Now you have an exciting opportunity to shape the future of the Department of Mathematics at Aarhus University, Denmark. You will have the responsibility to secure optimal conditions for our research, education and collaboration with society as well as for employees and students.

We are looking for a head of department and leader who can foster excellence and strategic advancement of our research, education, talent development and innovation within the department. Our new department head should find motivation in close collaborations with other departments at NAT, the other faculties at Aarhus University, and in outreach to national and international partners and society.

Aarhus University (AU) is a research-intensive and fully comprehensive University with a substantial impact at both national and international level. AU provides research-based educational programmes and consultancies of high academic quality. AU focuses on close collaborations with external partners, such as start-up activities, the industrial community, and the public sector.

AU has recently adopted a new strategy and all Departments at AU have in 2024-2025 undergone an international research evaluation. For the Department of Mathematics this includes high appraisal of the current quality as well as valuable advice for future development.

Your responsibilities

You will be the AU-internal and external representative of the department, and under the authority of the AU rector and the dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences.

Along with the new AU strategy, the recent research evaluation will guide the development of the department’s profile towards 2030. You will be central in leading an involving process that will secure the Department of Mathematics in being an attractive, and visionary working place for research, education, and outreach, as well as taking responsibility for the department to be a visible actor in the overall AU Strategy. In doing so, you will help attract the best employees, PhD students, students and partners from Denmark and abroad, and you are expected to pay careful attention to workplace culture, the well-being of people and the department.

You will maintain a focus on strategic management, financial responsibility, and good HR administration, as you will oversee academic, financial and personnel-related matters, including the planning and allocation of job responsibilities. For this, you will be supported by a professional and specialized administrative support function at both department and faculty levels.

We expect that our new head of department challenge frontiers and explore new opportunities for the department and to have focus on the department’s efforts to translate it’s pioneering basic research to societal impact. We value interdisciplinary research across traditional academic boundaries, both within the department, and with the other departments and centres at the faculty and beyond, and we expect our new head of department to support the employees for this e.g. through dissemination of new knowledge and methods or through collaboration with other scientific disciplines, industry and other stakeholders and encouragement to participate in start-up companies.

You will refer to the dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and you will be a member of the faculty management board. The faculty management board has the overall responsibility of the Faculty of Natural Sciences departments and centres. You are expected to contribute to the overall development of the Faculty, and for securing the Faculty in achieving its goals and being managed as a coherent and well-functioning organization. You are expected to represent the Faculty of Natural Sciences in some instances.

Your leadership style and personality

• You are a motivational and unifying leader who understands how to manage a complex organisation with many stakeholders.
• You have the authority to secure organisational cohesion between academic environments.
• You are visionary and strategic, with an eye for the future needs of our society for research and education.
• You are capable of generating synergy and you are a strong bridge-builder across disciplines and in close collaboration with the outside world.
• You have personal authority and integrity.
• You are skilled at creating a good collaborative environment and strengthening collaboration across the organisation, which you will use both within the department, and towards other relevant departments as well as within the faculty management board.
• You communicate clearly and credibly (in both Danish and English) with respect for others and with propriety. If not speaking Danish we expect you to learn it within 2 years, though English is an integral language of the Department.
• You are a loyal management colleague and team player, and you are aware of your personal responsibilities and authority.
• You value a healthy physical and psychological working environment and know how to work to secure these.
• You have a focus on competency development among the personnel.
• You value contributing to the university broadly, both as a member of the faculty management board and the full university.

Your experience and academic competences

• You are an internationally recognised researcher within mathematics or a related field.
• You have solid experience within the university sector and academic environments.
• You have several years of management experience, and you have a genuine interest in personnel management of scientific, technical, and administrative staff.
• You have a profound interest and experience in teaching and education.
• You have shown strategic management skills, e.g. via fundraising and recruitment.
• You have insight into national and international trends in the research areas at the department.
• AU has active focus on gender diversity, equality, and inclusion, and applicants are expected to have an interest in working with this part of the culture and to have constructive suggestions for how to attract, include and develop talents from underrepresented groups.
• You have a broad interest in the natural sciences, of value for the work in the faculty management board.

