Tenure-track Assistant Professor or Associate Professor in educational leadership in upper secondary school and other youth education

The Department of Design, Media and Educational Science at the University of Southern Denmark, Faculty of Humanities, invites applications for a position as Tenure-track Assistant Professor or Associate Professor in educational leadership focusing on upper secondary school and other youth education. The position is located at SDU, Odense and is available from November 1 or as soon as possible thereafter. Application deadline: May 26, 2025 at 11.59 PM/23.59 (CET/CEST).
The Department of Design, Media and Educational Science at the University of Southern Denmark, Faculty of Humanities, invites applications for a position as Tenure-track Assistant Professor or Associate Professor in educational leadership focusing on upper secondary school and other youth education. The position is located at SDU, Odense and is available from November 1 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The Department of Design, Media and Educational Science is a department within the Humanities with research in a wide range of areas, including Design Studies, Media Studies, Education Sciences, Philosophy, Information Studies, Library Science, Organizational Communication, and Web Communication. The department has a strong and vibrant research environment within educational science. The successful candidate is expected to participate in the close collaboration concerning youth education research.
Applicants are asked to state in their letter of application on which level they wish to apply.

About the position
The candidate is expected to conduct cutting edge theoretical and empirical research in educational leadership, both individually and in collaboration with research colleagues in and outside of the department. The candidate’s research should thereby contribute to a deeper insight into the conditions for and practice of leadership in upper secondary schools and other youth education programs, and how different leadership conditions affect the educational culture of the organization (for example working conditions, procedures of decision-making, norms of assessment, practices of administration, and institutional purposes, strategies, or performance).

The department’s educational science research has a strong tradition of close collaboration with the youth education sector. Consequently, a significant part of the successful candidate's research work will involve engaging in this type of collaboration. The collaboration is organized in the Centre for Upper Secondary School and Vocational Education Research (Center for Gymnasie- og Erhvervsskoleforskning), in which the candidate is expected to participate actively.

The candidate will conduct research-based teaching, examination and supervision as well as curriculum development in the department’s MA study program Education (Pædagogik), the continuing master’s program for upper secondary school teachers and leaders (Master i gymnasiepædagogik) and the national mandatory training program for upper secondary school teachers (Teoretisk Pædagogikum). In the continuing master’s program, the candidate is expected to play a central role in teaching educational leadership, including topics such as organization theory, strategy, and personal leadership.

The teaching obligation for academic staff is described in the faculty's norm agreement (Danish version / English version).

Furthermore, the candidate is expected to undertake various administrative tasks related to research and teaching collaboration.

Tenure-track Assistant Professor (duration 2-6 years)
A tenure-track assistant professorship is a position that qualifies for and leads to an associate professorship after a positive assessment.

As an assistant professor, your primary focus will be on developing and strengthening your research and teaching profile within the field. The position may also involve participating in and developing research projects, as well as managing projects. Throughout the assistant professorship, you are expected to gain experience with applications for external funding. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to enhance your competencies through SDU's Research Academy (Danish description / English description).

During the assistant professorship, you will be required to complete SDU’s Lecturer Training Programme (Universitetspædagogikum).

Administrative tasks for an assistant professor may be membership of collegial councils, boards and committees, as well as course responsibility for relevant degree programs. The department's assistant professors will have a department colleague as a mentor.

The application for an assistant professor tenure-track program must include a suggestion for a tenure-track plan which specifies the candidate’s goals regarding

• the development of their research profile in terms of publications, research projects (including applications for external research funding) and conference participation

• the development of their teaching profile within the framework of relevant study programs, including suggestions for specific courses

• outreach activities

• academic citizenship tasks and their contribution to the department

• The final tenure track plan will be set up in a dialogue between the assistant professor and the head of department.

Read more about tenure-track at SDU here.

Associate Professor (tenured)
As an associate professor, you are expected to conduct high-quality research within the field of educational leadership, develop research projects and national and international collaborations. The position involves applying for research grants, managing research projects, teaching in the departments’ educational programs, and supervising Ph.D. students and postdocs.

Besides membership of different boards, councils and committees, an associate professor is expected to be able to serve in various administrative roles, including, e.g., course responsibility or head of study program.

Associate Professors in the department have the opportunity to apply for the professor promotion programme.

In the application, the candidate is expected to present an ambitious and realistic plan for

• the development of their own research profile as well as the research area, including funding possibilities

• outreach activities related to their research

• the ongoing development of their pedagogical and didactic skills

• academic citizenship tasks and their contribution to the department

Candidate profile
The successful applicant is expected to document research and teaching qualifications at associate or assistant professor level.

Tenure-track Assistant Professor
Candidates for the tenure-track program must hold a Ph.D. degree. Candidates are assessed according to the following criteria:

• an internationally oriented research profile within educational leadership or related fields as documented by a PhD dissertation; additional research publications will be considered an advantage

• participation in relevant conferences and seminars

• relevant experiences with teaching and supervising at the university level equivalent to that attained through a PhD degree, documented through a teaching portfolio

• Furthermore, it will be considered an advantage if applicants can document

• experience with participation in national and international research networks

• previous experience with research dissemination and outreach activities

• previous experience with applications for external research funding

• previous experience with contributing to organizational work

Associate Professor
Candidates for the associate professorship must hold a Ph.D. degree. Candidates are assessed according to the following criteria:

• a well-defined internationally oriented research profile, as documented by a substantial number of peer-reviewed articles in renowned journals and/or books or book chapters,

• participation in internationally renowned seminars and conferences,

• participation in relevant national and international research networks

• a record of outreach activities

• experience with applying for external research funding

• a well-defined teaching profile, as well as experience in teaching and supervising BA and MA students, documented through a teaching portfolio

• completed lecturer training program (or comparable didactic training program)

• Furthermore, it will be considered an advantage if applicants can document

• experience with research collaboration and research project leadership,

• experience with supervision of Ph.D.-students

• a sound knowledge of the Danish youth education sector

• experience with collaborations with different actors in the sector

• experience with administrative tasks related to university education

For both job categories, applicants are expected to be able to communicate, teach and publish in Danish or another Scandinavian language, as well as to be able to publish in a Scandinavian language and in English. Applicants who do not speak Danish at the time of employment are expected to acquire this competence within the first five years of employment.

