PhD Research Fellow in global nutrition

PhD Research Fellow in global nutrition About the position

A 100% position is available at the University of Agder, Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences as a PhD Research Fellow in global nutrition connected to the research project EATWELL. The position is available for a period of three years. The starting date is negotiable with the faculty, but preferably from 1 September 2023. The position is located at Campus Kristiansand.

The Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences has four departments: Department of Nutrition and Public Health, Department of Health and Nursing Science, Department of Sport Science and Physical Education, and Department of Psychosocial Health. The PhD-student will be affiliated to the Department of Nutrition and Public Health and the Priority Research Centre Lifecourse Nutrition. The position is part of a larger research project entitled EATWELL: A Comparative Material-Semiotic Ethnography of Food Systems and More-than- Human Health in Bhutan, funded by the Norwegian Research Council

EATWELL is a radical interdisciplinary research project integrating predominantly nutritional sciences and socio-cultural anthropological approaches, examining food systems and their entanglements with cosmology, society, health aetiologies, nutrition, and environment across five different locations in Bhutan. EATWELL entails a collaboration between the University of Agder (UiA), The University of Oslo (UiO), OsloMet, Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences (KGUMSB), Sherubtse College (Royal University of Bhutan), and Royal Thimphu College (RTC). A detailed description of the project may be requested from the Principal Investigator (PI) of the project, Associate Professor Wim Van Daele, [email protected]

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will be part of a team who will carry out a nutritional survey and partake in the extended nutritional ethnographic case study. The nutritional survey will include approximately 250 people in one or two locations in Bhutan. The aim is to discern broader trends in food and nutrient intake to be contextualized by our preceding socio-cultural anthropological study of food systems and eating habits. The nutritional survey will also provide the broader context to the more detailed and extended nutritional ethnographic case study. In this, you will work together with the PI to jointly examine the cultural food habits and nutrient intake among 10 people in these same one or two locations in Bhutan. This detailed examination of the culture-nutrition interaction will thus be contextualized by both our socio-cultural anthropological study and the larger nutritional survey.

The candidate will take part in the different phases of the project—preparation, fieldwork, analysis, writing and publishing—as part of conducting the nutritional survey and the joint work in the extended nutritional ethnographic case study. The PhD candidate will work in an international and interdisciplinary team of researchers and must be prepared to spend a year in the field and contribute to the project as a whole.

In short, key responsibilities are:

Planning and executing the nutritional survey in collaboration with other team members as well as analysis and synthesis across the relevant disciplines and the sites.

Contributing to the execution of the extended nutritional ethnographic case study in conversation with the PI and the other team members and research parts

Contributing to the analysis and synthesis.

Writing a dissertation and publishing at least 3 academic articles.

Required qualifications

Qualify for admission to the Ph.D. programme in the Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences,

Have a relevant Master's degree in nutrition-related fields with an average grade of B or higher

Be proficient in English, both written and oral. International candidates that are not exempt from the English language requirements pursuant to the guidelines of the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) must document this through one of the following tests with the stated results or better:

TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language with a minimum score of 600 for the Paperbased Test (PBT), or 92 for the Internet-based Test (iBT)

IELTS - International English Language Testing System, with the result of 6.5

Further provisions relating to the positions as PhD Research Fellow can be found in the Regulations Concerning Terms and Conditions of Employment for the post of Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Research Fellow, Research Assistant and Resident.

Desired qualifications

The candidate who can document one or more of the following will have a clear advantage.

Knowledge of global nutrition and related key themes

Experience in Bhutan or other Himalayan area and knowledge of a local language

Experience of working in culturally diverse settings

Experience of working in interdisciplinary settings

Experience in nutritional surveys as part of their education or (voluntary) work

Personal qualities

Perseverant and respectful

Independent and reflexive

Good communicative and collaborative skills

Organised and goal-oriented

Relevant experience, previous results, and personal suitability will be emphasized

We offer

Participation in an exciting international and interdisciplinary research group

Professional development in a large, dynamic, and socially influential organisation

A positive, inclusive, and diverse working environment

Modern facilities and a comprehensive set of welfare offers

Membership of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund

Possibility for international training and a joint PhD

More about working at UiA

The position is remunerated according to the State Salary Scale, salary plan 17.515, code 1017 PhD Research Fellow, NOK 501 200 gross salary per year. A compulsory pension contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund is deducted from the pay according to current statutory provisions.

The University is committed to securing high quality supervision and an exciting working environment for successful applicants.

General information

UiA is an open and inclusive university. We believe that diversity enriches the workplace and makes us better. We, therefore, encourage qualified candidates to apply for the position independent of gender, age, cultural background, disability, or an incomplete CV.

The successful applicant will have rights and obligations in accordance with the current regulations for the position, and organisational changes and changes in the duties and responsibilities of the position must be expected. Appointment is made by the University of Agder's Appointments Committee for Teaching and Research Positions.

Short-listed applicants will be invited for interview. With the applicant's permission, UiA will also conduct a reference check before appointment. Read more about the employment process.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act § 25 (2), applicants may request that they are not identified in the open list of applicants. The University, however, reserves the right to publish the names of applicants. Applicants will be advised of the University's intention to exercise this right.

Application

The application and any necessary information about education and experience (including diplomas and certificates) are to be sent electronically. Use the link "Apply for this job".

The following documentation must be uploaded electronically:

Certificates with grades, as well as an explanation of the grades

Required English language certificates (see required qualifications above).

Master's thesis or equivalent

CV with list of fieldwork projects, relevant experiences, and publications

Motivation letter for the position

A maximum 2000-word project proposal of how you would design and plan the nutritional survey with a tentative time-line, including an estimation of how many working hours support you might need to carry out the work as you envisage. Select key decisions that you have taken and argue why you do so. References are not included in the scope of pages.

The applicant is fully responsible for submitting complete digital documentation before the closing date. All documentation must be available in a Scandinavian language or English.

Application deadline: 15 March 2023

Contact

For questions about the position:

Ass. Prof. Wim Van Daele, tel: +47 96 74 13 43, e-mail: [email protected]

Ass. Prof. Anine Christine Medin, tel +47 38 14 14 28, e-mail: [email protected]

Senior adviser Erik Grasaas, tel: +47 38 14 17 03, e-mail [email protected]

For questions about the application process:

Senior adviser Turid Ervik, tel. +47 37 23 37 71, e-mail [email protected]

University of Agder

The University of Agder has more than 1500 employees and almost 14 000 students. This makes us one of the largest workplaces in Southern Norway. Our staff research, teach and disseminate knowledge from a variety of academic fields. Co-creation of knowledge is our common vision. We offer a broad range of study programmes in many fields. We are situated at two modern campuses in Kristiansand and Grimstad respectively.

We are an open and inclusive university marked by a culture of cooperation. The aim of the university is to further develop education and research at a high international level.

Deadline

15th March 2023

Employer

University of Agder

Municipality

Kristiansand

Scope

Fulltime (1 positions) Fulltime (%)

Duration

Fixed Term

Place of service