Professor (full tenure) in animal ecology

Faculty of Forest Sciences

Department of wildlife, fish, and environmental studies

The Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies offers a creative and stimulating working environment with about 100 employees, and conducts internationally recognized research, education and environmental monitoring in the following subject areas: restoration ecology, aquatic ecology, molecular ecology and animal ecology. The department has a large proportion of international employees, as well as well-established national and international collaborations with opportunities for rewarding exchanges.

Read more about the department at https://www.slu.se/en/departments/wildlife-fish-environmental-studies/

This position is partially financed for five years by Önnersjöstiftelsen (https://www.onnesjostiftelsen.se/)

Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work at SLU at https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/work-at-slu/.

Subject area

The subject of the position is animal ecology with a focus on plant-animal interactions in temperate and boreal forest ecosystems in the application areas forestry, wildlife management and forest damage. The subject develops the knowledge base about animal ecology and their interactions with humans, landscapes and climate.

Duties

The employee is responsible for developing research in the subject area animal ecology, both in general and specifically within the focus area, together with researchers within the faculty and other parts of SLU. The employee shall also contribute to the pedagogic development in the subject area. This means that the employee shall:

• act in accordance with the vision, goals and values of SLU
• contribute to the strategic development of the department and the faculty
• develop and lead an internationally successful environment for research
• integrate animal ecology research in the application areas forestry, wildlife management and forest damage
• publish scientific articles in international journals with peer-review
• apply for external funding in competition at national and international level
• supervise doctoral students and mentor postdoctoral researchers
• lead, develop and participate in teaching and supervision of students at first, second and third cycle level
• collaborate with researchers within the department, faculty and other parts of SLU, as well as nationally and internationally
• collaborate and develop regional, national and international networks with the society at large
• disseminate research findings
• fulfil administrative tasks within the department, the faculty and the university

Swedish and English are used in parallel at the department. The professor should be able to perform most of their tasks in English. However, as a public authority, the university has Swedish as its main language according to the requirements of the Language Act. Non-Swedish-speaking staff members are expected to, within four years of first being employed, have sufficient knowledge of Swedish to understand information in Swedish. The department will support the holder of the position to achieve this.

Qualifications

The applicant must:

• have completed a doctoral degree in a subject area relevant for the position or have equivalent scientific competence
• be scientifically skilled within the subject area for this position
• be pedagogically skilled
• have demonstrated leadership skills
• have good knowledge of English

Assessment Criteria

The assessment criteria for employment shall primarily apply to the degree of such skill, which is a requirement for eligibility for employment.

The assessment of scientific skills will consider:

• completed research activities and ongoing research within the subject's focus area (plant-animal interactions in temperate and boreal forest ecosystems)
• ability to integrate animal ecology research in application areas forestry wildlife management and forest damage
• expertise in wildlife management and forest damage
• future research vision within the subject area
• ability to independently initiate, lead and develop innovative research within the subject area
• ability to attract external funding in competition
• ability to supervise and examine at doctoral level and mentor postdoctoral researchers

The assessment of pedagogic skills will consider the ability to:

• plan, conduct and evaluate their own teaching at basic and advanced levels, including doctoral level
• supervise and examine undergraduate, master level and graduate students
• convey and implement their pedagogical vision
• integrate up-to-date research and scientific approaches into teaching

The assessment will also consider:

• ability to develop and manage academic units and staff
• personal view of leadership
• ability to communicate and collaborate,
• ability to collaborate with external stakeholders and society at large
• dissemination of information on research and development projects

The position will be offered to the candidate who, after a qualitative overall assessment, is assessed to be most suitable to carry out and develop the above-mentioned duties and to contribute to the positive development of the organization.

Working at SLU:

This position offers the vibrant research climate at SLU. The benefits of the position include Swedish family health care provisions, parenting support including generous paid leave of absence policies that allow both parents to care for newborns and toddlers. Additionally, Sweden has a well-established pre-school structure as well as an educational system that provides no-cost education through university studies. Find out more facts and stories about Sweden at http://www.sweden.se.

Application deadline:

2026-10-01

Place of work:

Umeå

Scope:

100%

Form of employment:

Indefinite-term employment

Starting date:

By agreement

Application:

For the guidance of your application, there is SLU's appointment procedure for teachers at SLU and General assessment criteria for the appointment of teachers, which you can https://internt.slu.se/en/support-services/administrative-support/human-resources/rekrytering-till_alla_ovriga_anstallningar/appointment-procedures-for-slu/.

Please apply by clicking the apply-button below.

Academic union representatives:

https://internt.slu.se/en/my-employment/employee-associations/kontaktpersoner-vid-rekrytering/