About the department
The Department of Design, Media and Educational Sciences is one of two departments at the Faculty of Humanities at SDU. The department has approximately 150 employees and houses research and teaching in a wide range of different areas, including design studies, media studies, educational science, philosophy, information studies, library science, business communication and web communication. The department is located at Campus Odense, Campus Kolding and Campus Sønderborg.

The field of educational science at the department holds a strong national and international position, with respect to both primary and secondary school research. The latter is anchored in the Centre for Upper Secondary and Vocational Education Research and in the inter-university collaboration on the national mandatory training program for upper secondary school teachers (Teoretisk Pædagogikum). The Centre for Upper Secondary School and Vocational Education Research has a significant and leading national position in upper secondary and youth education research and in addition has an international orientation. As an associate or assistant professor, you are expected to contribute to the further development of this position through your focus on educational leadership. The Centre for Upper Secondary and Vocational Education Research is organised with close synergy between research, development and teaching, and has a strong collaboration with upper secondary schools and upper secondary education.

Researchers in the department are affiliated with a research group which, based on a common academic interest, constitutes an academic working community across job categories. In this collaborative forum, researchers have the opportunity to discuss research issues, develop joint projects and receive feedback from peers. Collaborations between research groups/programs with overlapping interests are encouraged and supported.

Besides participating in the Centre for Upper Secondary School and Vocational Education Research, the candidate is expected to participate in one of the Department’s research groups within the field of educational science:

The Research Group for Education, Didactics, and Formation explores the interconnections between educational practices, didactic methods, and the concept of formation. Their work aims to improve teaching strategies and educational outcomes by examining how political, cultural, and ethical values shape education systems. They also focus on the development of innovative teaching tools and the impact of digitalization on learning environments. The group addresses both fundamental research questions and methodological and empirical research questions related to education, general and subject-specific didactics, and formation. Additionally, they investigate the boundaries and connections between these fields and between research with a fundamental character and research with an empirical orientation in national and international contexts.

The Research Group for Subject, School, and Profession focuses on the interplay between educational practices, professional development, and subject-specific didactics. Their research aims to enhance teaching methodologies and learning outcomes across various educational levels, from primary schools to higher education institutions. The research program investigates fundamental questions as well as empirical research questions related to subjects (in plural), various types of schools, and professions, and the connections between them. The research interest is oriented towards historical studies, practice-oriented empirical contemporary studies, and theoretical and philosophical studies, each of which can inform and qualify research and future development of subjects, schools, and professions both nationally and internationally.

Both research groups are located at Campus Odense.

We recommend that as an international applicant, you take the time to visit Work in Denmark where you will find information and facts about moving to, working and living in Denmark, as well as the International Staff Office at SDU.

Contact information
Professor Ane Qvortup (anq@sdu.dk) or Head of Department, Alexandra Holsting (aho@sdu.dk), can be contacted for further information.

Conditions of employment
Appointment to the position will be in accordance with the salary agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Please check links for more information on salary (only available in Danish) and taxation.

Application
The Faculty expects applicants to read the information "How to apply" before applying.

The application must include:

• Application letter (Applicants are asked to state in their letter of application on which level they wish to apply)

• Curriculum Vitae

• Diplomas/Certificates

• Teaching portfolio (if you are applying for the associate professor - Please read more here)

• Plan for research dissemination and societal impact

• List of publications indicating the publications attached

• If applying for the associate professor position, a maximum of 6 of the most relevant publications. Applicants for the assistant professor position may include a maximum of 4 relevant publications. Please attach one pdf-file for each publication. For any publication with a co-author, a co-author statement must be submitted as part of the pdf-file

• References letters and other relevant qualifications may also be included.

Application and all appendices must be in English. Please always include a copy of original diploma/certificates. We only accept files in pdf-format no more than 10 MB per file. In case you have more than one file per field you need to combine the pdf-files into a single file, as each field handles only one file. We do not accept zip-files, jpg or other image files. All pdf-files must be unlocked and allow binding and may not be password protected.

The assessment process
Applications will be assessed by an assessment committee and the applicant will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns him/her. The assessment report will subsequently be forwarded to the Head of Department who will assemble an appointments committee. An interview may form part of the overall assessment of the applicants' qualifications.

The committee may request additional information, and if so, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary material.

If the application does not meet the requirements mentioned above, the Faculty of Humanities may reject your application without further notice. Applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated.

Shortlisting and tests will be used in the assessment process. Please note that only a shortlisted applicant will receive an assessment. Here you can read more about shortlisting at SDU.

Application deadline
Application deadline is May 26, 2025 at 11.59 PM/23.59 (CET/CEST).

The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

About SDU and Odense
SDU was founded in 1966 and now has more than 27,000 students, almost 20% of whom are from abroad. It has more than 3,800 employees, and 115 different study programmes in the fields of the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, and engineering. Its main campus is located in Odense, the third largest city in Denmark, but is present also in Kolding, Sønderborg, Esbjerg and Copenhagen.

Placering: Odense, Denmark