Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental Ethnography and River Biographies in the Face of Climate Change

About the position

At the Department of Language and Culture, Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, there is a vacant postdoctoral position affiliated with the interdisciplinary research project RiverPulse.

RiverPulse: Reconfiguring human–nature interactions as an assemblage at the Arctic frontline of climate change is an ERC Advanced Grant project at UiT – The Arctic University of Norway. The project examines how accelerating climate change reshapes Arctic salmon rivers as ecological systems, multi-species environments, lived places, and arenas for governance.

The overall goal is to further develop assemblage thinking as an empirically grounded framework for understanding climate change as a relational crisis, and Arctic salmon rivers as assemblages of ecological, social, cultural, and political processes.

The project works in three river regions: Reisa in Norway, Tornio in Finland and Sweden, and Kapisillit in Greenland. The communities are multilingual and multicultural, comprising Sami and Kalaallit Inuit indigenous communities as well as Kven and Meänkieli minority contexts. RiverPulse combines ecological and quantitative research with ethnographic, historical, citizen science, and governance-related approaches to understand how climate-driven changes in rivers and salmon systems reshape river–salmon–human relations, as well as knowledge and governance.

RiverPulse is designed as an interdisciplinary research program, and the vacant postdoctoral position is one of four postdoctoral positions. Ecological and quantitative documentation will be interpreted together with qualitative and community-based knowledge, while each researcher retains clear academic responsibility for their own area. You will join a team spanning the humanities, social sciences, and environmental science, with interdisciplinary partners and local research assistants in the three river regions.

The Department of Language and Culture is a department with great thematic breadth and a very active research environment. There are approximately 140 employees in total, primarily at the Tromsø campus, but also at the Alta campus. The department has approximately 500 students.

The postdoctoral position is a fixed-term position with a period of employment of 3 years. It is assumed that the applicant will be able to complete the project within the employment period. No one can be employed for more than one fixed-term period as a postdoc at the same institution.

As a postdoc, you will have the opportunity to further develop your research career and qualify for further work within academia. If you do not already have pedagogical competence that meets the requirements for a position as an Associate Professor in Norway, UiT will facilitate your ability to acquire this competence during the employment period.

The place of work is UiT in Tromsø; some travel should be expected in the role. You must be able to start the position by April 1, 2027.

About the project/The position's research area

We are recruiting four postdocs with complementary competence. Each position has its own research question and area of responsibility, while all four postdocs will contribute to RiverPulse's interdisciplinary work with ecological, social, cultural, and political processes. Previous experience from Arctic or northern research is an advantage, but generally not a requirement. We welcome applications from candidates who can explain how their competence can contribute to RiverPulse. You are not expected to already be an expert in all the methods or disciplines used in the project.

In addition to their position-specific research tasks (see below), all postdocs will contribute to common RiverPulse activities, including project meetings, workshops and events, research communication and dissemination, as well as other project activities. Additionally, the position involves periods of extensive fieldwork at one or more of our research sites.

You must submit a preliminary research plan of a maximum of three pages, excluding references. Outline how you will develop your research within the broader RiverPulse project. The plan should identify the questions you will pursue, the material and methods you will build upon, as well as the conceptual approach you envision. It should explain how your research relates to the relevant RiverPulse position and the project as a whole, what you will contribute independently, and where you see the most important opportunities for collaboration across disciplines and river regions. Where relevant, you should also mention fieldwork, community involvement, and ethical considerations.

The three-page research plan is not expected to be a fully independent project proposal. We want to see how you formulate a coherent individual research line within an already defined ERC project, and how you will utilize the collaborative opportunities RiverPulse provides.

Your role

You will contribute expertise in environmental ethnography and biographical research. Your research will primarily focus on one RiverPulse river, while also contributing to comparative work across all three river regions. The position examines how environmental changes and altered relations to rivers are negotiated, contested, remembered, and told over time, and how historical, colonial, and political-economic processes shape river communities, practices, and understandings in the face of climate change. The position will address the following research question:

How are environmental changes negotiated, contested, remembered, and told over time in the communities along the Arctic salmon rivers?

