This is NTNU

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

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

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

About the job

The Postdoctoral Fellowship position is a temporary position where the main goal is to qualify for work in senior academic positions.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an important tool for sustainable decision-making. In recent decades, there has been progress in terms of the number, complexity and accuracy of impact categories covered; especially for those related to ecosystem quality.  However, there are still some gaps, especially on a midpoint level. The Postdoctoral position aims to develop midpoint models to quantify impacts within life cycle assessment (LCA) from food production, as well as improving land use models with remote sensing data and testing the developed models in case studies. 

The Industrial Ecology Programme (IndEcol) is a pioneer in the development and application of industrial ecology methods, as well as the use of large data sets and scientific computing in industrial ecology. We focus on understanding resource use and environmental pollution associated with human activities, assessing the environmental aspects of different technologies and modeling society’s use of materials. IndEcol combines world-class competence in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Input-Output analysis (I/O), and Material Flow Analysis (MFA) with scientists’ contribution to IPCC and IPBES assessment reports, the International Resource Panel, active participation to the Life-Cycle Initiative hosted by UN Environment, and numerous publications featured in high-ranked journals. IndEcol hosts its own International MSc programme and contributes to NTNU’s engineering education. The research team consisting of eight faculty members, the Industrial Ecology Digital Laboratory, and about 70 researchers, post.docs and PhD students. More information can be found at https://www.ntnu.edu/indecol 

Your immediate leader is Professor Francesca Verones. Dr. Martin Dorber is co-supervisor of the candidate.

Duties of the position

• Develop new and updated midpoint indicators related to terrestrial and freshwater ecosystem impacts
• Improving land use impact assessment models with remote sensing
• Contribute to an operational update of the LCIA method LC-IMPACT
• Test and apply the developed models in a case-study 
• Dissemination of results in scholarly journals, at international conferences and for the general public

Required selection criteria

• You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian PhD in industrial ecology, environmental science/engineering or similar. If you can document that the PhD thesis has been submitted, your application can be assessed even if you have not yet defended your dissertation. Documentation of the obtained doctoral degree must be presented before you can take up the position.
   
• Motivation to get proficient in Python and to learn basics of R/MatLab
• Interest in sustainability science and strong incentive to learn Industrial Ecology methods like LCA analysis
• Proven analytical and computational capabilities, in courses and or/thesis deliverables
• Excellent written and oral English communication skills, proven through publications and manuscripts

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Ph.D Candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate.

Preferred selection criteria

• Experience with life cycle impact assessment development
• Documented competence in using the Python scientific computing stack (Numpy, Pandas, Jupyter Notebooks) or of another programming language used for environmental data analysis 
• Knowledge of ecological concepts, preferably proven through completed courses in ecology 
• Experience with data visualization

Personal characteristics

• Self-motivated, enthusiastic, and dedicated
• Motivated to solve environmental problems and advance sustainability
• Ambitious and goal-oriented
• Team player

• Excellent communication skills

  Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer 

• exciting and stimulating 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 a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 615 700 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 years.

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.  

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding.

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

About the application 

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must be attached to the application. Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out 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. 

The application must include:

• CV and certificates 
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's-, master's- and PhD degrees. If you have not yet completed your Ph.D, you must provide confirmation on your estimated date for the doctoral dissertation, or that your PhD thesis has been submitted
• A copy of the doctoral thesis. If you are close to submitting, or have recently submitted your thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed doctoral degree must be presented before taking up the position
• Academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment 
• Candidates are required to submit a one-page sketch on how they plan to use their scientific background and research ambitions to address the research challenges of this position
• 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, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, 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. 

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA. 

General information 

Working at NTNU 

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. 

EPT has established EPT Women in Science. The group is focused on supporting female PhD Candidates, Postdoctoral Fellows, Research Assistants and permanent academic employees within the Department. This support aims to help develop the careers of female PhD Candidates, Postdocs and Research Assistants, and is also made visible to our student body to encourage them to consider an academic path. As part of the EPT Women in Science initiative we are building on our international network, inviting prominent female academics within and beyond the field of Engineering to speak at our events.  

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 at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted. 

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.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Prf.Dr. Francesca Verones, email Francesca.verones@ntnu.no . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Megan Norris, email megan.norris@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: 24.10.2024