The University of Helsinki is the largest university in Finland, which seeks solutions for global challenges and creates new ways of thinking for the best of humanity. We are one of the best multidisciplinary universities in the world and our community of about 8 000 employees offers wide ranging career development opportunities in teaching and research as well as in specialist and other support positions.
www.helsinki.fi/en

The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry is located on the Viikki campus. The mission of the faculty is to promote the sustainable use of renewable natural resources through scientific research and research-based teaching. We focus on agricultural and forest sciences, food and nutrition, microbiology, as well as on economics and management. We cover the full natural resource chain from farm to fork, the entire field of forest sciences from soil chemistry to marketing, as well as the environmental effects of related activities. Graduates from the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry are versatile experts in biosciences and business, able to meet the needs of both the business sector and society at large. www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-of-agriculture-and-forestry
www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-of-agriculture-and-forestry

The Department of Agricultural Sciences is one of the units of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. The department conducts internationally recognized research, related to agricultural sciences and the bio-economy, and provides the highest-level education based on the research. The aim is to carry out research and teaching on plant production in agriculture and horticulture, animal production, and technologies and environmental effects pertaining to them, as well as to yield societal impact through research. The main research fields of the department are agrotechnology, animal science, plant production sciences, and soil and environmental science. Plant pathology belongs to the field of plant production sciences, and the successful candidate is expected to show at least basic familiarity with crop production systems. The number of Department’s personnel is about 100 and the department provides BSc and MSc study programs. The Department is active in society, and has strong collaboration with companies, government agencies, research institutes and other Universities, nationally and internationally.
www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-of-agriculture-and-forestry/research/agricult...

The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry invites applications for the position of

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR / ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR / PROFESSOR IN PLANT PATHOLOGY

from 1.8.2022 onwards or as agreed. The position may be filled as a tenure track assistant professor, tenure track associate professor or full professor depending on the candidate’s merits and career stage.

The tenure track assistant / associate professor or full professor will teach and conduct research in plant pathology in collaboration with the microbiology and forest pathology researchers of the Faculty and other actors in the field. Knowledge of the agriculture and food chain in the northern region is considered an advantage. The appointee is expected to carry out high-quality research especially on agriculturally important plant diseases in one or several of the following research fields:

• virulence mechanisms of pathogens and defense mechanisms of host plants
• epidemiology of plant diseases
• identification and diagnostics of plant diseases
• plant disease control using ecologically sustainable methods
• effects of environmental, cultivation and storage conditions on plant diseases

The tenure track assistant / associate professor or full professor will teach plant pathology in the Bachelor’s and Master’s programs in agricultural sciences and depending on the appointee’s competence profile, will participate in teaching in the Master’s program in microbiology and microbial biotechnology (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/admissions-and-education/apply-bachelors-and-...). The appointee will also teach in related doctoral programs.

REQUIREMENTS

An appointee to the position of assistant professor or associate professor in the tenure track system shall have

• a doctoral degree
• the ability to conduct independent scholarly work
• the teaching skills required for the position
• the ability and motivation to pursue an academic career, as demonstrated by publications and other means

An appointee to the position of professor shall have

• a doctoral degree
• high-level academic qualifications
• experience in leading scientific research
• the ability to provide research-based teaching and supervise dissertations and theses
• evidence of international cooperation in the research field they represent
• academic leadership skills

When considering the candidates’ qualifications, attention shall be given to scientific and teaching merits. In addition, the candidates’ leadership and interaction skills, as well as activity in the scientific community and public engagement shall also be taken into account.

Scientific merits include

• scientific publications and other research results of academic value
• success in obtaining external research funding
• international research experience
• international elected positions

Teaching merits include

• teaching experience
• pedagogical training
• the ability to produce learning material
• other teaching merits
• a teaching demonstration (if necessary)
• participation in doctoral education

To successfully attend to the duties of the position, the appointee must have good English skills.

According to the Government Decree on Universities, professors and associate/assistant professors must be proficient in Finnish. They must also have at least satisfactory spoken and written skills in Swedish. Foreign citizens, non-native Finnish citizens or citizens who have not been educated in Finnish or Swedish may be exempted from this requirement without a separate application. If the appointee is not proficient in Finnish or Swedish, she/he is required to acquire an adequate level of proficiency in Finnish within a reasonable period of time. The university will support the appointee in acquiring the necessary Finnish language skills.

WHAT WE OFFER

We offer an interesting opportunity to work in a diverse research environment. At the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry you will carry out research-based teaching at the highest level in the field in Finland and have the opportunity to take part in internationally valued, first-class research activities. The position is also an opportunity to develop your own professional skills in a multidisciplinary work community of the faculty. Your work will be supported by the research and teaching staff of the department and the faculty as well as the administrative and technical staff at Viikki campus.

The professor’s salary will be based on levels 8−10 and the assistant/associate professor’s on level 7 of the job requirement scheme for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal work performance. The professor’s gross annual salary varies between 70 000 and 96 000 euros and the assistant/associate professor’s between 55 000 and 72000 euros, depending on the appointee’s qualifications and experience.

Furthermore, the university takes care of your well-being by flexible work arrangements, comprehensive occupational health care and wide-ranging, low-cost UniSport services. Professional development is supported in different ways, i.e. by offering versatile staff training, mentoring etc.

HOW TO APPLY

Applicants are requested to enclose with their applications a SINGLE PDF file that includes the following documents in English:

1. CV
2. A report on pedagogical expertise (max. 5 pages) (please follow the guidelines for the description of teaching qualifications https://www.helsinki.fi/assets/drupal/2022-01/Description%20of%20teachin...
3. A numbered list of publications
4. A report on the applicant’s research activities (including activities in scientific communities, the acquisition of research funding and international scholarly work) (max. 5 pages)
5. A short cover letter and report on how the applicant intends to develop his or her research and focus his or her activities, if appointed (max. 2 pages)

For more detailed instructions, please see
https://www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-agriculture-and-forestry/about-us/wor...

Applications with the above attachments must be submitted in a single PDF file, which is named:
plantpathology_lastname_firstname. Other attachments are not required.

The Faculty may request shortlisted applicants to submit 10 publications of their choice to be sent to the assessors via the electronic recruitment system after the application deadline. In the case of shortlisted applicants, aptitude evaluation may be used as part of the recruitment process.

Applications must be submitted through the University’s electronic recruitment system by clicking on the link below. Current employees of the University of Helsinki must submit their applications through SAP Fiori at https://msap.sap.helsinki.fi

The deadline for applications is 28.2.2022

Further information can be obtained from the Director of the Department, Professor Pekka Uimari, pekka.uimari@helsinki.fi, +358 294158383

Further information on the recruitment process may be obtained from HR Specialist Mirkka Juntunen, mirkka.juntunen@helsinki.fi

For more information on the tenure track model, career path and general assessment criteria for different stages at the University of Helsinki, please see https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/academic-careers/tenure-track

More about working at the University of Helsinki
https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers

10 reasons to work in Helsinki
https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/why-helsinki

Due date

28.02.2022 23:59 EET