Dear friends,

The unversty of Lapland advertises a 2 year postdoc in Arctic Indigenous studies. It would be great to get as many as possible good applications from good anthropologists. The candidate could then work together with our team here in Rovaniemi and thus increase the anthropological academic community at the Arctic Circle significantly!!! Currently we have already 8 people doing great work here, and if we get another postdoc on that position, that would be even greater. If we get a very strong candidate as an ally of our team and our blog, maybe we can get the person to work with us at the Arctic Centre in the same building (if the candidate wishes so). If not, the postdoc would be working at one of the faculties at the University.

I am not myself involved in the appointment of this position, but I can only encourage interested candidates to apply. Hopefully then the best candidate will be chosen and we have a great addition to the team!

Please don’t be scared by the official text of the job ad that you are encouraged to know Finnish and all that stuff. It is actually not a requirement, and fluent english is enough to qualify for the selection. However, of course if you know any northern language, that will be an advantage maybe.

Here is the link to the official job ad, and here below is the official job ad text.

If you want to discuss any details on how to make your application even stronger, you can write me an email.

Position of a post-doctoral researcher in Arctic indigenous peoples, for the period of 1.5.2016-28.2.2019
The University of Lapland’s research profile focuses on change in the Arctic and North-ern areas. Research on arctic indigenous peoples supports this profile. This research field is broadly defined so that indigenous peoples are approached from the structures and strategies of the peoples themselves, as well as from national and international perspectives. Some of the key research topics of the profiling area include the rights of arctic indigenous peoples, land use, culture, language and traditional ways of life. Re-search in this field offers a critical and multidisciplinary view into the lives of northern and arctic communities.
A position of a post-doctoral researcher in Arctic indigenous peoples for the period of 1.5.2016 – 28.2.2019
This position is a research and teaching position in accordance with the University’s fourtier structure of positions; the grounds for the temporary nature of the position are in the University’s structure of positions.
The position primarily focuses on post-doctoral research and the researcher’s career development.
The post-doctoral researcher’s position supports the university’s profiling measure Indigenous peoples in the Arctic. The successful applicant is expected to participate in supervising theses and teaching in the relevant field.
The qualification requirements are stipulated in the University’s rules of procedure (28 January 2013). The successful applicant is required to have a doctoral degree, the ability to conduct independent scientific work, and the necessary teaching skills required in the position. In the assessment of merits, emphasis is laid on demonstrable evidence of independent scientific work.
At the University of Lapland, the language of teaching and examination is Finnish. In addition, the University may decide to use another language as a language of teaching and examination and in study attainments (section 11 of the Universities Act 558/2009).
It is required of the holder of a teaching and research position to master the language of teaching in that particular position (government decree on universities 770/2009).
If a foreigner or a Finnish citizen who is non-native or who has not been educated in Finnish or Swedish applies for a teaching and research position, this person can be granted an exemption from the requirement concerning proficiency in Finnish and Swedish laid down in the decree.
A foreigner or a non-native Finnish citizen to be selected for a teaching and research position can, when necessary, be required to learn Finnish to a reasonable degree within a certain time.
In this position, the language of teaching can be Finnish, the Sámi languages spoken in Finland, and/or English.
Applicants are to attach to their applications the following:
– contact information (address, telephone number, e-mail address);
– a résumé or a CV, teaching merits can be presented along with the CV;
– certified copies of degree certificates;
– copies of certificates showing language skills if language skills are not specified in the degree certificate;
– a list of publications;
– an account of the applicant’s scientific and pedagogical activities, max. 2–3 pages; and
– a research and publication plan, max. 10 pages. The research plan is to explain the research topic, data, and methods. Emphasis is placed on the quality and innovativeness of the research plan, and the relevance of the research topic for the research of indigenous peoples in the Arctic.
The job-specific salary component of a post-doctoral researcher is defined according to the salary chart for teaching and research staff in the salary system for Finnish universities. According to the system, the job demands level of this position is 5–6 (monthly salary €2,865.30–3,340.77). In addition, a salary component based on personal performance is paid; the personal performance component will amount to at most 46.3% of the job-specific salary.
The placement unit of the position will be decided upon appointment.
Application
Applications are to be addressed to the University of Lapland and delivered by no later than 1 April 2016 at 1:00 pm (local Finnish time) to the following address: University of Lapland, PO Box 122 (Registry, Yliopistonkatu 8), FI-96101 Rovaniemi, Finland. Application documents will not be returned.
An internal preparation group will discuss the application documents and submit a proposal to the Rector about the appointee and placement unit.
For more information, please contact: Vice-Rector responsible for Administration Jukka Mäkelä, tel. +358(0)407048490; and Director of Administration Markus Aarto, e-mail firstname.surname(at)ulapland.fi