Assistant / Associate professor or Professor of English Literatures
The Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki invites applications for the position of
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OR PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH LITERATURES
The successful applicant may be appointed to a permanent professorship or a fixed-term assistant or associate professorship (tenure track system), depending on their qualifications and career stage.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The successful applicant is expected to be an internationally oriented researcher who, in addition to their own area of expertise, is also familiar with other research approaches in English literatures. We are looking for a versatile literary scholar who possesses skills that align with the University's strategy as well as the priorities of the Faculty of Arts and the Department of Languages. Research in English literatures at the University of Helsinki covers the entire field from early modern literature to contemporary literature, including English-language world literature. Research approaches represented include narrative approaches, cognitive research, and literary history.
The assistant professor/associate professor/professor of English Literatures conducts and supervises scientific research and provides instruction in the field within the Bachelor's programme in languages and the Master's programme in English studies. Together with other teachers in the field, they are responsible for English literature studies. The successful applicant must be able to provide instruction based on their own research, supervise theses, dissertations, and postdoctoral researchers, lead research projects, and keep up with developments in the field. Duties also include administrative responsibilities and societal interaction. The assistant professor/associate professor/professor is also expected to take part in teaching within other Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes by providing, for example, joint instruction in literary studies across different degree programmes. In this collaboration, the assistant professor/associate professor/professor takes into consideration the broader role of literature and literary texts in the textual and media world, as well as the connections between fiction and non-fiction.
APPOINTMENT CRITERIA
An appointee to the position of assistant professor or associate professor must hold a doctoral degree and have the ability to conduct independent scholarly work as well as the teaching skills necessary for the position. In addition, the appointee must have the ability and motivation to pursue an academic career, as demonstrated by publications and other means.
An appointee to a professorship must hold a doctoral degree and possess top-level scholarly qualifications and experience in the supervision of scholarly research, as well as the ability to provide top-level research-based teaching and to supervise theses. In addition, the appointee must present documentation of international cooperation in the research field they represent. They must also have academic leadership skills.
When assessing applicants’ qualifications, attention will be paid to both scholarly and teaching qualifications. Scholarly qualifications include scholarly publications and other research results of scholarly value, success in obtaining external research funding, scholarly work outside Finland and international elected positions. Teaching qualifications include teaching experience and pedagogical training, the ability to produce learning materials, other teaching merits and, if necessary, a teaching demonstration, as well as participation in doctoral education. Furthermore, consideration will be given to applicants’ leadership and interaction skills, as well as their active participation in the research community and public engagement.
Pursuant to the Government Decree on Universities (770/2009), appointees to teaching and research positions at the University must be proficient in the language in which they provide instruction, i.e., Finnish or Swedish. To successfully attend to the duties of the position, the appointee must also have excellent skills in English. If the successful applicant is not proficient in Finnish, they will be expected to acquire sufficient proficiency within a reasonable period of time. Support for studying the language will be provided. Further information on language skills and the demonstration of language proficiency is available on the University website.
SALARY
The salary will be based on levels 7 (assistant/associate professor) or 8–10 (professor) of the job requirement scheme for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal work performance. The annual salary of an assistant or associate professor is approximately €55,000–68,500, while that of a professor is approximately €66,500–99,000, depending on the previous experience and qualifications of the appointee. The position includes a six-month trial period.
The University of Helsinki provides its staff with occupational health and fitness services, professional development opportunities, as well as a first-class research and teaching environment and the conditions necessary for international cooperation. Read more about staff benefits on our website.
HOW TO APPLY
The application, together with the required attachments, must be submitted through the University of Helsinki recruitment system by clicking on the link Apply now. Internal applicants (i.e., current employees of the University of Helsinki) must submit their applications through the SAP Fiori portal. The University of Helsinki welcomes applicants of any gender, linguistic or cultural background, or minority group.
Applicants are requested to enclose the following documents in English with their applications as a single PDF file:
- A curriculum vitae
- A report (max. 5 pages) on the applicant’s teaching expertise
- A report (max. 5 pages) describing the applicant’s research activities (activities in the academic community, success in obtaining research funding and international research activity)
- A written vision (max. 2 pages) for the applicant’s research activities and the development of the field
- A numbered list of publications
See instructions.
Applicants are kindly asked to prepare to select up to 10 publications from their list of publications and submit them for assessment through the recruitment system after the application period.
The application deadline is 26 February 2025.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Further information on the position can obtained from Professor Sanna-Kaisa Tanskanen (sanna-kaisa.tanskanen@helsinki.fi). Further information on the recruitment process can be obtained from HR Specialist Jenni Syväoja (hr-humtdk@helsinki.fi).
Further information on careers and the tenure track model at the University of Helsinki is available on our website.
The Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki is the oldest and the largest humanities teaching and research unit in Finland in terms of its disciplinary structure and range of subjects. It is also a major international research, education and cultural community.
The Faculty of Arts studies and teaches languages and literature spoken in Europe and the rest of the world, in total almost 40 languages. It also develops general theories of linguistics, translation and literary studies.