Professor of Social Work

Lund University

Lund University – Faculty of Social Sciences, School of Social Work

Reference number: PA2025/3142
Location: Lund, Sweden
Employment type: Permanent, full-time
Application deadline: 15 May 2026

About Lund University

Founded in 1666, Lund University is consistently ranked among the world’s leading universities. With approximately 47,000 students and 8,800 employees across campuses in Lund, Helsingborg, and Malmö, the University is united in its mission to understand, explain, and improve the world and the human condition.

Lund University values diversity and gender equality and regards them as strengths that enrich research, education, and working life.

About the School of Social Work

The School of Social Work has been part of Lund University since 1977 and has provided education in social work since 1947. Research activities began in 1984 and focus on:

• Social problems, their definitions, causes, and solutions
• Living conditions of vulnerable individuals and groups
• Welfare policy and social policy interventions
• Human service organizations and professional practices

The School offers undergraduate, advanced, and postgraduate education and hosts approximately 1,200 students across campuses in Lund and Helsingborg.

The professorial group currently comprises seven professors (three women and four men). Based on existing expertise, reinforcement within research on children, young people, and families is particularly welcome.

Duties and Responsibilities

The successful candidate will take an active and visible role as Professor of Social Work at the School of Social Work in Lund. Responsibilities include:

• Conducting high-quality, internationally recognized research
• Teaching and supervision at undergraduate, advanced, and doctoral levels
• Supervising doctoral students through to completion
• Actively seeking external research funding
• Leading research environments and projects
• Participating in national and international academic debates and seminars
• Contributing to collaboration within the Faculty, Lund University, and with external partners

The position requires a high level of physical presence at the workplace.

Qualification Requirements

In accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance (Chapter 4, Section 3), applicants must demonstrate both scientific and pedagogical excellence.

Applicants must:

• Hold a doctoral degree in social work or a closely related discipline
• Demonstrate internationally distinguished academic merits
• Show scientific competence that significantly exceeds docent level, including leadership of research programs
• Demonstrate pedagogical competence, including completion of a minimum five-week higher education teaching programme, or equivalent
• Have documented teaching experience at all levels of higher education
• Have supervised at least one doctoral student to completion

Teaching is conducted in Swedish and English. Applicants whose first language is not Swedish are expected to acquire sufficient Swedish language proficiency within two years to teach, participate in administration, and engage fully in departmental activities.

Assessment Criteria

Applicants must have a strong academic profile in social work and social science research. Particular merit is given to applicants whose research focuses on:

• Living conditions of children and young people
• Social vulnerability and social problems

Applicants must demonstrate independence and international standing through:

• Significant and innovative scholarly contributions
• Advanced use of social science theories and research methods
• Publications with internationally recognized journals and publishers
• Proven ability to plan, lead, and manage research activities
• National and international research collaboration
• Success in obtaining competitive research funding as principal investigator

Pedagogical competence is assessed with equal weight and includes teaching experience, supervision, examination, and doctoral supervision.

Applicants must also demonstrate:

• Strong collaboration and communication skills
• Administrative competence
• Ability to engage with wider society and disseminate research beyond academia

What We Offer

Lund University is a public authority and offers:

• Secure employment conditions
• Generous annual leave
• A favourable occupational pension

Read more: Work at Lund University

Employment Details

• Position: Professor
• Employment type: Permanent
• Extent: Full-time (100%)
• Start date: To be agreed upon
• Salary: Monthly, according to agreement

How to Apply

Applications must be prepared in accordance with the Academic Qualifications Portfolio for the Faculty of Social Sciences at Lund University and submitted via the Varbi recruitment portal.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete and submitted before the deadline.

Contact

Katarina Jacobsson
Head of Department
✉️ katarina.jacobsson@soch.lu.se

Anders Kirchner
Recruitment Officer
✉️ anders.kirchner@sam.lu.se