Associate Senior Lecturer in plant physiology with focus on plant embryo development

Faculty of Forest Sciences

The Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

This recruitment is part of an 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. The objective of the initiative is to create conditions for successful research in future-oriented, strong academic environments through long-term employment. Read more here https://www.slu.se/slu-futures

The department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology within the Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) is a world-leading environment integrating experimental plant biology and forest biotechnology research. UPSC has strong platforms for plant growth, microscopy, metabolomics and conifer genomics. UPSC has one of the largest facilities in the world for tree transformation, including a facility for somatic embryogenesis and transformation of Norway spruce, important tools for all basic research connecting genes to gene function.

Read more about the department and UPSC at www.upsc.se/.

Subject area

 The subject area is plant physiology with focus on plant embryo development.

Duties

The Associate Senior Lecturer is expected to develop their own research line within the subject area. The department will provide the holder with development opportunities to be able to qualify as docent and Senior Lecturer in the subject of the position.

The research shall aim to develop the subject area to also include conifer embryo development and the use of somatic embryogenesis as a research tool.

Research should be carried out in close collaboration with colleagues at the department, faculty and other parts of SLU, as well as through national and international collaborations.

In addition, the holder of the position is also expected to:

• act in accordance with the vision, goals and basic values of SLU
• initiate the development of their own research group within the subject area
• apply for external research funding in competition and publish scientific articles
• participate in postgraduate education as a co-supervisor
• conduct research-based teaching at first, second and third cycle level
• receive pedagogical training, and are expected to fulfill the requirements for promotion to senior lecturer during the employment
• collaborate and communicate with relevant stakeholders in the surrounding society

Swedish and English are used in parallel at the department. The Associate Senior Lecturer 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/Scandinavian to understand information in Swedish. The department will support the holder to achieve this goal.

Qualifications

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 consider leave due to illness, parental leave or similar circumstances.

For employment as associate senior lecturer, the candidate must be scientifically proficient within the subject area of the position.

Experience in research on plant embryo development and the use of molecular genetic and genomic tools is a prerequisite for employment.

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/candidate possesses the required qualifications specified for the position.

The assessment for appointment as an associate senior lecturer will primarily be based on qualitative indicators of the applicant's scientific skill within the subject area of the position.

The applicants’ experience in conifer somatic embryogenesis will be assessed. Also, the applicant’s competence in communication, collaboration skills and experience in administration and teaching will be assessed.

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

The position will be offered to the person 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.

Form of employment

This is a fixed-term appointment (4 years) as regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance. The role of associate senior lecturer is a career-development position that is the first step on the academic career path at SLU. During their employment, an associate senior lecturer is entitled to apply for an evaluation review for promotion to senior lecturer. They will be assessed based on the criteria that are established when advertising the position of associate senior lecturer.

* 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. Additionally Sweden has a well-established pre-school structure as well as an educational system that provides no-cost education through university studies. 

Application deadline

2025-09-15.

Place of work

 Umeå

Extent:

100 %

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.

Deadline for application is 2025-09-15. 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.