We are seeking applicants for a 1-year Post Doc to join us at the Department of ECOSCIENCE in the field of plastic research in the Arctic, with a focus on marine litter.  Aarhus University provides a vibrant research environment supported by robust infrastructure and extensive collaborative networks.
 

Expected start date and duration of employment

This is a 1–year position from 1 September 2025 or as soon as possible.

This is a fixed-term position to end on 31 August 2026.

The candidate will work with sources, occurrences and impacts of plastic and macro-sized litter in the marine environment, focusing on the Arctic and the Subarctic region. The position is funded by the Horizon Europe project ArcSolution (https://site.nord.no/arcsolution/), but will also include related activities in other projects. Specifically, the candidate will work with the identification and quantification of the origins of plastic pollution in the Arctic and its distribution in marine ecosystems.  The project will be grounded in field observations and will also examine the impacts of plastics on the marine environment, focusing on interactions between marine animals and plastic debris. These activities will also include a citizen science component to gain a broader data foundation and raise awareness of the issue.
The results will support management measures and policy initiatives to reduce plastic pollution. The position opens to a wide field of collaboration with research institutions, competent authorities, and other stakeholders ensures a comprehensive approach. The goal is to develop a better understanding of plastics in the northern environment that can be used to protect marine ecosystems and mitigate the harmful effects of plastic pollution.
The ArcSolution project has established an early career scientist network that the candidate would be a part of and that encourages networking and scientific exchange and will also expose the candidate to the strong scientific community of 14 partners in ArcSolution.

The candidate’s main tasks will be:

• participation in litter identification in the Arctic
   
• analysing data and reporting citizen science activities in this context
   
• presenting results at scientific meetings and publishing in international journals

 

We expect that you have:

• The successful candidate must have a PhD degree or document equivalent qualifications in a relevant field related to environmental sciences, like environmental biology and/or environmental pollution

• The successful candidate must have an internationally oriented research profile within environmental plastic pollution (preferably focusing on macrolitter) as documented by a PhD dissertation and/or research publications
   
• The successful candidate must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, to engage productively with researchers and the citizens involved in projects

Furthermore, it is viewed as an asset if the applicants can document

• A track record of research publications of a high international standard that commensurate with the length of the applicant’s academic career
   
• Experience of participation in national and international research networks
   
• Knowledge of a Nordic language
   
• Time spent working in Greenland or other places in the Arctic
   
• Experience in data analysis and statistical tools

Who we are

The Department of Ecoscience is engaged in research programs and advisory work covering the major biological subdisciplines. We conduct world-class research in the areas of aquatic biology and ecology, Arctic environment and ecosystems, biodiversity, conservation biology and wildlife management. The Department currently employs approximately 275 academic and technical staff, as well as many PhD students.

The successful candidate will work in a dynamic and internationally engaged scientific environment at the Section for Marine diversity and experimental ecology (for more information see: AU Ecoscience - Research in Marine Diversity and Experimental Ecology).

The department is, and wishes to continue to be, an active, dynamic and inspiring workplace with exciting challenges, enthusiastic colleagues and academic opportunities for development. The department wishes to support employees in creating a good balance between their work and home lives and to maintain and attract talented and committed staff, where freedom, creativity and respect for the long-term perspective are core values. For more information on the Department see: http://ecos.au.dk/en/.


What we offer

The department offers:

• a well-developed research infrastructure, laboratories and access to shared equipment
   
• an exciting interdisciplinary environment with many national, international and industrial collaborators
   
• a research climate encouraging lively, open and critical discussion within and across different fields of research
   
• a workplace characterised by professionalism, equality and a healthy work-life balance
   
• a thriving early-career community

Place of work and area of employment

The place of work is Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark, and the area of employment is Aarhus University with related departments. 


Contact information

For further information, please contact senior researcher Jakob Strand, jak@ecos.au.dk


Deadline

Applications must be received no later than 13 June 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: HR.Nattech@au.dk


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/