Research Assistant on the Horizon Europe research project FORbEST, Faculty of Humanities

The University of Oulu is a multidisciplinary, international research university, with about 3,600 employees who produce new knowledge based on high-standards research and provide research based education to build a more sustainable, smarter, and more humane world. The University of Oulu community has about 17,000 people in total. Our northern scientific community operates globally and creates conditions for the emergence of innovations.  

We are now looking to hire a

Research Assistant

to join the University of Oulu’s Faculty of Humanities, Unit of History, Culture and Communications.

The full-time (100%) four-year Research Assistant position will work within the European Commission’s Horizon Europe-funded project FORbEST “Safeguarding carbon and biodiversity across European forest ecosystems through multi-actor innovation” (2025-2028). The FORbEST project is led by the University of Oulu (scientific coordinator: Dr Roger Norum) and has received a total of six million euros in funding from the EC. As a Research Assistant, you will have responsibility for supporting the lead coordinating team in the management and oversight of the FORbEST project.

The faculty and research group

This Research Assistant position is based within Cultural Anthropology in the Research Unit of History, Culture and Communications, which combines cutting-edge expertise of human-environment interactions, transdisciplinary environmental social sciences, cultural studies, political ecology, restoration, conservation, and mobility studies.

Located on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia in Northern Finland with over 13,500 students and nearly 4,000 employees, the University of Oulu is one of the Nordic countries’ largest universities and a global leader in studies of Arctic environments and peoples.

The FORbEST project: Safeguarding Carbon and Biodiversity Across European Forest Ecosystems Through Multi-actor Innovation

The FORbEST project consortium is composed of 18 European beneficiaries across ten countries (from Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Thailand, and the UK). FORbEST seeks to restore and protect natural and semi-natural forest ecosystems, as a means of achieving EU biodiversity and climate objectives, and ultimately creating a climate-neutral and sustainable society. The project brings together cutting-edge social scientific approaches with advanced technologies and methodologies from the natural sciences to devise solutions that improve forest function and harness potential for healthy forested ecosystems. The project works with management and conservation practices across five key EU biogeographical regions and one non-EU tropical region (Northern Thailand), to understand the impact of past and current governance, and to create shared roadmaps toward sustainable futures. The project employs an array of methodologies including advanced remote sensing, AI, eDNA metabarcoding, citizen science, and participatory action research to unlock powerful, comprehensive monitoring regimes of forest habitats, and to enable a better understanding of their resilience and functionality. Project research is grounded in a transdisciplinary approach, using participatory Living Labs to steer engaged, knowledge-intensive research workshops across stakeholders. These platforms will empower diverse actors to collectively imagine, iterate, and co-design new paths and best practices for carbon-rich and biodiverse forest management. FORbEST emphasizes multi-actor approaches to robust stakeholder engagement, as a means of achieving climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, economic diversification, and citizen empowerment across multiple scales.

Job description

As a Research Assistant for the FORbEST project, you will play a pivotal role in supporting the project management and coordination team, and will work closely with the FORbEST project manager. You will work towards the success of an innovative Horizon Europe research project on environmental change and biodiversity loss, and you will benefit from the FORbEST consortium’s extensive network of researcher and practitioner contacts in European forestry. Your responsibilities will include:

• Project coordination: assisting in the coordination of project activities, timelines, and deliverables,
• Documentation: maintaining project documentation and records,
• Communication: facilitating communication between team members, stakeholders, and partners,
• Organization: schedule project meetings, prepare agendas and circulate reference materials for the meetings, keep tidy and detailed meeting minutes.
• Administrative support: Aiding project manager and Oulu team with managing schedules, making travel arrangements, processing group team member’ expenses, and sorting out other logistical tasks.
• Reporting: assisting in the preparation of project reports and updates for the European Commission;
• Other duties: carrying out administrative tasks as needed linked to the scientific coordinator’s other ongoing research projects, scientific programmes, and funding initiatives.

What we offer?

• A supportive and transparent environment in which your work is valued and your contribution is recognized.
• The support of an experienced and enthusiastic team of people where you can share your expertise and grow in the field of project, research and scientific administration.
• A world-class research environment in a multinational, high-ranking group working to solve globally significant scientific and environmental challenges.
• Wellness benefit ePassi covering sport, culture and well-being. Read more about other staff benefits.
• Personal and career development options of a large organisation.
• Work that matters and a workplace that promotes both flexibility and work-life balance! Read more about working with us.
• Finland is the happiest and one of the most livable countries in the world, with a high quality of life, personal safety, excellent education system, and competitive economy. Read more about living in Oulu!

Who are you?

We expect from you the following qualifications and skills:

• A Bachelor or Master’s degree in a related field of environmental, social, human or natural sciences, business administration, or equivalent discipline (e.g. anthropology, geography, environmental humanities, STS, ecology, forest science, biology, etc.);
• Strong communication skills, excellent command of written and spoken English language;
• Strong organizational and time management skills;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and project management software, including Microsoft Teams;
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, multidisciplinary team;
• High self-motivation and ability to manage multiple tasks and to work efficiently;
• Ability to work independently;
• Ability to identify and resolve problems quickly.

It is an advantage for the position (but not required) if you have:

• a good command of the Finnish language;
• prior experience in project management or research coordination;
• knowledge of environmental research and forest issues.

Applications from students are also welcome.

Salary

The position is full time (100%) and fixed term, beginning from 01.01.2025 (or as agreed as soon as possible thereafter) until 31.12.2028.

The salary will be based on the levels 2-4 of the demand level chart for other expert and support staff of Finnish universities. In addition, a salary component based on personal work performance will be paid (maximum of 50 % of the job-specific component). The starting gross salary for the position will be approximately 2200-2600€ per month (before taxes). A trial period of 6 months is applied in the position.

How to apply?

Interested? If yes, please apply by Sunday 15 September 2024 (11:59pm EET/Finnish Time) through our recruitment system.

The application should be written in English and should include the following appendices:

• A motivation letter (max. 1 page) summarizing your professional experience and expertise and describing why you are interested in this position.
• Curriculum vitae (max. 2 pages).
• Certificates/Diplomas: Scanned copy of your Bachelor’s or/and Master’s and diploma and transcript, officially translated to either Finnish or English (if originally in another language).
• Contact information of two previous employer references who may be asked to give a personal statement about you (note that these will only be requested if you are shortlisted for this position).

Only applications containing all relevant appendices and submitted through the online recruitment system will be considered. The top candidates will be invited to an on-site or online interview. All applicants will be notified at the various stages of the selection process, including once it has been completed.

We readily welcome applicants from all backgrounds, such as people of different ages, genders and linguistic, cultural or minority groups.

Contact Information

If you have any further questions, please contact Dr Roger Norum (roger.norum@oulu.fi).

1. Roger Norum, 0503505630