Associate Senior Lecturer/Assistant Professor* in Agricultural Water Management

Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences

Department of Soil and Environment

This recruitment is part of Mistra's initiative Mistra Environmental Research Leaders, which aims to provide funding for attractive and long-term positions for early-career researchers in the field of environment and sustainability. The position includes, among other things, participation in a leadership development program and the supervision of a doctoral student within the position’s research area. The position is also linked to SLU’s excellence initiative – SLU Futures – which aims to attract and support promising young researchers within the strategic themes of Future Sustainable Plant Production Systems, Resilient Ecosystems, and One Health.

SLU is a world-class university in life science and environmental sciences, with a vision to play a key role in the development of a sustainable life, based on science, education and knowledge about the state of the environment. In this context, the Department of Soil and Environment contributes to the knowledge about future sustainable land use and develops new solutions to support decisions in agriculture and forestry, as well as in urban environments.

The department conducts research and teaching about the properties and basic functions of soils, as well as how environmental and climate change affect soils. There are seven research groups: agricultural water management, soil and environmental physics, soil biology, soil chemistry, soil mechanics and soil management, soil nutrient cycling, and biogeochemistry of forest soils. The department is responsible for ca. 30 first and second cycle courses within SLU's educational programs, e.g. SLU’s agronomy programs, bachelor and master’s programs, and master's program in engineering. In addition to research and teaching, environmental assessment is conducted that monitors the state of soils and waters. The department is responsible for several important research infrastructures in the form of soil chemistry and soil physics laboratories, a computer tomography, a lysimeter facility, and has access to long-term trials and field research stations in different parts of Sweden that offer opportunities for experimental research.

For the research group Agricultural Water Management and Water Quality, we are now looking for an associate senior lecturer who wants to work with research and teaching focused on drainage and "green-grey" (natural and engineered) water infrastructures in agricultural fields and landscapes. The research group conducts nationally and internationally leading research, collaboration and environmental analysis on agricultural water management. Today, the group consists of ten senior researchers and environmental analysts, five postdoctoral fellows and doctoral students, and three technical staff. We have extensive collaborations with researchers in crop systems ecology, landscape architecture, aquatic resources, forest science, as well as with industry, government agencies, and other universities in Europe and in developing countries.

Read more about the department here.
Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work at SLU here.

Subject area

The subject encompasses Agricultural Water Management oriented towards hydrological processes and technologies for drainage, irrigation and measures for water quality. 

Duties

The associate senior lecturer is expected to develop their own research line within the subject area with focus on natural and engineered water infrastructure in agricultural fields and landscapes.

Research is to be carried out in close collaboration with colleagues at the department and SLU, as well as through national and international collaborations.

In addition, the candidate should within the subject area

• apply for external research funding in competition and publish scientific articles
• contribute to the development of a research team in the subject area
• participate in postgraduate education as co-supervisor
• teach at first, second and third cycle level, including doctoral level
• further develop their pedagogical skills
• collaborate with relevant actors in public, private and policy sector

Swedish and English are used in parallel at the department. The holder of the position should be able to perform the majority 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 and the holder of the position must be able to use Swedish as their working language within four years of beginning the position. The department will provide support with language learning

Eligibility

Eligible for employment as associate senior lecturer are candidates who hold a PhD or have equivalent academic qualifications. Priority will be given to candidates who have received a PhD or equivalent qualifications no longer than seven years before the application deadline. Other candidates may also be considered if there are extraordinary grounds for doing so. Extraordinary grounds refer to illness, parental leave or similar circumstances.

For employment as associate senior lecturer, the applicant must demonstrate research expertise within the subject area.

Good ability to communicate in written and spoken English is required.

Assessment criteria

The assessment criteria for appointment as an associate senior lecturer will primarily be based on the degree to which the applicant possesses the required qualifications specified for the position.

The assessment criteria for appointment as an associate senior lecturer shall be the degree of the research expertise required as a qualification for employment.

Furthermore, the assessment includes evaluating the applicant’s ability to independently develop a line of research within the subject area and the applicant’s ability to qualify for promotion to senior lecturer during the employment period.

It is a merit if the applicant has experience of engineered and natural solutions for water infrastructure, such as drainage and measures for dams/reservoirs in temperate and boreal agricultural systems.

The position will be offered to the eligible candidate who, following a qualitative comprehensive assessment is deemed to have the best qualifications set to conduct and develop the duties in question, and contribute to the positive development of the organisation.

Application deadline

2025-09-15

Place of work

Uppsala

Extent:

100%

Form of Employment

The employment is limited in accordance with the Higher Education Act. A position as associate senior lecturer is a qualifying employment that constitutes the first step in an academic career at SLU. An associate senior lecturer has the right during their employment to apply for promotion to senior lecturer (UK) or associate professor (US) on the basis of criteria established when the position as associate senior lecturer was announced.

Swedish “biträdande universitetslektor”, a tenured position approximately equivalent to Associate senior lecturer (UK) or Assistant professor (US). The applicant who is offered this employment at SLU will be employed as Associate senior lecturer.

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. Sweden has a well-established pre-school structure as well as an educational system that provides no-cost education through university studies. Uppsala has a rich history and culture and is located in the greater Stockholm region, which is an academic and cultural hub. Find out more facts and stories about Sweden at www.sweden.se

Starting date

By agreement.

Application

It is desirable that the application is written in English, because the applications will be evaluated by expert advisers both in Sweden and abroad.

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 read here.

Please apply by clicking on the apply-button below.

Academic union representatives

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

 

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) has a key role in the development for sustainable life, based on science and education. Through our focus on the interaction between humans, animals and ecosystems and the responsible use of natural resources, we contribute to sustainable societal development and good living conditions on our planet. Our main campuses are located in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, however, the university also operates at research stations, experimental forests and teaching sites throughout Sweden. SLU has around 3,000 employees, 5,000 students and doctoral students and a turnover of over SEK 3 billion. We are investing in attractive environments on all of our campuses. We strive to provide a work environment characterised by inclusivity and gender equality, where different experiences generate conversations between people and pave the way for science, creativity and development. Therefore, we welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.