Postdoctoral Fellow position in integrated biodiversity data workflows

The NTNU University Museum and The Gjærevoll Center for Foresight Analysis of Biodiversity is looking for an energetic and ambitious ecologist with excellent skills in biodiversity informatics. The position is funded by the centre for environmentally friendly energy research, FME Interplay –  Integrated Hub for Energy System Analyses (INTERPLAY).

We offer a 3-year postdoctoral position that gives you the opportunity to develop a strong profile as a researcher. You will also gain valuable experience that might be relevant for your further career. The purpose of a postdoctoral position is to build up a researcher profile that qualifies for a position as associate professor. The position may also offer additional skills that are relevant to the postdoctoral fellow’s future career.
The positions will work within the biodiversity impacts research area of INTERPLAY and be part of a larger interdisciplinary group of recruitment positions at the Gjærevoll Center for Biodiveristy Foresight Analysis working to better understand biodiversity and how this is impacted by natural and anthropogenic drivers.
The successful candidate will work with the development and implementation of data integration workflows and models that will form the basis for a digital twin of Norwegian biodiversity. The work will be built upon open data and will utilize state-of-the art integrated models developed by members at the Gjærevoll Centre. These new developments seek to tackle the issue with spatial and temporal biases in biodiversity data. This will enable integration of information from opportunistically collected museum specimens and citizen science observations with structured surveys to enable cumulative biodiversity impact assessments of energy system infrastructure.

The candidate will conduct the work in collaboration with a highly interdisciplinary team. Stakeholder engagement and communication with user groups of the developed tools, both in other fields of research, private and public enterprises as well as the society at large is expected.
The position is based in Trondheim with Prof. Anders G. Finstad and is part of a collaboration between NTNU University Museum and The Gjærevoll Centre for Biodiversity Foresight Analyses.

• contribute to, and coordinate, the development of the digital twin of Norwegian Biodiversity
• take a role in the interdisciplinary collaboration within INTERPLAY, particularly regarding integration of energy system models and biodiversity impact assessments
• communication and involvement with various stakeholder groups to ensure relevance of research and end products
• carry out research of good quality and take the lead in writing relevant scientific articles and popular science dissemination
• participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions
• other career-promoting work may be relevant depending upon external funding

• professional relevant background in ecology or related fields of research
• strong quantitative background and documented experience in working with integrated species distribution models
• experience in data integration, biodiversity informatics and product development of digital workflows using relevant scripting languages (R and / or Python)
• you must have completed a relevant doctoral degree in ecology or similar subjects
• excellent oral and written presentation skills in English at a high academic level.
  non-Scandinavian citizens must document good oral and written presentation skills in
• Norwegian/Scandinavian equivalent level A2

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations for the Universities and Colleges Act (university and colleges regulations) and Regulations for the degrees philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) and philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) in artistic development work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for general criteria for the position.

If you are in the final phase of your doctorate and can document that the thesis has been submitted or that the defense date has been confirmed, your application can be considered even if you have not defended. NOTE: Documentation of the obtained doctorate must be presented before you can take up the position.
If you do not already have educational competence that meets the requirements for a position as associate professor in Norway, NTNU will arrange for you to acquire such competence during the employment period. In such cases, you will also be assigned relevant teaching as part of the career-promoting work.

PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”.

• Publications of relevant research in recognized international journals
• Experience from digital product development
• Experience from stakeholder engagement and popular scientific dissemination
• Experience in interdisciplinary research
• For non-Scandinavian citizens: documented communication skills in Norwegian equivalent to the B2 level defined by the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, or similar.

•    academic team player
•    analytical and structured
•    self-driven
•    engaged
•    good organizational skills

• work independently
• work structured, set goals and make plans to achieve them
• present and discuss your research with other professionals
• engage and contribute constructively with feedback
• work constructively under pressure or in the face of adversity
• show curiosity and a strong motivation for the subject
• analyze data, assess different perspectives and draw well-founded conclusions
• are flexible and open to adjusting the plan for the project as needed
• Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

• An exciting job with an important social mission
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Career guidance throughout the postdoctoral program and together with you we will prepare a career plan, which containsthe skills and knowledge you will acquire
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• Mentor programmeas a new employee at NTNU
• Favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population’s collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals.

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education.

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We have a number of measures to promote equality.

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK  594 500 per  annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 – 4 years, depending on whether there is a need to include Norwegian courses and/or courses within educational competence.(including career promotion work/ teaching duties)

The position is conditional on external funding.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important to keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and to adapt to them.

For the necessary professional and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in Scandinavian language or English.

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above

• The application must include:
  Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor’s-, Master’s- and PhD degrees. If you have not yet completed your PhD, you must provide confirmation on your estimated date for the doctoral dissertation, or confirmation that your PhD thesis has been submitted. Documentation of a completed doctoral degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• CV
• A copy of the doctoral thesis. If you are close to submitting, you can attach a draft of the thesis.
• Academic works – published or unpublished (up to 10 items)
• Selected popular scientific works (up to 10 items)
• Possible recommendation letters
• Documentation from language tests if applicable
• Name and contact information of three referees

If all or parts of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

If you have had leave or another break in your career, it is important that this is stated in your application so that the selection committee can take this into account and that the amount of your research may be reduced as a result.
In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal qualities. Motivation, ambitions and potential for research will also be emphasized in the assessment of the candidates.
NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and is committed to follow evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment DORA and the obligations in CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU’s social mission).

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

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Anders Gravbrøt Finstad )+47 90018546, anders.finstad@ntnu.no.

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Senior Advisor HR Aaste Line Strand, email: aaste.l.strand@ntnu.no.

If you find this position interesting, and in accordance 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: 12.03.2025