About this role
The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine invites applications for the following position: ASSISTANT PROFESSOR / ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR / PROFESSOR OF MEAT CHAIN SAFETY AND CONTROL (in Finnish: Lihaketjun turvallisuus ja valvonta / in Swedish: Köttkedjans säkerhet och kontroll) The position is available from around the beginning of autumn 2027. The applicant may be appointed as an Assistant/Associate Professor (tenure track) or as a full Professor, depending on their qualifications and career stage. All stages of the tenure track can be entered directly depending on the applicant’s career stage. The aim of the tenure track system is to grant tenure and a permanent position as Professor.
The position will be at the Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health. The appointee will be responsible for teaching, research and continuing education of meat inspection and slaughterhouse control. The appointee will be required to have profound experience in meat inspection, meat safety and slaughterhouse hygiene and control as well as food production hygiene. This position includes teaching and supervising veterinary and one health undergraduate and postgraduate students including veterinary specialist trainees in meat inspection and slaughterhouse control. The duties may also include other teaching and supervision tasks in accordance with the curricula of degree programmes and specialist training offered by the Faculty, as well as administrative or development tasks, which are agreed on an annual basis.
Expectations and qualifications assessment The applicant is required to have a DVM or equivalent degree and to be a licensed veterinarian in the EU/EEA as well as hold a PhD degree in the area of food safety or other suitable field. The degree requirements must be fulfilled by the closing date for applications. Veterinary specialization (a diplomate or equivalent status) in an appropriate field and stakeholder networks are considered a merit.
Strong collaboration and interpersonal skills are essential. An appointee to the position of an Assistant/Associate Professor in the tenure track shall have the ability to conduct independent scientific research, have teaching skills necessary for the position, and have the ability and motivation for an academic career. An appointee to a full Professorship shall have top-level scholarly qualifications, including the ability to obtain competitive research funding and lead a research group, experience in supervision of PhD students, and the ability to provide top-level research-based teaching. In addition, the applicant shall present documentation of international collaboration in the field of research that they represent. The Professor shall also have the skills necessary to be an academic leader.
To successfully attend to the duties of the position, the appointee must be fluent in English. Finnish language skills can be considered as an advantage. If the appointee is not proficient in Finnish, they are expected to acquire proficiency within a reasonable time after the appointment to be able to successfully teach national requirements in meat inspection and slaughterhouse control and to communicate with the stakeholders. Support for language studies is offered. When considering the applicants’ qualifications, attention will be paid to research qualifications, teaching and supervision qualifications, public engagement and interaction within the university/scientific community as well as the stakeholders, and knowledge in Finnish and European meat inspection field. The assessment is always conducted as an overall assessment.
For more information on the tenure track model, career path and assessment criteria at the University of Helsinki, please see https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/academic-careers/university-helsinki-tenure-track . The appointee is expected to reside in Finland while employed by the University of Helsinki.
Why us We offer versatile work in an inspiring environment and the opportunity to develop your expertise and strengthen the field as part of the internationally respected and high-quality research and teaching activities of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The University offers comprehensive services to its employees including preventive occupational health services and general medical care, sports facilities and opportunities for professional development. The University assists employees from abroad with their transition to work and life in Finland. We support the compatibility of work and family life, e.g., providing an opportunity for approximately 5-7 weeks of paid annual leave during the academic year.
Annual gross salary for an Assistant/Associate Professor generally amounts to about 65,000 - 80,000 euros depending on the applicant’s merits and career stage. A typical starting gross salary for a newly appointed professor is about 85,000 – 96,000 euros/year. The position is also associated with a start-up package.
How to apply Please submit your application and the required attachments as a single pdf file (in section CV) through the University of Helsinki recruitment portal (link Apply now or Employee login in the job announcement). The attachments should include as a single pdf file (in English), all under the section CV in the recruitment system: a cover letter an academic portfolio or a researcher’s CV (please extend the description of teaching to match the teaching skills evaluation of the Faculty) a complete and numbered publication list a list and a brief synopsis of max. 10 most important publications with links to the publications if open access a plan for advancing research and teaching in the field and a vision for the development of the applicant’s research and the research field in general (maximum of 2 pages) Please see a template for academic portfolio, the researcher’s curriculum vitae and classification for publications : https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/open-positions/instructions-applicants-teaching-and-research-positions . It is also necessary to consider the evaluation matrix for evaluating teaching skills when you describe your teaching merits in your application: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-veterinary-medicine/about-us/work-us/assessment-teaching-skills . For tenure track position the minimum requirement of teaching skills as a whole is at least satisfactory and for a full professor position at least good.
Teaching demonstration will be organized separately for the top applicants as the recruitment process progresses The closing date for applications is on 7 January 2027 , 23:59 local Helsinki time (EET). Applications that are submitted early will not be given priority over applications coming closer to the deadline. Please pay attention to the requested attachments. Further information Position and operational environment: Professor, Head of Department Janne Lundén, janne.lunden(at)helsinki.fi, p. +358 50 448 9090 Recruitment process, tenure track model, application documents and assessment of teaching skills: HR Specialist Heidi Kauppinen, recruitment(at)helsinki.fi, p. +358 50 415 5341 Food Hygiene and Environmental Health: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-veterinary-medicine/research/food-hygiene-and-environmental-health Faculty of Veterinary Medicine: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-veterinary-medicine Viikki Campus: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/visit-us/campuses/viikki-campus Working at the University of Helsinki: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers Support for international staff: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/information-arriving-international-staff Related to the operational environment Veterinary Teaching Hospital: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/veterinary-teaching-hospital HOH Helsinki One Health: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/networks/helsinki-one-health HiLIFE Research Infrastructures: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/hilife-helsinki-institute-life-science/services/life-science-research-infrastructures Faculty of Veterinary Medicine The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Helsinki is the only institution of higher education in Finland to train veterinarians.
It consists of 750 undergraduate and postgraduate students and employs approximately 150 academic staff. Approximately 90 students (previously 70) are admitted to complete the basic veterinary degree each year. The degree programmes are accredited following the European System of Evaluation of Veterinary Training (ESEVT). The Faculty has four departments (Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Equine and Small Animal Medicine, Production Animal Medicine, and Veterinary Biosciences) and a Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
The Faculty is located on two campuses, Viikki (Helsinki) and Mäntsälä (approximately one hour north of Helsinki). Most of the Faculty is located at the Viikki Campus, along with Faculties of Agriculture and Forestry, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Pharmacy, as well as several independent research units operating in life sciences. Department of Production Animal Medicine and Production Animal Hospital are located on the Mäntsälä campus. Why Finland Finland is a member of the EU, has high quality and inexpensive childcare, free schooling and tertiary training (also in English), excellent family benefits and healthcare, and is ranked as one of the top countries in the world for expat families . Finland also repeatedly tops the World Happiness Report . Why Finland is a great place to live and work: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/why-university-helsinki/why-finland Monimuotoinen ja yhdenvertainen opiskelu- ja työkulttuuri ovat meille tärkeitä.
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