3 positions in Ethics, Social-Political Philosophy, Environmental Philosophy, and/or Ethics of Technology (EXPIRED)

Utrecht University offers up to three full-time positions at the level of Assistant Professor. The positions are situated within the Ethics Institute, which is part of the Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies.

We are particularly interested in candidates with research specialization and teaching competence in at least one of the following areas:

• ethical theory, including metaethics and/or normative ethics;
• political, social, and/or economic philosophy;
• environmental philosophy;
• ethics of technology.

The Ethics Institute highly values candidates whose research combines solid theoretical and philosophical reflection with the well-informed consideration of contexts of application. We are especially interested in candidates from diverse perspectives, whose work is informed by the sustained engagement with global philosophical traditions, theoretical perspectives, and/or lived experiences that tend to be marginalized or underrepresented within philosophy.

The successful candidates’ research specializations and openness to interdisciplinary approaches should facilitate collaborations within one or more of Utrecht University’s Strategic themes (Institutions for Open Societies, Dynamics of Youth, Life Sciences, or Pathways to Sustainability) or in Focus areas (such as Migration and Societal Change, Governing Digital Societies, or Human-Centered AI) or in the interuniversity Gravitation programme Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies.

The Assistant Professors’ teaching time will be spent primarily in the BA programme “Filosofie”, the MA programme “Applied Ethics,” and the Research Master’s programme “Philosophy.” In some cases the Assistant Professor would also teach in the interdisciplinary BA programme “Philosophy, Politics, and Economics” or within some of UU’s interdisciplinary minors (e.g. Medical Humanities) or in courses at other faculties. As part of their teaching responsibilities the Assistant Professors will most likely be involved in the supervision of theses and internships and the tutoring of students. The Assistant Professors will have some administrative or committee responsibilities as well. In line with Utrecht University’s recently developed Recognition and Rewards Visionthe department values and protects time for a diverse package of academic work.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will have:

• a doctorate in philosophy (or a closely related discipline) by the time of appointment;
• a demonstrable general knowledge of one or more of the fields of practical philosophy as specified above;
• a research specialization within these fields, as evidenced by a realistic medium-term research plan, aiming for publications in good journals and with publishers, and for securing external research funding;
• a record (appropriate to career stage) of publications that demonstrates the ability to conduct research which is internationally recognized as contributing to the field;
• an interdisciplinary attitude: the willingness and ability to contribute to the development of interdisciplinary teaching and research, particularly in the research strategic themes and focus areas listed above;
• an open and enthusiastic attitude: the willingness and ability to actively contribute to the formation of learning communities of staff and students;
• experience with teaching in undergraduate and/or graduate (BA and/or MA) programmes. A university teaching qualification (BKO) is desired, but not required. In case the candidate does not have one, he/she will be expected to follow the procedure for obtaining the qualification within one year of appointment;
• a willingness and ability to connect to social/professional practices and public debates;
• a proven ability to engage with international developments and societal challenges reaching beyond borders;
• good communicative, interpersonal, and organizational skills;
• proficiency in spoken and written English;
• proficiency in spoken and written Dutch or the ability to teach in Dutch after two years (for which the department provides support in the form of teaching release time and funding for language instruction).

Offer

We offer a position (1.0 FTE) as Assistant Professor (universitair docent), starting on 1 August 2022 at the latest. Upon satisfactory performance in the one-year probationary period, this initially one-year position will become permanent. The gross salary - depending on previous qualifications and experience - ranges between €3,491 and €5,127 (scale 10/11 according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) per month for a full-time employment. Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year. In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). More information about working at Utrecht University can be found here.