Assistant Professor of Health Complexity

A 4-year Assistant Professorship is available at the Copenhagen Health Complexity Center, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, starting on April 1st, 2025, or as soon as possible after.



The Copenhagen Health Complexity Center

You will be employed in the Copenhagen Health Complexity Center, which is a newly established research center. Our vision is to build a strong scientific foundation for understanding and acting on complex public health challenges. The Center leverages multi-layered nationwide social and health data combined with an interdisciplinary fusion of methods spanning data science, epidemiology, ethnography, econometrics, and systems science. Our research focuses on the complex interplay of health, social, and environmental factors that shape individuals, families, and networks over time. We emphasize interdisciplinary collaboration, offering you the opportunity to actively engage as a collaborative partner in different projects depending on your interests and expertise.



Department of Public Health

The Copenhagen Health Complexity Center is nested within the Department of Public Health. The focus of the Department is to improve the health of the population and the connection between health and society. The Department provides the scientific foundation for efforts that aim to improve public health, both nationally and globally, and to create greater insight into the links between health, the individual, and society. This is achieved through research, education, and engagement with stakeholders and the public at large with a wide-ranging multidisciplinary research agenda covering most aspects of public health at a high international level. You can read more about the Department of Public Health here.



Your job

Your responsibilities will primarily consist of:

• Develop a research agenda related to understanding the complex social and health mechanisms and dynamics that create and maintain health inequalities over generations, as part of a larger ERC consolidator project on health inequality.
• Develop and apply methods for health complexity research based on large quantitative data recourses, combining methods from data science and complexity science.
• Engage in scientific publications and dissemination of results related to these topics.
• Collaborate with other researchers in the Center on interdisciplinary projects.
• Participate in research-based teaching in complexity science, epidemiology, data science, or related fields.
• Actively contribute to the development of organizational elements within the group, such as network activities, website, outreach initiatives, social engagements, scientific meetings, and more.
• Participate in formal pedagogical training program for Assistant Professors.

Profile

We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic scientist with the following competencies and experience:

• You have a PhD-degree in epidemiology, data science, complexity science, computational science, or related sciences.
• You have some experience with complex systems science.
• You have an active interest in public health and epidemiology.
• You have proficient communication skills and a proven ability to work in interdisciplinary teams.
• You have excellent English skills, written and spoken.
• Proven ability to attract funding is a plus.

The Assistant Professor must have the ambition and willingness to compete at an international level to make impact.



Six overall criteria apply for assistant professor appointments at the University of Copenhagen. The six criteria (research, teaching, societal impact, organisational contribution, external funding, and leadership) are considered a framework for the overall assessment of candidates. Find information about each criterion here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/criteria-for-recognising-merit.



Place of employment

The place of employment is the Copenhagen Health Complexity Center, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen next to the city lakes in Central Copenhagen.



Terms of employment

The position is a full-time position (37 working hours weekly). The position is a fixed-term position limited to a period of 4 years. The start date is April 1st, 2025, or as soon as possible hereafter. Salary, pension and other conditions of employment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations) or other relevant organisation. Currently, the monthly salary starts at 38.500 DKK/approx. 5,100 EUR (April 2024-level). Depending on qualifications, a supplement may be negotiated. The employer will pay an additional 17.1 % to your pension fund. Foreign and Danish applicants may be eligible for tax reductions if they hold a PhD degree and have not lived in Denmark the last 10 years. The position is covered by the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2020.



Further information

For specific information about the position, please contact Professor Naja Hulvej Rod [email protected], tel. 35 32 67 35.

Applicants may also find the following links useful:

• University of Copenhagen: http://www.ku.dk/english/
• Department of Public Health: http://publichealth.ku.dk/
• International Staff Mobility: www.ism.ku.dk.

Application procedure
Your online application must be submitted in English by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. Furthermore, your application must include the following documents/attachments – all in PDF format:

• Motivated letter of application (max 2 pages). Please briefly describe your previous research experiences and interests as well as what attracts you to the position in terms of both the topic and the academic work.
• Overview of your work with complex systems methods
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of publications
• A certified/signed copy of degree certificate(s)
• Research plan (1-2 pages)
• Teaching portfolio if applicable (Guidelines: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/job-application-portfolio

Deadline for applications: 15 December 2024, 23.59pm CET



We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.



The further process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor. Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/



The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.



Interviews are expected to be held in week 6

The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.