Centre for the Study of Professions (SPS)

Oslo Metropolitan University is Norway's third largest university with almost 22,000 students and over 2,500 employees. We have campuses in central Oslo and at Romerike. OsloMet educates students and conducts research that contributes to the sustainability of the Norwegian welfare state and the metropolitan region.

SPS develops the study of professions as a multidisciplinary field of research, comprising research from a wide range of disciplines. SPS aims to be a leading centre for research and graduate study within the study of professions in the Nordic countries.

Call for Expression of Interest for a joint application under the EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action Postdoctoral Fellowship funding programme

We hereby invite top-class researchers of any nationality, after having obtained a PhD degree and up to six years of research experience, to apply for an EU-funded Marie Skłodowska Curie Action Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA-PF-2021) to conduct research on social inequalities - the importance of professions, education and occupational groups at OsloMet - at Oslo Metropolitan University for a period of two years.

Area of research

In recent decades, it has become increasingly difficult to align the "map" from traditional class theory with the terrain, and in all attempts to reformulate class theory, horizontal differences between occupational and educational groups are central. In Norway, as in most western countries, the industrial working class is shrinking, ever-increasing proportions of birth cohorts are entering higher education, increasing the college educated middle class. Education has thus become more important in that it is increasingly difficult to do without. On the other hand, a tertiary degree no longer guarantees a secure and well-paid labour market position. At the same time, some occupational and educational groups enjoy very high incomes, and economic differences are increasing. Professions, educational- and occupational groups are also the breeding ground for status group formation, and central lines of conflict run along such dimensions. The popular opposition to the EU in Britain, or the support for Trump in the United States, is e.g. not primarily a revolt against the super-rich and capitalists, but rather against political elites and highly educated "experts" and bureaucrats.

Tasks and responsibilities

The candidates are invited to address such processes, and to explore differences between professions, occupations and educational groups, and what role such differences play for people's life chances and social identities, group formations and social conflicts. Studies of elite educations and elite professions may be interesting, but also studies of college-educated professional groups (such as teachers, social workers, nurses, police, etc.) who play an interesting role in these developments. On the one hand, they are central to the state's "meddling" in people's lives, while on the other hand they do not belong to any elite (neither economically nor educationally). The candidates may also increase our understanding of the situation described above by addressing questions such as: What governs people's educational choices? What influences successful completion of tertiary education? How do labour market rewards and closure mechanisms work, and how does it vary between professions, educational and occupational groups?

Successful candidates will be supervised by Professor Håvard Helland, who has 20 years’ experience studying education and labour market inequalities. Helland has long experience in supervising doctoral students, and is currently involved in four research projects funded by the Norwegian research council:

The successful applicant will primarily work on the Marie Curie funded project, integrated in the SPS Center and in the research group Professional Careers and Professional Labour Markets more specifically, taking part in regular meetings and seminars. The candidate will also be introduced to Prof. Håvard Helland’s network of researchers on social inequalities. In agreement with the candidate, he/she may also be included in other ongoing projects and/or in proposal development processes.

Expected qualification of candidates

Candidates must have successfully defended his/her PhD in sociology, political science, anthropology, economics or similar subjects as the minimum requirement. We are primarily looking for experienced postdoctoral researchers, who wish to use this period as an opportunity to further develop their research and to develop longer term research collaborations with OsloMet and other institutions conducting research in the field. The candidates must be eligible for a Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (PhD successfully defended and a maximum of 8 years full-time equivalent experience in research).

We are looking for applicants who have

  • Excellent skills in statistical methods and in using statistical programs (such as R, Stata or SAS).
  • An excellent track record in research and publications, necessary for being able to develop a competitive Marie Curie Fellowship application
  • An open and cooperation-oriented nature, with strong abilities for independent academic work.

