Assistant/associate professorship in the field of leather conservation at the Institute of Conservation, Royal Danish Academy – Conservation

The Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design, Conservation invites applications for a permanent, full-time assistant/associate professorship with a particular focus on the conservation of leather, skins, hides, parchment, and furs.

The position commences 1 October 2023 or as soon as possible thereafter. The appointment as an associate professor or assistant professor will be based on your qualifications. The position is affiliated with the Institute of Conservation, which you can read about here: https://royaldanishacademy.com/institute/conservation/about-institute-conservation

The position

We are seeking an employee with a passion for teaching, research, and dissemination of the science of active and preventive conservation of leather, skins, hides, furs and parchment.

As an assistant/associate professor at the Institute of Conservation, you will be working in close collaboration with the other researchers, teachers and Bachelor, Master and PhD students, where you will play an active role in the scholarly environment. You will be teaching conservation to students in the context of the general preservation principles, preventive interventions and open science practices surrounding objects of cultural and natural heritage.

Your duties will include:

• Teaching, curriculum planning and the administration associated with the Institute’s programmes, including identification, materials science, history of technology, analysis, conservation, and restoration in the field of leather, skins, hides and parchment.
• Student supervision, examinations, and external examiner duties.
• Planning agreements on project and bachelor assignments and Master’s theses, including procuring objects on loan.
• Research, including publication and scientific dissemination within the position’s discipline, in collaboration with relevant external institutions, businesses and networks nationally and internationally and with the other fields of R&D at the Institute and at the Royal Danish Academy as a whole.
• Visionary and productive collaboration on facilitating future R&D projects, including participating in applying for external funding for the Institute’s activities.
• Engaging actively in developing the conservation study programme and its teaching and research.
• Serving on various Royal Danish Academy committees and, as appropriate, collegiate bodies, including the institution’s councils, boards, and assemblies.
• Practical and administrative duties, for example in relation to the enrolment of new students.

At associate professor level, the position also includes:

• Assessments of scientific work
• PhD supervision

Your teaching focus will be on the materials leather, skins, hides, parchment and furs as regards:

• Active and preventive conservation
• Materials science and history of technology
• Chemical and physical analysis techniques
• The science of materials decay and deterioration

Your research focus should be within one or more of the above-listed fields.

Qualifications

As a minimum, you hold a relevant master’s level degree and a PhD or scientific qualifications at PhD level.

The position requires training and experience in conservation science. Familiarity with conservation of book bindings and archaeological leather as well as practical experience of hide and leather manufacture will consequently be an advantage.

Documented experience in teaching at the Bachelor and Master levels will count in an applicant’s favour, as will experience in curriculum planning and development. In particular, you should be able to demonstrate an interest in actively contributing to research-based teaching at the Institute in collaboration with the other teaching staff. As such, a proven track record in innovative teaching will count positively in your favour in the overall assessment for the position.

The Royal Danish Academy’s focus on R&D partnerships, both internally and externally in relation to industry, public institutions and other institutions of higher education, also means that documented experience in the development, funding and implementation of externally funded research projects will be an advantage, as will having a strong scientific peer network nationally and internationally.

To be eligible for appointment as an associate professor at the time of appointment, you must be able to document: 

• Experience and professional qualifications at, as a minimum, the level that can be achieved based on a satisfactorily completed period as an assistant professor, i.e. you have completed a period of service as an assistant professor or in a similar way acquired qualifications corresponding to, or above, this.
• Having conducted international-level research and having advanced or conducted novel research in the subject area.
• Having received supervision, upgraded your teaching skills, and received a positive written assessment of your teaching qualifications. In addition, the Royal Danish Academy requires you to have completed and passed the Danish one-year postgraduate teacher training diploma course (Pædagogikum) and to provide documentation for this. For applicants who do not meet the requirement for teaching qualifications, the Royal Danish Academy may exceptionally dispense with the requirement if your research achievements are at associate professor level and you are deemed capable of attaining the required teaching skills within a period of no more than two years.