Tasks

• Conduct ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and historical research in one RiverPulse river region.
• Work with ethnographic, narrative, oral-historical, and archival material to develop a longitudinal river biography that follows environmental changes and the historical, colonial, and political-economic processes that have shaped relations with the river.
• Analyze how changing conditions in the rivers are interpreted, negotiated, and contested in everyday practices and understandings.
• Link ethnographic research to RiverPulse citizen science, including how members of local communities observe, document, and interpret environmental changes in their rivers. Contribute to the testing of the RiverPulse app, participant engagement, and the interpretation of citizen science observations. Technical development of the app will be carried out with project partners.
• Develop your own analyses and publications within this position's research area and contribute to comparative RiverPulse results.

Contact

More information about the position can be obtained from Head of Department Gustav Jørgen Pedersen:

• Phone: + 47 77 64 69 74
• E-mail: Gustav.j.pedersen@uit.no

or Professor Sari Päivikki Pietikäinen:

• Phone: +47 77 64 47 02
• E-mail: Sari.pietikaeinen@uit.no

Qualifications

Necessary qualifications:

• A PhD in anthropology, human geography, sociology, discourse studies, critical sociolinguistics, environmental humanities, or another field relevant to ethnographic and qualitative research.
• Experience with qualitative fieldwork and documented expertise in ethnographic, narrative, discursive, biographical, or closely related qualitative research.
• Very good oral and written English skills.
• Working proficiency in at least one language used in a RiverPulse field community, at a level sufficient to conduct qualitative field research independently.

Desired qualifications:

• Experience with oral history or archival research, indigenous or local knowledge, citizen science, participatory or digital research methods, coloniality or decolonial approaches, or indigenous studies.
• Experience with Arctic or northern communities.

Relevant languages at the field sites are: Reisa – Norwegian, Kven, and North Sami; Tornio – Finnish, Swedish, and Meänkieli; Kapisillit – Kalaallisut and Danish. In the application, you are asked to describe your level of competence and how you can use the language in field research.

Fluency in English is necessary, and working knowledge of Norwegian or a Scandinavian language is considered advantageous. Nordic applicants can document their language skills by including high school transcripts in their application.

In the assessment, primary weight will be placed on the submitted works and the project proposal for the qualifying work. Emphasis will also be placed on experience in popularization/dissemination and academic policy and administrative activities.

In the assessment of applicants, we will emphasize the applicant's motivation, research potential, and personal suitability for the position. We will also assess both what you can already contribute to the position and your potential for further development within RiverPulse.

In addition to the specific qualifications, we will emphasize:

• The quality and relevance of your research and your research potential
• Your analytical skills, intellectual curiosity, and motivation for interdisciplinary research on Arctic river systems and changing societies
• Your understanding of the position you are applying for, and how your competence can contribute to the broader RiverPulse project
• Your ability to conduct research with academic independence within the overall RiverPulse framework, including developing your own analyses and publications, while actively and constructively contributing to the project's collaborative, interdisciplinary research
• Initiative and openness to engaging with perspectives, methods, and forms of knowledge beyond your own disciplinary background
• Communication and collaboration skills that contribute to an inclusive, constructive, and collaborative research environment.

At UiT, emphasis is placed on the quality, relevance, and significance of research work rather than where the work is published, in accordance with the principles of The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).

Inclusive working life and diversity

UiT The Arctic University of Norway has a personnel policy goal to be an employer that reflects the diversity of society and utilizes the potential in the population's collective competence. We believe that inclusion and diversity are a strength and seek employees with different competencies, combinations of disciplines, life experiences, and perspectives.

If you have a disability, gaps in your CV, or an immigrant background, we encourage you as an applicant to check these boxes in the job application portal. If there are qualified applicants, we call in at least one from each group for an interview, and if you get the job, we will make arrangements for you if you need them. Aside from selecting the right candidates, we do not use the checkboxes for anything other than anonymized statistics. Read more in the Employer Portal https://arbeidsgiver.difi.no/positivsaerbehandling

We can offer

• Good career opportunities
• Good welfare schemes
• Good pension, insurance, and loan schemes in Statens pensjonskasse
• The opportunity to participate in an ERC Advanced Grant project addressing a central environmental and societal challenge in the Arctic.
• A genuinely interdisciplinary research environment that brings the humanities, social sciences, and environmental science into sustained collaboration.
• A clearly defined research role, combined with support to develop your own analyses, publications, and academic profile within RiverPulse.
• Opportunities to contribute to groundbreaking interdisciplinary research, workshops, and broader project activities, while building your own research network.
• A collaborative, inclusive, and constructive working environment where different forms of competence and knowledge are valued.

