Job description
We seek an Assistant Professor who will further strengthen our position in the Galaxy Structure, Formation and Evolution research domain. New instrumentation (e.g., JWST, WEAVE, 4MOST, Euclid, ELT, SKA), in which the institute has heavily invested, provide data to probe galaxies and their physical processes from the Cosmic Dawn to the present day. We are particularly interested in a candidate who uses and/or interprets data from these facilities and strengthens our research in high-redshift galaxy formation and evolution or in the structure and dynamics of nearby galaxies, including the Milky Way, either observationally or through theory/simulations. The candidate is expected to build collaborations within the Institute and with other NOVA institutes (e.g. Leiden, Amsterdam, Nijmegen), and with SRON and ASTRON.
As Assistant Professor, you will:
● set up and develop your own research line and research group
● supervise PhD students and postdocs
● acquire external funding
● promote the societal relevance of your research
● teach bachelor and master courses, and contribute to the development of degree programs in Astronomy
● contribute to the organisation of the institute and faculty, for example, by participating in working groups and committees in the domains of teaching, research and management.
At the stage of Assistant Professor, 60% of your time is for research, 30% for teaching activities and 10% for organisational tasks.
Organisation
The University of Groningen in the Netherlands is a research university with a global outlook, deeply rooted in Groningen, City of Talent. Quality has been our top priority for over four hundred years, and with success: the University is currently in or around the top 100 on several influential international ranking lists.
The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) is the largest faculty within the University. We offer first-rate education and research in a wide range of science and engineering disciplines, from classical disciplines such as mathematics, physics, astronomy, and mechanical engineering, to interdisciplinary fields such as artificial intelligence, data science and nanoscience. Our community has an open and informal character with students and staff from around the world.
The position we offer will be embedded in the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute. The mission of the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute is to perform front-line research in astronomy, astrophysics, and related fields, aided by the presence of NWO-institutes ASTRON and SRON and NOVA labs, and to provide an excellent educational environment for both graduate and undergraduate studies. The Institute’s mission and its policy and strategy are closely linked to and partly define the mission of the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy, NOVA, of which it is one of four member institutes. The excellent reputation of the Kapteyn Institute has made it possible to attract promising, high-quality astronomers to the University of Groningen. The facilities the Institute offers, such as access to world-class observing facilities, make the Kapteyn Institute a very attractive environment for astronomical research.
Qualifications
We seek candidates who can demonstrate:
● a PhD degree in astronomy, planetary science, or related fields
● at least two years of postdoctoral experience outside of the Netherlands, preferably in a different country than where you received your PhD
● a relevant international network
● excellent research qualities, as shown by a publication record in international peer-reviewed journals and proceedings of renowned conferences
● a good track record in teaching, appropriate to your career stage
● organisational competences
● cross-cultural sensitivity
● good command of spoken and written English.
And you are:
● a team player with good communication skills
● able to acquire substantial research grants from external sources
● willing to obtain a University Teaching Qualification (Dutch: BKO) within three years
● able to speak the Dutch language or motivated to speak it within five years.
Organisation
Conditions of employment
We offer a full-time position as Assistant Professor in our faculty’s tenure track system Career Paths in Science and Engineering in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities and:
● a salary, depending on qualifications and work experience, from € 3,974 (salary scale 11) up to a maximum of € 6,181 gross per month (salary scale 12 – 1 July 2022, depending on your career stage) for a full-time position
● holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of respectively 8% and 8.3% of your yearly salary
● a pension scheme
● maternity and parental leave
● the possibility of working part-time (0.9 FTE or 0.8 FTE)
● a mentor program and a broad range of opportunities for personal development
● dual career support for partners of new faculty members moving to Groningen.
See our website for more information about the working conditions at the University of Groningen: https://www.rug.nl/(…)k-with-us/new-staff/
As Assistant Professor, you will enter a tenure track that, if followed successfully, will lead to a Full Professorship in approximately ten years. You will initially be appointed for six years and assessed for tenure after one to three years, with a second/final opportunity after four years. After five years, you can apply to be promoted to Associate Professor and after another five years to Full Professor. Please see our Career Paths in Science and Engineering for a complete description of our tenure track system as well as the criteria for promotion:
● https://www.rug.nl/(…)ienceandengineering/
● https://www.rug.nl/(…)ering/ius-promovendi
Application
We invite you to submit a complete application, including the following:
● a cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position
● a curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and a list with names of at least three reference
● a list of five self-selected ‘best papers’
● a statement of your teaching goals and experience
● a description of your scientific interest and plans.
Please upload your application as a single pdf file as your ‘Letter of motivation’.
You should apply for this position by means of the application form (click on “Apply” below on the advertisement on the University website). Please also arrange for three letters of reference to be sent directly by your referees to VacancyKapteynNW1@astro.rug.nl by the indicated deadline. Applications received at the latest by Friday, 15 September 2023 (11:59PM, CEST), will be given full consideration.
The on-site selection interviews will take place 9 October–10 November 2023.
The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy webpage: https://www.rug.nl/(…)rsity-and-inclusion/
Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP): https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/nl/sollicitatiecode and European Commission’s European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code
We provide career services for partners of new faculty members moving to Groningen.
Unsolicited marketing is not appeciated.
Information
For information you can contact:
- Prof. Scott Trager, Recruitment coordinator, VacancyKapteynNW1@astro.rug.nl
- Prof. L.V.E. Koopmans, Scientific Director, VacancyKapteynNW1@astro.rug.nl
Please do not use the e-mail address(es) above for applications.