W3-Professorship “Agroecosystems Ecology”

The Faculty of Natural Sciences III – Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Geosciences and Computer Science at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research GmbH - UFZ invite applications for a common appointment at the earliest.

W3-Professorship “Agroecosystems Ecology”

The Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg is a modern university with a 500-year tradition in academic excellence and a wide range of international partner institutions. It is the largest university in Saxony-Anhalt with approximately 20,000 students, more than 3,000 employees. 

At the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research GmbH - UFZ with its 1,100 employees the new position is located in the Research Unit “Ecosystems of the Future”, which aims to understand how processes in ecosystems work and seeks to develop strategies and instruments that ensure the persistence of various ecosystem functioning and the resistance of ecosystems in times of global change. 

Candidates for this position are expected to have an internationally recognized research profile that focuses on big-picture questions about sustainable agroecosystems of the future and have a strong focus on ecological principles and system change for future agricultural management across scales. To achieve this, we seek to integrate soil research by strengthening a whole-ecosystem perspective, linking above ground and below ground processes and biodiversity on various scales as well as new agricultural land use management systems. The information and expertise on agricultural and plant-soil systems and their management are thus bundled and synthesized in the new UFZ department “Agroecosystems Ecology” to deliver strategies and management options for policy and farmers. 

We search for a collaborative colleague who will provide links complementing the existing expertise in the UFZ Research Unit (in soil systems research, community and landscape ecology, biodiversity, ecosystem services and conservation biology), will thus strengthen collaborations with other UFZ research units as well as the connection between the UFZ and MLU. We offer an international and highly interdisciplinary team of colleagues together with experimental facilities at various scales, specifically the field station in Bad Lauchstädt with the Global Change Experimental Facility. Opportunities for collaboration beyond the MLU and UFZ are manyfold and include the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv, Leipzig), various Max Planck Institutes, and Leibniz Institutes.

The professorship is connected with the leadership of the Department of Agroecosystems Ecology at the UFZ. At the MLU, the area of expertise is to be represented in the Faculty of Natural Sciences III- Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Geosciences and Computer Science. This professorship entails a teaching obligation of at least two semester hours per week. An active willingness to participate in the committees of the university is expected. Further duties and responsibilities are stipulated in section 34 of the Saxony-Anhalt State Law of Universities. The working place is at the UFZ in Halle.

For the complete call, with further information, see https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=101931

Applicants need to fulfil the pre-conditions of appointment as stipulated in section 35 of the Saxony-Anhalt State Law of Universities. Particular emphasis is placed on a Habilitation in the relevant field, or an equivalent level of scientific achievement and recognition. Candidates are expected to have attained the appropriate level of leadership and scientific management experience. Experience in third-party fund-raising is expected. 

The MLU and the UFZ both have a strong commitment to diversity and actively support equal opportunities for all employees regardless of their origin, religion, ideology, disability, age or sexual identity. Both institutions are committed to diversity and aim to create an inclusive environment where our staff and students feel valued and inspired. 

In particular, we aim to increase the proportion of women appointed as permanent staff; therefore, appropriately qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

The MLU strive to provide an environment compatible with work-life balance and have been certified as family-friendly institution. 

Applications from candidates with disabilities are particularly welcome, and will be given preference in the event of equivalent qualification.

Applications should include a cover letter, a complete curriculum vitae (including a list of publications, third-party funding, teaching record, and copies of qualifications) and a research statement (maximum of two pages) that describes the candidate's research program, including his/her main contributions to the field and future research plans that could utilize the research environment at MLU and UFZ. Please include in the CV a contact address and phone number.

Applications are accepted electronically via the Appointment Portal of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg at:

https://berufungsportal.uni-halle.de/

by 30.06.2023.

Note, confidentiality of e-mail might be compromised when communicating through unencrypted e-mails.

For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Ralf Seppelt (Head of Research Unit), Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Tel.: +49 341 235 1250, E-Mail: tbl-ecosystems@ufz.de 

The selection committee consists of representatives of the MLU and the UFZ.

Please note that the University is unfortunately unable to reimburse costs associated with the application.