The Department of Mathematics

The Department of Mathematics hosts research and study programmes that cover all major mathematical disciplines. The Department has three sections; pure mathematics, stochastics and centre for science studies, and a leadership team that consists of two deputy heads of department, the head of the secretariat, the head of the PhD programme, and the centre leader for science studies. The three sections are organized with two sections coordinators and one centre leader.

The Department offers a broad portfolio of educational programmes at the Bachelor’s level (Mathematics, Mathematics-Economics and Data Science), Master’s level (Mathematics, Mathematics-Economics, Data Science, Statistics and Science Studies), and PhD-level. A key responsibility for the incoming Head of Department in the initial years will be to lead the implementation of the national Master’s Degree Reform (“Kandidatreformen”). This includes the development and launch of two new 75 ECTS Master's programmes—Science Communication and Applied Data Analytics—as well as the introduction of new work-integrated (part-time) Master's programmes.

The Department’s research activities span a wide range of fields, from the classical mathematical disciplines (mathematical analysis, geometry and algebra) to applied and theoretical probability theory, statistics, operations research, and data science.  The Department also has strong research profiles in the history of science and technology, science communication, and the philosophy of science.

The Department of Mathematics is committed to ensuring that new knowledge generated by its researchers is efficiently communicated to a wider segment of our society, including the dissemination of knowledge to the public, when relevant.

We strive to conduct research at a very high level in competition and collaboration with universities and colleagues from all over the world in order to attract the most talented researchers to our research groups.

The department comprises of approximately 44 academic staff, 11 technical and administrative staff, 25 PhD students and 485 bachelor’s and master’s students.

The department's activities are primarily located at Ny Munkegade 118, 8000 Aarhus C and the place of employment will be in Aarhus.

Read more about the Department of Mathematics here.

Faculty of Natural Sciences

Aarhus University is recognized as one of the world’s best universities (top-100), and the Faculty of Natural Sciences has serval internationally leading research environments. The ambition is to enhance the faculty’s position of strength as well as to develop new ones – in interaction with the outside world and across disciplines. The faculty’s primary activities cover research, education and external collaboration within the fields of biology, physics, chemistry, geology, mathematics, computer science, molecular biology and nanoscience.

The Faculty of Natural Sciences has strong and international basic research environments that address major societal challenges. There is also a proud tradition of communicating scientific contexts and insights to policymakers and the general public. The faculty comprises seven departments, a department-like centre, a graduate school, and several research centres. In addition, we participate in several interdisciplinary centres and initiatives across Aarhus University.

The Faculty of Natural Sciences is one of five faculties at Aarhus University and has approx. 3,200 students and 1,500 employees. Learn more at www.nat.au.dk.

Appointment procedure

If you have any questions regarding the position, you are welcome to contact: The dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Birgit Schiøtt at email: dean.nat@au.dk or mobile: +45 2982 6882 or Senior Recruitment Consultant from Curia, Lone Vestergaard at email: lv@curia.dk or mobile: + 45 2094 1653.

Please express your thoughts and ideas regarding the department's development over the next few years in your application, along with your CV and a list of your publications. Include a short record of your background in relation to the expected competencies of our new head for department.

Interviews with the appointment committee are planned for week 43 (1st interview) and possibly in week 47 (2nd interview). Applicants invited for a second interview will be expected to participate in a leadership profile test after the first interview.

According to the University Act and the university's by-laws, the employment procedure must ensure that the head of department has academic and managerial legitimacy. Therefore, an advisory committee has been set up to advise the Dean on which candidates are to be invited to an interview. The advisory committee consists of academic staff, technical/administrative staff, and students.

Application deadline: 15 September 2025
Expected start date: 1 April 2026
 

Formalities and salary range

Employment is on terms under collective agreements and subject to the collective agreements for academics employed by the state concluded between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC), including the circular on heads of department and deans at the universities.

The employment is a fixed-term appointment in accordance with the principles in the circular on limited tenure in the Danish state. The tenure is for three to six years, and with the option of extension for up to a further three years.

An agreement on a scientific fallback employment option is possible.

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 all interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Aarhus University is a signatory of the Danish government’s charter regarding the appointment of more women in management. Both women and men are encouraged to apply. No one will have priority, and all applicants will be assessed in accordance with the requirement profile for the position.

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 36,000 students (FTEs) and 8.500 employees and has an annual revenue of EUR 1.033 billion. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/.