"Postdoctoral Researcher, Biodiversity Change"

The Finnish Museum of Natural History LUOMUS at the University of Helsinki invites applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher, Biodiversity Change for a fixed-term employment for the duration of three years. The work will be based at the Finnish Museum of Natural History LUOMUS at the University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. The postdoctoral researcher will join the Biodiversity Change research group, and they will work under the supervision of Julia Kemppinen, the assistant professor in biodiversity change. The postdoctoral position is within Kemppinen’s Academy Research Fellowship project funded by the Research Council of Finland. The selected candidate can start as soon as possible and ideally by early 2026.

The main aim of the postdoctoral project is to design and conduct field and greenhouse experiments for testing causality in plant-microclimate relationships, especially from a functional ecology perspective. The focus is on tundra plants under climate change and how microclimates shape responses within and across species, populations, and communities. The main task of the postdoctoral researcher involves designing and registering protocols for greenhouse and field experiments, conducting the experiments, and carrying out the related statistical analyses and writing of manuscripts.

The position requires a doctoral degree relevant for the project, for instance a PhD in plant sciences or plant ecology, and the ability to conduct independent scholarly work. The position also provides the opportunity to co-supervise training periods and theses of master students related to the postdoctoral project (max. 5% of annual working time). Good collaboration and communication skills are also essential for working in the research group. Experience in conducting greenhouse or field experiments is highly valued, as well as good skills in programming and statistics, and good knowledge of plant ecology and microclimate ecology.

The appointee should have: a doctoral degree by the beginning of employment, ability to conduct independent scholarly work, good skills in teaching, good skills in collaboration and communication. Also, these qualities are highly valued: experience in conducting greenhouse and field experiments on plants, good skills in programming and statistics, good knowledge of plant ecology and microclimate ecology, good skills in written and spoken English.

The starting salary of the postdoctoral researcher will be ca. 3400-3800 euros/month depending on the appointee's qualifications and experience, based on level 5 in the salary system of Finnish universities. A six-month trial period will be applied. The working hours of the postdoctoral researcher will be 1612 hours on a yearly basis as they will belong to the annual workload scheme of research and teaching staff. The postdoctoral researcher should reside in Finland while employed by the University of Helsinki.

Only online applications submitted through the recruiting system by 7.10.2025 (23:59 EET) will be considered. The application must include the following documents written in English as a single PDF called “lastname_firstname”: 1. Motivation letter, max. one page. Please state your research interests and address the points 1-8 above, outlining why you are the right person for this position. Also, indicate what is your earliest starting day, if you are selected for the position. 2. CV, max. two pages, including a list of your most relevant publications for the position. 3. Contact information of three persons who can provide a reference based on request and your relation to them.