The application

Please note that the application is only assessed based on the information submitted by the application deadline via Jobbnorge. It is therefore important that you attach all necessary documents demonstrating your qualifications for the position. Since English is the working language of the research group, the CV, cover letter, motivation letter, and research plan must be written in English.

Your application must include:

• Cover letter
• A motivation letter of a maximum of two pages. Explain why you are applying for this RiverPulse position, how your background prepares you for it, and how you understand the position's scientific and practical responsibilities. Also reflect briefly on how you will contribute to interdisciplinary and collaborative research, and what you see as important or challenging about conducting climate research in Arctic river environments and local communities.
• Preliminary research plan (max 3 pages)
• CV
• Diplomas and transcripts for all degrees
• Contact information for 2-3 references
• Documentation of English language proficiency
• Documentation of pedagogical competence, if available
• Up to 5 key scientific works that you consider most relevant to the position. Your doctoral dissertation can be included as one of these works. Explain in your cover letter (max. one page) how you believe these publications relate to RiverPulse.

If you are in the final stages of your PhD, you can still apply for the position, provided that you submit confirmation that the doctoral dissertation has been submitted for evaluation.

Your application should help us understand not only if you meet the formal criteria, but also how you envision contributing to RiverPulse and developing as a researcher within the project. All documentation to be assessed must be in a Scandinavian language or English. If documentation of English proficiency is missing at the time of application, it must be documented before commencement.

Note to candidates:

We know that no single candidate will bring all the experience or competence listed here, and we do not expect it. What matters is that you meet the qualification requirements, have a strong individual perspective, and can see how your work can contribute to RiverPulse. RiverPulse is designed to provide you with both a clear research role and space to develop new competence, new questions, and collaborations as the project evolves. If the position matches your research interests, we encourage you to apply.

Expert assessment

Applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to conduct an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the application documents and the announcement text. All applicants will receive a copy of the expert committee's assessment.

Applicants deemed to be the most qualified will be invited for an interview. The interview will, among other things, clarify personal suitability and motivation for the position. A trial lecture may also be held.

General information

Employment is subject to the rules and terms that apply to state employees at any given time, and guidelines at UiT. On our website, you can find more information for applicants to positions at UiT.

Postdocs are paid according to the state regulations code 1352 with a gross annual salary in a 100% position between NOK 620,000 - 665,100. (In special cases, higher salary may be considered.) From the gross salary, a mandatory 2% contribution is deducted to Statens pensjonskasse. You will become a member of Statens pensjonskasse, which provides many benefits in addition to lifelong old-age pension and AFP. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no.

You must be willing to engage in development work within your own field and for the university as a whole.

Personal data provided is processed in accordance with the Personal Data Act. Applicants may request not to be listed on the public applicant list, but the university may nonetheless decide that the applicant's name shall be made public. The applicant will then be notified prior to publication.

Welcome as an applicant!

About the employer:

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is an internationally leading comprehensive university. Our vision is to be a driving force in the North. The North Sami concept eallju, which means industriousness, sets the tone for the driving force at UiT. Together with students, employees, and society at large, we shall utilize our location in Northern Norway and Sápmi, our academic breadth, and our interdisciplinary advantages to shape the future.

UiT has approximately 18,000 students, more than 4,000 employees, and is established on four main campuses and seven other study locations in Northern Norway and on Svalbard. Our largest campuses are Tromsø, Alta, Narvik, and Harstad. UiT has seven faculties, 40 institutes and centers, and leading research environments within various disciplines. The university has 269 study programs and focuses on educational quality.

Academic freedom, scientific, and research ethics principles form the basis for all of UiT's activities. Participation, co-determination, openness, and good processes shall provide the decision-making basis we need to make wise and forward-looking priorities. Our students and employees shall have the opportunity to develop their abilities and potential. Founded on scientific integrity, we shall be brave, engaged, and generous - close to the subject, the people, and contemporary developments.

Read more about UiT's strategy towards 2030