Tenure Track Assistant Professor - Sustainable Grain Legume Cropping at Aarhus University

The Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University, Denmark, offers an attractive career opportunity for skilled researchers. We invite applications for a position as Tenure Track Assistant Professor focusing on sustainable grain legume cropping. The position is a career development position with the possibility of transition to a tenured associate professorship and will be available from 01-02-2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

As Tenure Track Assistant Professor you will be part of a research environment having a focus on grain legumes as a central protein source in the transition to plant-based foods and as locally produced feed concentrate. Key to this is to increase the diversity of grain legumes that are possible to grow under Danish conditions to fulfill the requirements from the food and feed industry. Furthermore, we need to increase our knowledge on how nitrogen input from grain legumes is best utilized within our crop rotations. Therefore, this  tenure track position aims at (i) optimizing grain legume cropping among other via  inoculants and nutrient supply, (ii) improving the mechanistic understanding of  grain legume physiology and resistance to stresses, (iii) increasing the palette of  relevant grain legume species for Danish and Northern European cropping, and (iv)  enhancing the utilization of grain legume derived nitrogen via intercropping, cover crops, and integration in crop rotations.

You will contribute to the development of the department through research of the highest international quality, and your primary tasks will be to conduct independent research, including publication in high-impact scientific journals; be responsible for teaching, guidance and examination of BSc and MSc degree students and co-supervision of PhD students; as well as attracting external research funding.

You will get the opportunity to collaborate with relevant national and international research environments and in your daily work, you will work closely with both Danish and international colleagues.

We expect that you will be an important part of the research environment and that you will contribute positively to the social working environment.

Your profile

You have independent research-related qualifications at a high international level. You are a clear communicator, and you have some degree of experience of supervision and teaching at BSc and MSc degree level. Completed pedagogical courses in supervision or similar will be considered, as well as experience with external research collaborations. You have completed at least one productive stay in a different research environment.

In order to be assessed as qualified for a Tenure Track Assistant Professor position, you must:

• Hold a PhD in agronomy with focus on grain legumes or similar
• Document experience in scientific writing with several papers in high-quality journals or other high-quality publication channels
• Have established international research collaborations (e.g. joint papers and applications)
• Show proficiency in working collaboratively and establishing meaningful relationships.

Research plan

It is required and very important that you provide a 2-3 page plan for research over the next 3-5 years within focused parts of the research area and have a clear potential to perform high-quality research as well as attract external funding.

Further, we will prefer candidates with some of the following qualifications:

• Experience in planning and conducting field experimental work with knowledge at increasing scales from pot-to-farm
• Experience in planning and conducting experimental within isotopes to study carbon and nitrogen cycling within plants and between plants and soil
• Insight into raw material quality changes influenced by grain legume management
• Experience with grain legume-rhizobia interactions for enhanced N2-fixation and utilization of the derived N in the cropping system.

For more information, please see Criteria for evaluating Candidates
Please refer to the tenure track guidelines for the tenure review criteria and for the tenure review process.

Who we are

At the Department of Agroecology, our main goal is to contribute to sustainable solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems within the areas of soil, plants, animals, humans, and the environment. We want to make a difference by contributing to both fundamental knowledge generation and the attainment of sustainable production systems via innovative research, contracted policy advice, and education. We offer professional laboratories, greenhouses, semi-field, and field-scale research facilities, advanced computing capacities as well as an extensive national and international researcher network.  The department consists of nine research sections with around 350 highly skilled employees, of which approximately 50% are scientific staff. More information can be found here.
We believe in encouraging inclusion, acceptance, and understanding by employing staff who bring unique perspectives to our department.

What we offer

• A collaborative, international research environment that combines high academic standards with an informal and supportive atmosphere. We value accountability, curiosity, flexibility, and teamwork in everything we do.
• An inclusive and respectful workplace culture, where mutual trust, kindness, and professional dialogue are part of daily life. We encourage open communication and develop a cohesive sense of community across teams and disciplines.
• A flexible working environment that supports work-life balance and individual needs.
• An active institutional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion – in recruitment, career development, and everyday interactions.
• An innovative and meaningful workplace where your work contributes to solving real-world challenges. No two days are alike, and we welcome creative thinking and new ideas.
• Support for international researchers and their families, including  Relocation Service and an Expat Partner Programme

Living and working in Denmark

• Subsidised childcare and free education from primary school through university.
• Universal healthcare for you and your family as residents.
• Five weeks of paid holiday per year.
• Generous parental leave – up to 52 weeks shared between parents, with full or partial salary.

Place of Work

The place of work is Aarhus University, Campus AU-Viborg, Blichers Allé 20, DK-8830 Tjele. The affiliation will be with the Department of Agroecology.

More information can be obtained from head of section Jim Rasmussen, email: jim.rasmussenurobinsonnicholas05jonathanmcpherson@jenkins-phillips.dknelson.dkagro.au.dkpeters.dk.

Application procedure

Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the assessment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. The selection is made on the basis of an assessment of who of the candidates are most relevant considering the requirements of the advertisement. All applicants will be notified within 6 weeks whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee and will receive his/her assessment. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.

Letter of reference

If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

If you wish to add a referee after you have submitted your application, you must send this person’s details (name, job title, place of work, and email address) as well as the name of the position you have applied for to: jodismithucordovaHR.Nattech@perez.dkau.dklee.dkfranklin.dk

Formalities and salary range

Technical Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/