Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University invites applications for postdoc researchers in wildlife movement ecology and population dynamics

Department of Ecoscience, Section of Wildlife Ecology at Aarhus University is seeking two postdoc researchers with an interest in North European wildlife, population dynamics and movement ecology. Position 1 focuses mainly on mammal species, while Position 2 focuses on bird species. We need our new colleagues to start on 1 April 2025 or 1 October 2025, depending on the position.

Please indicate in your application which of the two positions (or both) you are interested in.
 

Expected start date and duration of employment

Position 1 is for 18 months and Position 2 is for 24 months.

Position 1 is expected to start on 1 April 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter. Position 2 is expected to start on 1 October 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter. 
 

Job description

The Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University is seeking two postdoc researchers to conduct research and provide consultancy within the field of population dynamics and movement ecology of wildlife in Northern Europe. The positions will be placed in the Section for Wildlife Ecology.

Responsibilities:

• To significantly strengthen the analytical and statistical skills of the department with an emphasis on areas such as population dynamics, foraging behaviour and movement ecology.
• To play a central role in shaping the department’s research and advisory profile on wildlife, with a focus on interactions with human activities such as offshore energy development, recreational disturbance, and climate change.
• To collaborate on ongoing modelling and simulation initiatives for wildlife across the department.
• To engage in interdisciplinary research, collaborating with colleagues within and outside the department.

 

Qualifications

We are seeking candidates who possess the following qualifications:

• A PhD degree and an established track record of publications in high-impact peer-reviewed international journals.
• A broad publication record within the topics of behaviour, habitat selection, population ecology, and foraging ecology of wildlife.
• A solid theoretical and practical statistical background and proven experience in organising and analysing large datasets such as bio-logging or DNA data.
• Experience with programming, high-performance computing and new computational methods to analyse movement- and population dynamics of wildlife is an advantage.
• A general and good understanding of the population ecology of North European wildlife.
• Readiness to undertake interdisciplinary research teamwork.
• Proven experience in project planning and coordination, including conduction of fieldwork.
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in English; knowledge of Danish or another Scandinavian language is an advantage.

Who we are

The Department of Ecoscience is engaged in applied research and advisory work for authorities covering the major biological subdisciplines. We conduct research in the areas of conservation biology and wildlife management, aquatic biology and ecology, and biodiversity. The Department currently employs  approximately 275 academic and technical staff, as well as PhD students, distributed at two geographical locations in Aarhus and Roskilde. The Section for Wildlife Ecology is situated in Aarhus and employs 35 staff members.
For more information on the Department see: http://ecos.au.dk/en/. 


What we offer

The department offers:

• A well-developed research infrastructure and access to shared technical equipment
• An exciting interdisciplinary environment with many national and international collaborators
• A research climate encouraging lively, open, and critical discussion within and across different fields of research, a workplace characterized by professionalism, equality, and a healthy work-life balance.

 

Place of work and area of employment

The place of work is Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, C.F. Møllers Allé 8, bld. 1110, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
 

Contact information

For further information, please contact: Head of Section, Ole Roland Therkildsen, phone: +45 40203227, email: [email protected].  

Deadline

Applications must be received no later than Wednesday, 5 February, 2025. 


Application procedure

Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the appointment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. All applicants will be notified whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee, and each applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that concerns him/her self. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.

Letter of reference

If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

If you wish to add a referee after you have submitted your application, you must send this person’s details (name, job title, place of work, and email address) as well as the name of the position you have applied for to: [email protected]

Formalities and salary range

Technical Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it here.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.


Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/