Senior Researcher in Arctic Cultures and Cultural Heritage

Senior Researcher in Arctic Cultures and Cultural Heritage

The National Museum of Denmark (NMD) invites applications for the position of Senior Researcher in Arctic cultures and cultural heritage. The initiative is rooted in a collaboration with Greenland National Museum and Archives (NKA) with a shared commitment to advance research on the past and present material and immaterial cultures of the Arctic and North Atlantic region.

It is our ambition that the new Senior Researcher, in collaboration with NKA, colleagues at NMD and other research institutions, will spearhead the establishment of a new interdisciplinary research centre at NMD, focusing on the Arctic/North Atlantic region and questions of larger comparative relevance. With the new position and the centre, it is also the ambition to further activate NMD and NKA’s ethnographic and archaeological Arctic collections in research and to strengthen the communication of research-based knowledge on the Arctic region to a wider public in Denmark, Greenland and internationally.

The primary task for the Senior Researcher will be to develop a new interdisciplinary research environment, and to establish a research centre that involves collaboration with NKA and other international research partners. The research focus will be Arctic and/or North Atlantic cultural history, and the successful applicant is expected to work with museum collections and material culture from these regions.

The Senior Researcher will be affiliated with one of NMD’s three research units and will refer to the head of this unit.

The position is permanent and will be allocated increased time for research (80%) for a three-year period in order to initiate and obtain external funding for a research centre. Provided that a strong, interdisciplinary research environment with a substantial record of external funding and outreach activities have been established after this period, an MSO professorship or a research professorship may be posted. If so, the professor MSO or research professor will be employed according to the terms of employment applying to academic staff at, for example, museums.

Required qualifications and experience

• Holds a PhD in anthropology, archaeology, history, ethnology or a related discipline with a regional focus on one or more Arctic and North Atlantic regions. Scholars from other disciplinary backgrounds may also apply if they have a proven track record of working with cultural history in the Arctic or North Atlantic region.
• Has a proven record of high-profile international publications focusing on cultural history in Arctic or North Atlantic regions.
• Has a good track record in attracting external funding in a competitive environment.
• Has experience with research leadership.
• Has strong visions for a research centre.
• Has experience with inter-disciplinary research, including good collaboration skills.
• Has developed innovative theoretical and methodological approaches to research in areas such as cultural history and/or material culture.
• Has an ability to engage in wider academic and comparative discussions of cross-disciplinary relevance.
• Has a strong national and international research network, also in the Arctic and particularly in Greenland.
• Has excellent communications skills and a willingness to develop new ways to communicate research to the wider public.
• Is a good colleague and willing to collaborate with colleagues from NMD, NKA and other research institutions.

The applicants are expected to have obtained their experience from previous employment at an institute of higher education, a sector research institution, a museum or the equivalent.

Since the primary working language at the National Museum is Danish, a non-Danish-speaking employee is expected to acquire the necessary Danish language skills within a short period of time (max. two years).

The employment is associated with regular travel activity and typically working in Greenland for approximately 1 month every year.

Terms of salary and employment

The working hours are 37 hours a week. Terms of pay and employment are determined in accordance with the collective agreement for academics employed by the Danish state and executive order of 30 October 2015 on the job structure for academic staff with research responsibilities in archives, libraries, museums etc. under the Danish Ministry of Culture.

The position as Senior Researcher is expected to be filled on June 1st 2025 or as soon as possible hereafter.

The place of employment is the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen or Brede, north of Copenhagen.

Application procedure

The National Museum is actively working to promote equality among employees and encourages all qualified, regardless of personal background, to apply for the position.

The application is to be submitted in English and must include the following:

• Letter with motivation for the application (max. one page).
• Curriculum vitae, including education, language skills and other skills relevant for the position.
• Diplomas (Master and PhD degree or equivalent). Transcripts into English, if not written in English, Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish.
• Research plan with a description of current and future research plans (max. 4 pages), including strong visions for a research centre and short reflections on how to communicate this research to the wider public.
• Individual copies of publications to be considered in the evaluation. Applicants may choose a maximum of 5 scholarly works, of which a maximum of two may be monographs, and at least three of the works must have been published no more than five years before the application deadline. Full copies must be sent by post or uploaded as pdf (maximum size per file 2 mb) via the electronic recruitment system. Links to publications are not accepted.

If a publication to be considered in the evaluation has more than one author, or is the result of a collective effort, it must be clearly specified which part of the publication the applicant is responsible for. In the absence of a specification, the evaluation committee will disregard that publication(s).

Applications must be sent via the electronic recruitment system on our website and must be uploaded by February 17th 2025 .

Any publications to be included in the assessment must be received by the National Museum on February 17th 2025 . Publications can either be uploaded to the recruitment system or sent to Nationalmuseet, Frederiksholms Kanal 12, DK-1220 København K, Denmark, marking the envelope ‘Personale’. Publications sent to the Museum must be submitted in 3 copies. Only books or similar will be returned.

After the application deadline, the National Museum will set up an appointment committee. The appointment process involves shortlisting of applicants. This means that the Deputy Director of Research, Collections and Conservation will, in consultation with the appointment committee, select applicants that will be evaluated by an evaluation committee. The evaluation committee will evaluate which of the shortlisted candidates are qualified for the position. All applicants will be informed of the outcome of this process and whether they have progressed to the evaluation stage. Selected applicants are hereafter invited for interviews.

For specific questions about the position, please contact Deputy Director Lars Højer, , phone +45 41 20 69 05, or Head of Research (Modern History and World Cultures) Christian Sune Pedersen, , phone +45 41 20 62 00.