Associate Professor in hydrometallurgical recovery of resources

This is NTNU

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus on professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 44,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

About the job

The Department of Chemical Engineering at NTNU has a vacancy for a permanent position as an Associate Professor in hydrometallurgical recovery of resources. The position is sponsored for 5 years by Equinor through the Academy Agreement and will thereafter be fully covered by NTNU. The immediate leader for the position is the Head of Department.

The Department of Chemical Engineering has a clear strategy to contribute to the green shift and to fulfill UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and we provide academic research and research-based education to support the development of energy-efficient and sustainable process technology in Norway. The Department wants to strengthen our research, education, and innovation activities within hydrometallurgical recovery of critical raw materials and hence increase our capacity and expertise to meet upcoming opportunities and challenges.

The green shift is heavily dependent on access to critical raw materials, like lithium. Primary recovery must be done in a responsible and environmentally friendly way, to ensure minimum use of resources like fresh water and renewable energy. In addition, resource recovery and recirculation of utilized materials will become increasingly important in the years to come, hence a need for developing new and improved knowledge on how to extract critical raw materials from production scrap and recycled materials in a sustainable way is required.

The person filling this position will have a special responsibility for teaching chemical engineering and performing research within hydrometallurgical recovery of critical raw materials, based on a circular and sustainable perspective. The candidate must therefore possess extensive knowledge within chemical engineering with experience in hydrometallurgical recovery, and an interest and/or background in sustainability and circularity, process system design, and value chain evaluations.

Duties of the position

• Develop and maintain an internationally recognized research track record within the subject area through high-quality publications and participation at international conferences.
• Acquire research funding from national and international funding agencies and expand international and industrial collaborations.
• Manage research projects and participate in networks for research and innovation.
• Supervise master students, PhD candidates, and postdoctoral fellows.
• Teaching and development of courses at BSc, MSc, and PhD levels offered by the chemical engineering department
• Participate in the development of the Department and take part in interdisciplinary research and education collaborations at the department, as well as other departments and faculties at NTNU.

Required qualifications

You must have the qualifications required for the position of Associate Professor in the field of hydrometallurgy, as outlined in the regulations concerning appointment and promotion to teaching and research posts

• Your PhD, or comparable academic work, must be within the field of chemical engineering with experience in hydrometallurgical recovery.
• A documented track record of research excellence through publications in peer-reviewed journals.
• Research experience in addition to your PhD.
• Teaching experience in chemical engineering at university level, and the ability and interest to evaluate and improve teaching, supervision, and development of courses in a systematic way.
• Supervision/co-supervision experience at Master’s/PhD level.
• Excellent oral and written English communication skills.

You must document relevant basic competence in teaching and supervision at a university/higher education-level, as referenced in the Norwegian national Regulations. If this cannot be documented, you will be required to complete an approved course in university pedagogy within two years of commencement. NTNU offers qualifying courses.

New employees who do not speak a Scandinavian language by appointment is required, within three years, to demonstrate skills in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language equivalent to level three of the course for Norwegian for speakers of other languages at the Department of Language and Literature at NTNU.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience and interest in circular chemical engineering, process system design, and value-chain evaluations.
• Postdoctoral or university researcher experience.
• Industry experience/international researcher experience.
• Potential to attract research funding commensurate with career stage.
• Experience with development and use of various teaching methods.
• Good command of both spoken and written Norwegian/Scandinavian language.

Personal qualities

• Collaborative with demonstrated teamwork skills.
• Ambitious
• Original and creative
• Solution oriented

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

• exciting and challenging tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Application Process

You can find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

Salary and conditions

The position as Associate Professor (code 1011) comes with a starting package for new research staff and is remunerated according to the Norwegian State salary scale. As required by law, 2% of this salary will be deducted and paid into the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU.

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

About the application

Your application and supporting documentation must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

Your application must include:

• A cover letter explaining your interest, motivation, and fit for this position.
• CV, diplomas, and certificates
• A teaching portfolio, in which your teaching competence is compiled and presented systematically, (See guidelines for applicants: Documentation of teaching qualifications in applications and appointments to academic positions at NTNU)
• Academic works – published or unpublished – that you wish to be considered during assessment of your application (up to 5 items)
• A description of the scientific works you consider most relevant, which you particularly wish to be factored into the assessment
• A list of your previous works, with details on where they have been published
• A research plan
• Details of projects for which you have served as project manager, including information on financing, duration, and scope
• Names and contact information for three relevant referees

You are encouraged to use the Universities Norway’s NOR-CAM toolbox as a guide for documentation of your competence.

Joint work will also be considered. If it is difficult to identify your specific input to a joint project, you must include evidence of your contributions.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. Our assessment of the pedagogical skills will be based on documented pedagogical material, forms of presentation in your academic works, teaching experience, PhD, and Masters supervision, and any other relevant pedagogical background. Both quality and scope will be taken into consideration, and an open scientific practice will be recognized.

NTNU is obliged by the evaluation criteria for research quality in accordance with The San Fransisco Declaration on Research Assessment – DORA and The obligations in the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment ( CoARA) on responsible assessment of research and recognition of a wider range of academic contributions to science and society. This means that we will pay particular attention to the quality and academic range demonstrated by your scientific work to date. We will also pay attention to research leadership and participation in research projects. Your scientific work from the last five years will be given the most weight.

Your application will be considered by an expert committee. Candidates of interest will be invited to an interview, and to deliver a trial teaching session.

General information

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is a strength. We want our faculty and staff to reflect Norway’s culturally diverse population and we continuously seek to hire the best minds. This enables NTNU to increase productivity and innovation, improve decision making processes, raise employee satisfaction, compete academically with global top-ranking institutions and carry out our social responsibilities within education and research. NTNU emphasizes accessibility and encourages qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender identity, ability status, periods of unemployment or ethnic and cultural background.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality.

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must continually maintain and improve your professional development and be flexible regarding any organizational changes.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

For the sake of transparency, candidates will be given the expert evaluation of their own and other candidates. As an applicant you are considered part of the process and is stipulated to rules of confidentiality.

If you have any questions regarding the position, please contact Jens-Petter Andreassen, tel. 73594209, e-mail jens-petter.andreassen@ntnu.no.

If you have questions regarding the recruitment process, please contact HR adviser, e-mail ranveig.nerhoel@ntnu.no

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.

Application deadline: June 3rd, 2024