Assessment and selection of candidates

With this call for Expression of Interest, we invite researchers to submit their CV, including publications list and a one-page description of the project idea, that will be the basis for selecting a maximum of two candidates with whom we will collaborate for developing competitive MSCA-PF grant applications.

Candidates will be pre-selected based on an internal evaluation and the availability of suitable supervision. A maximum of five candidates will be invited for a virtual interview and a maximum of two candidates will be invited to submit a proposal to the EU funded MSCA-PF programme. Candidates will be informed of the results of the pre-selection to apply by 25 March 2021. The deadline for submitting the MSCA-FP proposal is 15 September 2021.

Selected candidates will be invited and must participate in the MSCA-FP masterclass, a two-day online workshop organized by OsloMet on the first week of May 2021, exact date to be confirmed. In this first phase, the cooperation will be carried out remotely, with regular communication via email and online meeting platforms. If applicants are successful in their MSCA grant application, the place of work will be in the Work Research Institute, OsloMet main campus, located in the center of Oslo.

The postdoctoral position

Successful applicants who obtain a MSCA-PF grant will be offered a position at OsloMet to be hired as postdoc researchers in conditions as explained below.

It is important for OsloMet to reflect the population of our region, and all qualified candidates are welcomed to apply. We make our active endeavour to further develop OsloMet as an inclusive workplace and to adapt the workplace if required. If there are periods where you have not been working, under education or in training, you are also eligible to apply.

Starting Date

The EU informs the evaluation results on the MSCA-PF-2021 applications in February 2022. Successful applicants who receive the MSCA-PF grant are expected to be available to start in their postdoctoral position at OsloMet within the following two months of the evaluation results and no later than summer of 2022.

We offer

Initially, we offer assistance in developing competitive Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship proposals. Then, to successful applicants to the Marie Curie program, we offer:

  • An exciting opportunity at Norway’s third largest and most urban university
  • Participation in a dynamic professional environment and unique academic community
  • Flexible working conditions
  • An inclusive and friendly work environment
  • Unique academic network the possibility for the right candidate(s) to pursue his/her academic goals under the auspices of Professor Håvard Helland
  • Norwegian language courses to employees
  • On-boarding assistance and other services
  • Beneficial welfare schemes and a wide range of sports and cultural offers
  • Free Norwegian language classes to employees and their partners/spouses
  • Work-place in downtown Oslo with multiple cultural offers
  • On-boarding assistance and other services

OsloMet has implemented the Charter & Code for researchers and been granted the HR Excellence in Research (HRS4) by the EU Commission and is part of the EU network for mobility of Researchers EURAXESS. See practical information about relocation to OsloMet and EURAXESS Norway.

Remuneration and employment

The competitive fellowship opportunities are 100% funded and include living and mobility allowances.

  • Type of employment: Temporary position
  • Contract type: Full time
  • Annual Salary: Approx. EUR 60,000
  • Starting day of employment: Expected starting date 1 April 2022
  • Number of positions: 1 – 2
  • Working hours: 37.5 hours/week

Other information

For more information about the position, feel free to contact:

  • Karoline Aursland, R&D and External Funding Support, Karoline.Aursland@oslomet.no
  • Florissa Abreu, R&D and External Funding Support, Florissa.Abreu@oslomet.no
  • Håvard Helland, Professor, Havard.Helland@oslomet.no 

We only process applications sent via our electronic recruitment system and all documents must be uploaded for your application to be processed. The documents must be in English. Translations must be authorised. OsloMet performs document checks in order to give you as a candidate a proper evaluation and ensure fair competition. 

Deadline for application: January 31, 2021

Ref.: 20/12123

Type of employment Temporary position (shorter than 10 days)
Contract type Full time
First day of employment Expected starting date 1 April 2022
Salary Annual Salary: Approx. EUR 60,000
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100 %
City Oslo
County Oslo
Country Norway
Reference number 20/12123
Published 22.Dec.2020
Last application date 31.Jan.2021 11:59 PM CET

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