Assistant Professor Developmental Psychology (0.8 – 1.0 FTE), Utrecht University
Job description
At Utrecht University education plays a pivotal role and is by nature based upon rigorous research and evidence. Our education is provided by highly qualified staff, that also takes part in the research programmes of their department, and is able to translate that research into teaching. The Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences has an opening for five assistant professor positions.
Currently five positions are advertised, each combining teaching (70%) and research (30%), starting July 2021. We are looking for assistant professors working and teaching in one of the four psychology divisions or in in a combination of divisions: Clinical Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Experimental Psychology, and Social, Health and Organizational Psychology. This position focusses on Developmental Psychology.
The division of Developmental Psychology is a thriving group of academics committed to understanding the psychological processes that help youth reach their potential, and educating new generations of academic professionals and youth experts. Our core values are collegiality, curiosity, and ambition to creating and disseminating knowledge that matters.
Your primary responsibility (70%) would be to contribute to our bachelor degree programme in Psychology (and it developmental components in particular), or our master degree programme in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Teaching activities will depend on your expertise and be determined in consultation with our teaching coordinator. Typically, teaching activities involve educational innovation, course coordination, teaching lectures or workgroups, and individual student supervision (e.g., research theses, internships). Teaching in the bachelor is in Dutch, in the master in English.
Your secondary responsibility (30%) would be to contribute to our research programme, either by conducting independent research or being involved in existing research within the division. In line with our striving for diversification and vitalization of career paths, for this position, research excellence is not a primary evaluation criterion or goal in itself. Rather, your research activities serve the goal of helping you reach your potential as academic educator.
The position allows ample opportunity for training and personal development, mentored by senior colleagues in the division.
Requirements
We are looking for a PhD who is qualified and driven to provide quality academic teaching in developmental psychology and its applications.
Your suitability is ideally exemplified by:
Teaching:
- strong commitment and potential to pursuing an academic career centered around educational responsibilities;
- ambition to continue to improve your expertise and skills as an educational innovator, academic teacher, and student supervisor;
- proven effectiveness of teaching and student supervision as evident from student learning outcomes;
- you do not need to have experience with course coordination or educational innovation, but we ask investment in learning to take on these responsibilities, mentored by colleagues;
- experience with applications of developmental psychology in a professional field (e.g., as clinician) would be a plus;
Research:
- potential to do quality research, demonstrated by the successful completion of a PhD in developmental psychology or a neighboring discipline and, ideally, publications that have contributed to the field;
Personal attributes:
- broad deployment: with fitting preparation or training, you ideally are an educational generalist able to flexibly teach across the breadth of our educational programme;
- team orientation: positive, interdependent attitude and proven ability to forge connection with colleagues;
- eagerness to invest in professional growth (e.g., by acquiring teaching qualifications) that will place you in good position to play a central role in our division’s educational programme.
All qualified candidates are invited to apply. We also welcome applications from international candidates. Because part of our teaching is in Dutch, we would ask commitment to learning and teaching in Dutch.
Conditions of employment
We offer a temporary position (0.8 – 1.0 FTE) for one year in an international working environment. Upon a positive performance the appointment will be followed by a permanent position. Your salary will range from a minimum of €3,746 to a maximum of €5,826 per month based on a full-time appointment (i.e. salary scale 11/12 according to the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities).
The salary is supplemented with an annual holiday pay of 8%, and an end-of-year bonus of 8,3% per year. We offer flexible working conditions and terms of employment to support a good work – life balance of our employees. Other secondary conditions include a pension scheme and partially paid parental leave. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.
Employer
A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major societal themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences, and Pathways to Sustainability.
The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences is one of the leading faculties in Europe providing research and academic teaching in cultural anthropology, educational sciences, interdisciplinary social science, pedagogical sciences, psychology, and sociology. Almost 6.000 students are enrolled in a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programmes. The Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences has some 850 faculty and staff members, all providing their individual contribution to the training and education of young talent and to the research into and finding solutions for scientific and societal issues.
Additional information
For additional information, please contact prof. dr. Sander Thomaes by email: s.thomaes@uu.nl.