The study programme in conservation is conducted in the Danish language. This means that the teaching is conducted in Danish but may initially be conducted in English. You are expected to gain proficiency in written and spoken Danish within two years of appointment.

What we offer

We offer a dedicated, stimulating, and visionary educational and research environment. The successful candidate will enjoy a contributory influence on and responsibility for advancing the Academy’s research, teaching and study programmes. We value good collegial relationships conducive to mutual inspiration and discourse.

Salary and terms of employment

The terms of pay and employment will be in accordance with the agreement in force between the Danish Employee and Competence Agency and a number of organisations under the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) for academic staff in government service. A qualification allowance will be negotiable, depending on your skills and experience.

The position will also be filled in accordance with the applicable job structure for artistic and academic staff at the Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design, Conservation; Aarhus School of Architecture and Design School Kolding – Executive Order no. 962 of 24 August 2015.

You will be appointed as an associate professor or assistant professor depending on your qualifications. The grading will be based on a concrete assessment by expert assessors. If you are appointed as an assistant professor, an assistant professor period will be set with a view to upgrading to associate professor level.

The assistant professor period cannot exceed six years, and permanent tenure is conditional on attainment of a positive associate professor assessment by the end of the fixed assistant professor period. In the associate professor assessment, emphasis will be placed on whether you:

• have completed a satisfactory assistant professor period.
• can document having conducted international-level research and having advanced or conducted novel research in the subject area.
• have received supervision, upgraded your teaching skills, and received a positive written assessment of your teaching qualifications and also completed and passed the Danish one-year postgraduate teacher training diploma course (Pædagogikum).

This is a full-time position with an average of 37 working hours per week and includes research and teaching duties, plus a limited volume of administrative work. 

The distribution between research and teaching will initially be 50/50 for an assistant professor and 40/60 for an associate professor. The distribution of your duties may differ as deemed necessary by the Royal Danish Academy, and you may be required to carry out other job-related duties.

Application

Please submit an application stating your reasons for applying, an up-to-date CV, academic diplomas and certificates, and documentation of your qualifications as listed above. Please also submit a description of your research interests and a list of your published works, preferably including copies of works you wish to highlight (no more than seven works). Finally, you should attach material to illustrate your teaching skills. Any assessment(s) of previous assistant/associate professorships held should also be enclosed.

The application with appendices should be submitted online by clicking the “Søg stillingen” (Apply for position) button no later than Sunday, 4 June 2023.

Applications and application documents received after the application deadline will not be considered.

Please note that the position is being advertised and will be filled in accordance with the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science’s “Executive Order of 12 April 2019 on the employment of artistic and scientific staff at the higher artistic educational institutions within the Ministry of Higher Education and Science’s area”.

The appointment will therefore be based on a specific assessment by an expert assessment committee. The assessment committee will base its assessment on the qualification requirements listed in the advertisement and all the application documents. It is therefore important that you include in your application attachments documenting that you meet the qualification requirements described in the call for applications.

Further information

Information regarding qualification requirements, the application process and the e-recruitment system can be obtained by contacting Sine Kildevang Madsen, skmad@kglakademi.dk, tel.: +45 4170 1815.

Details about the academic content of the position can be obtained on request from Head of Institute Rikke Bjarnhof, rbja@kglakademi.dk, tel. +45 4170 1641.

The Royal Danish Academy is an inclusive workplace that considers diversity a strength. We therefore encourage all qualified and interested applicants to apply for the position.

About the Royal Danish Academy

The Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design and Conservation is an internationally recognised academy that educates professionally creative graduates to the highest level and develops new knowledge that creates value for society and the labour market. The Royal Danish Academy is a state institution under the Ministry of Higher Education and Science and has approximately 1,700 students and 350 full-time staff equivalents. Read more about the Royal Danish Academy on our website www.royaldanishacademy.