment is intended to further strengthen and develop this area strategically.

Candidates will be assessed according to the below list of qualifications and the University of Copenhagen’s five overall criteria for professor appointments: 5c_Criteria_for_recognising_merit_-professors.pdf

Your Competencies and Opportunities
To be assessed as qualified for a professor position at the University of Copenhagen, the candidate must meet the University’s criteria of academic merit: Criteria for recognising merit – University of Copenhagen

General criteria apply to the appointment of professors at the University of Copenhagen. The criteria (research, teaching, Innovation & societal impact, organisational contribution and leadership) are considered as a framework for an overall assessment of the applicant. In addition, each applicant will be assessed according to the specific requirements listed in this advertisement.

Applicants are encouraged to read the University of Copenhagen's Guidance on the merit criterion Innovation and Societal Impact here: Guidance_on_the_merit_criterion_Innovation_and_Societal_Impact_for_applicants_and_assessors.pdf

Qualifications 

The following qualifications are required: 

• Substantial academic production at an international level within the field of social anthropology, including significant research in business anthropology and life-enhancing design,
• Extensive teaching and supervision experience at different levels and experience with course/study program management, particularly in business anthropology and life-enhancing design,
• Solid experience with ethnographic fieldwork, drawing on a variety of research methods and forms of analysis,
• Documented experience with academic management and leadership,
• A proven record of nurturing younger scholars,
• Knowledge sharing with society at large and engagement in cooperation with external partners such as civil society, public or private institutions, or private companies,
• Proven record of attracting and successfully managing externally funded research projects as PI,
• Commitment to collegiality and collaboration at the Department and a strong record of international collaboration.

Job description 
General duties include: 

• Research in the field of Social Anthropology, with a specific focus on business anthropology and life-enhancing design,
• Teaching, supervision, and examination at all academic levels; Bachelor’s (taught in Danish), Master’s (taught in English and Danish) and PhD,
• Administrative and leadership tasks,
• Knowledge sharing with society and societal impact through engagement,
• Research and teaching management,
• Raising funds for research.

With the new Department Strategy for 2023-2026, the Department of Anthropology aims to: 1) Engage in original and cutting-edge anthropological research that pushes the boundaries of existing knowledge in order to contribute to societal change; 2) Consolidate our position as a world-leading center of research-based anthropological education providing students with robust, societally-relevant knowledge, competences, and skills; 3) Be agenda-setting and increase our impact in terms of addressing key societal challenges, and; 4) Be a department with a thriving working environment grounded in our core values.

We expect the candidate to engage actively in the fulfilment of these strategic objectives and associated activities, including to promote employability and the healthy work life of our candidates and to attract external funding for research. We therefore expect the candidate to initiate and lead grant application activities.

Strategy of the Faculty of the Social Sciences
The Faculty of Social Sciences strives to put knowledge into action by:

• Engaging partners in the co-creation of knowledge, learning and social change,
• Empowering students to become reflective and responsible citizens who have the vision, the knowledge and the competences to change society for the better,
• Energizing global, European and Danish communities of knowledge by innovating research methodologies and by research findings with impact

For more on the Faculty strategy, see: Strategy for the Faculty of Social Science – University of Copenhagen. You can read the Department’s strategy here: Department Strategy and Action Tracks 2023-2028 - Department of Anthropology (ku.dk)

Terms of employment

• Employment with the Faculty of Social Sciences and progression within employment will be determined only by personal merit. We do this by applying academic criteria of the University of Copenhagen which are related to the duties and conditions of each particular post and the needs of the Department concerned.
• The position is permanent, and therefore the appointed professor must have or acquire the proficiency in Danish required to teach and interact with colleagues in that language in 3-6 years. The Department will provide and pay for the necessary language training
• Further information on qualification requirements as professor can be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities 2026 here: Bekendtgørelse om stillingsstruktur for videnskabeligt personale ved universiteter (in Danish only).
• Terms of appointment and salary is in accordance with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (Akademikerne).

Salary and conditions of employment will be in accordance with the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The monthly salary is currently DKK 59.593,09 plus an 18.07% contribution to the pension scheme. Annual negotiation regarding additional supplements is possible. A special tax scheme is offered to researchers recruited from abroad, see Tax – University of Copenhagen

The recruitment process
Further information on the recruitment process at the University of Copenhagen can be found here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

An Equal Opportunity Workplace
The University of Copenhagen is committed to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, see https://employment.ku.dk/working-at-ucph/eu-charter-for-researchers/

Contact information
Additional information about the position can be obtained from the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Professor Mads Meier Jæger (mads.jaeger@samf.ku.dk) or Professor Ayo Wahlberg (ayo.wahlberg@anthro.ku.dk).

For practical questions regarding the recruitment process, kindly contact HR, e-mail: hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk, please refer to ID number: 211-0358/26-2K
 

How to apply 
Submit a complete application at our online portal. Click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of the page to apply.

Applications must be in English and include the following documents:

1. Motivated application (2 pages maximum),
2. CV, including a record of research, research management, and international research cooperation,
3. Certificates and diplomas,
4. A complete and numbered list of publications. The publications (maximum 10) that the applicant asks the assessment committee to consider should be marked with * on the list,
5. Teaching portfolio in accordance with University of Copenhagen guidelines: Job application portfolio
6. Documentation of societal impact engagement and the ability to disseminate research and share knowledge with society at large,
7. A vision for development of the Department’s research and teaching in the field of business anthropology, including a personal five-year research and teaching plan and a plan for fund raising.
8. A vision for a thriving working environment at the department.

If publications marked by * are the result of a joint effort, the nature of the applicant’s contribution to each individual work must be clarified in the application. If possible, a declaration from the co-authors or the head of the institution at which the work was completed should be enclosed.  

The closing date for applications is 15 September 2026 at 23.59 CEST. Applications or enclosures received thereafter will not be considered.