Postdoctor in Integrative Environmental Monitoring

The University of Gothenburg tackles society’s challenges with diverse knowledge. 56 000 students and 6 600 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract researchers and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.

At the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences (BioEnv) we have teaching and research activities that stretch from the alpine ecosystem, through forests, cultivated land and streams, all the way into the marine environment. In these environments we study different levels of biological organisation from genes, individuals and populations, to communities and ecosystems. We work within ecology, evolution, physiology, systematics and combinations of these fields in order to understand the impact of natural and anthropogenic changes of the environment.

The department is placed at two different localities: in Natrium at Medicinaregatan 7B in Gothenburg and at the Kristineberg marine research station operated by the Marine Infrastructure at the University of Gothenburg. The current position is placed at Natrium.

We offer
The University of Gothenburg is a state authority, which means special benefits, more holidays and a great pension. You can read more about our employment benefits here.

Subject area

The subject area of the position is environmental sciences. 

Subject area description 

The fellowship is funded by the Swedish environmental protection agency as a part of the project “Developing assessment tools and criteria for integrative chemical and biological effect monitoring”. The aim is to develop new strategies for integration of monitoring data and to establish assessment criteria for biological effect parameters.

Swedish coastal monitoring has focused on both chemical analysis and analysis of effects of chemicals on biological systems using biological effect markers. While these two approaches have been running in parallel for decades, very few sampling sites overlap and there have been few attempts at integrating the monitoring data. The Swedish coastal effect monitoring and the contaminants monitoring programs have accumulated a large amount of data that can be used to test novel methods for data integration and generation of assessment criteria. This, with the addition of novel biological effects markers like assessment of meiofauna biodiversity, will be a cornerstone in the work to outline new strategies for future environment risk assessments. Risk assessments that are necessary to evaluate coastal marine areas for good environmental status (GES). This work will be of great value for Swedish monitoring but also for harmonizing monitoring activities within the EU and marine strategy framework directive (MSFD). The main aim of this project is to use available data, and new data from case studies, to develop integration strategies for chemical and biological effect monitoring and the assessment criteria’s necessary to evaluate the integrated monitoring data. 

Duties
The project will be conducted in close collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team of scientists with a background in environmental monitoring and research with a focus on contaminants and biological effect of contaminants at the Swedish Museum of Natural History and at the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences (BIOENV), University of Gothenburg (Dr. Anne L. Soerensen and Prof Joachim Sturve). The candidate will be responsible for compiling and merging existing chemical and biological effects data from monitoring and research projects with a focus on Sweden and the Baltic Sea. The candidate will then use this database to investigate strategies for integration of monitoring methodologies and help establish relevant assessment criteria.

In addition to research, the position also includes 20% teaching in the ecotoxicological master program. The successful candidate will be involved in courses primarily covering chemical risk assessment and biostatistics.

Eligibility

The eligibility criteria for employing teaching staff are set out in Chapter 4 of the Higher Education Ordinance and in the Appointment Procedure for Teaching Posts at the University of Gothenburg.

To be eligible for appointment as a postdoc, the applicant is required to have a doctoral degree, a doctoral degree in art or a foreign degree that is deemed to be equivalent to a doctoral degree. This eligibility requirement must be met before the employment decision is made. 

In the first instance, those who have completed their degree no more than three years prior to the end of the application period shall be considered. Those who have completed their degree more than three years prior to the end of the application period may also be considered in the first instance if special grounds exist. Special grounds relate to leave of absence due to illness, parental leave, commissions of trust within trade union, service within the military services or other similar circumstances, as well as clinical service or service/assignment relevant to the subject area.   

Assessment criteria

To be eligible for appointment as a postdoc, the applicant is required to have a doctoral degree in natural/environmental science or statistics. A candidate with a pure statistical background should have a documented interest in environmental science, while a candidate with a background in the natural/environmental sciences should be able to demonstrate strong quantitative and analytical skills. Experience with programming and data/statistical analysis in R, or a similar programming language, are requirements.

Strong collaborative and communication skills are required, as the project involves coordination with a multidisciplinary team across institutions. A high proficiency in written and spoken English is required as the work will be conducted in an international environment.

Experience in working with databases and other programming languages than R is meriting. Documented teaching experience in chemical risk assessment and biostatistics or similar is desirable. 

You should be responsible, well-organized, be able to conduct research both independently and in a group and be able to communicate well in both English and Swedish.

The application should preferably be written in Swedish or English and must include:

• A cover letter with the applicant’s justification for the application, i.e., that describes how the applicant meets     the selection criteria
• A list of qualifications (CV)
• Certificate of PhD exam
• Complete list of publications, including submitted and accepted manuscripts

The most qualified candidates, in relation to the assessment criteria in the advertisement, are invited for an interview.  

Employment

The employment is a temporary employment during two years, 100 % of full time, placed at the Department of Biological and Environmental Science. Starting date upon agreement.

Contact information

If you have any questions about the position, please contact:

Joachim Sturve, Professor
Phone: +46 766 183688
Email: [email protected]
Anne Sörensson, superintendent
Phone: +46 8 519 540 45
Email: [email protected]

Åsa Arrhenius, Head of Department
tel. +46 31 786 26 25
Email: [email protected]

If you have any questions about the employment process, please contact HR at the Department of Biological and Environmental Science, [email protected]

Unions
Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here: https://www.gu.se/om-universitetet/jobba-hos-oss/hjalp-for-sokande  

Application

Submit your application via the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal by clicking the “Apply” button. It is your responsibility to ensure that the application is complete as per the vacancy notice, and that the University receives it by the final application deadline. Publications that cannot be attached to the application in digital format should be mailed in three copies to:

Department of Biological and Environmental Science
Att: Joachim Sturve
University of Gothenburg
Box 461 or 463
S-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden

Label the envelope “Postdoctor in Integrative Environmental Monitoring, PAR 2024/467”. The publications must be received no later than the application deadline.

Applications must be received by: 2025-08-07 

Information for International Applicants 

Choosing a career in a foreign country is a big step. Thus, to give you a general idea of what we and Gothenburg have to offer in terms of benefits and life in general for you and your family/spouse/partner please visit:

https://www.gu.se/en/about-the-university/welcome-services 
https://www.movetogothenburg.com/ 

The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations. Salaries are set individually at the University. In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden’s regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed. In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.