Postdoc in Transdisciplinary Approaches for Sustainable Agricultural Transitions

Are you interested in working at the interface of science, policy, and practice to support sustainable agricultural transitions? Join us at Aarhus University’s Department of Agroecology as a postdoctoral researcher focusing on transdisciplinary collaboration, co-creation, and stakeholder engagement in agricultural systems. This position is embedded within the Novo Nordisk Foundation-funded SMARTFIELD project.  

We are looking for a candidate with a solid background in social science, environmental management, sustainability science, agroecology, or a related field, who is motivated to work with participatory methods and contribute to bridging research and real-world implementation. We expect that you will be an important part of the research environment and that you will contribute positively to the social working environment. We also expect that you will take part in our teaching activities and that you will report research results in high-impact scientific journals.

Your profile

This postdoc position offers a unique opportunity to develop and apply transdisciplinary methods to support sustainable agricultural transitions. You will play a key role in designing and facilitating stakeholder collaboration and knowledge co-creation and analysing how knowledge is co-created across science, policy, and practice.The postdoc will join the SMARTFIELD project and become part of an interdisciplinary, international research community with close connections to policy and industry.

The position will focus on the development and application of a participatory stakeholder forum, supporting knowledge exchange and collaboration across work packages and stakeholder groups. Besides, the postdoc will contribute to understanding the foundations for trustworthy decision support systems, including barriers and opportunities for the adoption of mitigation measures and changes to farm management practices. You will be a core member of a collaborative and interdisciplinary team in the Agricultural Systems and Sustainability research group, collaborating with researchers, policymakers, industry partners, and farmers who all work on translating complex data and modelling results into actionable insights.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and apply transdisciplinary and participatory research methods to support co-creation processes across the project
• Design and facilitate Science Policy Practice Forum (SPPF) activities, including stakeholder workshops and knowledge exchange sessions
• Analyse processes of stakeholder engagement, co-production, and knowledge integration
• Contribute to the development of methodological guidance on co-creation, reflexivity, and stakeholder collaboration
• Support alignment and knowledge exchange across work packages
• Engage with farmers, advisors, policymakers, and other stakeholders to ensure relevance and usability of project outputs
• Contribute to scientific publications on transdisciplinary collaboration and sustainable agricultural transitions

Participate in teaching and supervision activities. We are searching for a candidate who has:

• A PhD in a relevant field such as environmental management, geography, anthropology, sociology, organization studies, political science, or related disciplines.

The ideal candidate will possess experience with:

• Experience with participatory methods, co-creation, or stakeholder engagement
• Interest in or experience with transdisciplinary research and science-policy-practice interfaces
• Well-developed analytical and communication skills
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary team

Further, we will prefer candidates with some of the following qualifications:

• Experience in facilitating workshops or stakeholder processes
• Experience with qualitative or mixed-methods research
• Teaching and supervision experience at BSc and MSc level
• Interest in developing research proposals and contributing to future projects

Who we are

At the Department of Agroecology, our main goal is to contribute to sustainable solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems within the areas of soil, plants, animals, humans, and the environment. We want to make a difference by contributing to both fundamental knowledge generation and the attainment of sustainable production systems via innovative research, contracted policy advice, and education. We offer professional laboratories, greenhouses, semi-field, and field-scale research facilities, advanced computing capacities as well as an extensive national and international researcher network.  The department consists of nine research sections with around 350 highly skilled employees, of which approximately 50% are scientific staff. More information can be found here.

We believe in encouraging inclusion, acceptance, and understanding by employing staff who bring unique perspectives to our department.

What we offer

• A collaborative, international research environment that combines high academic standards with an informal and supportive atmosphere. We value accountability, curiosity, flexibility, and teamwork in everything we do.
• An inclusive and respectful workplace culture, where mutual trust, kindness, and professional dialogue are part of daily life. We encourage open communication and develop a cohesive sense of community across teams and disciplines.
• A flexible working environment that supports work-life balance and individual needs.
• An active institutional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion – in recruitment, career development, and everyday interactions.
• An innovative and meaningful workplace where your work contributes to solving real-world challenges. No two days are alike, and we welcome creative thinking and new ideas.
• Support for international researchers and their families, including  Relocation Service and an Expat Partner Programme

Living and working in Denmark

• Subsidised childcare and free education from primary school through university.
• Universal healthcare for you and your family as residents.
• Five weeks of paid holiday per year.
• Generous parental leave – up to 52 weeks shared between parents, with full or partial salary.

Place of Work

The place of work is Aarhus University, Campus Viborg, Blichers Allé 20, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark. The affiliation will be with the Department of Agroecology.

More information can be obtained from contact to Associate Professor Martin Thorsøe (martinh.thorsoe@agro.au.dk) and or Associate Professor Morten Graversgaard (morten.graversgaard@agro.au.dk).  
 

Application procedure

Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the appointment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. All applicants will be notified whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee, and each applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that concerns him/her self.

Letter of reference

If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

If you wish to add a referee after you have submitted your application, you must send this person’s details (name, job title, place of work, and email address) as well as the name of the position you have applied for to: HR.Nattech@au.dk

Formalities and salary range

Technical Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it here.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

 

Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 37,000 students (FTEs) and 8.700 employees and has an annual revenue of EUR 1.106 billion. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/