The University of Turku is a world-class multidisciplinary research university which offers interesting challenges and a unique vantage point to national and international research and education. The University’s research flagship INVEST (http://invest.utu.fi/) is seeking

A Senior Research Fellow for the period of January 1, 2021 - September 30, 2025.

The position is located in the Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, in the research group led by Professor Christina Salmivalli. Our focus is on evaluating evidence-based preventive interventions to enhance the well-being of children and youth, investigating the uptake and implementation of such interventions, and doing basic developmental research that has potential to lead to the evolution of new interventions. An important focal research area is school bullying. The preventive interventions we have worked with include KiVa® antibullying program, Opintokamu^TM program to enhance well-being of secondary education students, and more recently, Tita online mindfulness course. In the INVEST flagship consortium we collaborate with research groups from child psychiatry and sociology.

The senior research fellow will work in the CHALLENGE project, funded by European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant, focusing on challenging bullying cases – cases where school bullying among children and youth continues despite of targeted interventions. The studies included in the project utilize longitudinal and experimental designs as well as molecular genetics.

The senior research fellow will be expected to engage in research, supervision and (to a limited degree) teaching in the above areas and participate in administrative duties as needed. He is expected to have a relevant PhD degree and to have research experience and publications in the areas of developmental psychology, peer relations (e.g. bullying, peer status, peer groups norms), and/or prevention/intervention research. The position necessitate excellent spoken and written English language skills. Good methodological skills and competence in advanced statistical modeling are needed.

The eligibility criteria for the position is defined in the rules of procedure of the University of Turku https://www.utu.fi/sites/default/files/public%3A//media/file/UTU_Rules_of_Procedure.pdf (section 37).

The salary will be determined in accordance with the Finnish university salary system for teaching and research personnel, and consists of two components: a task-specific base reflecting how demanding the position is, and a performance component, reflecting an evaluation of the position-holder’s personal achievement.

The senior research fellow salary will be at levels 5–7 on the task-specific chart, between 2 967,84–3 989,91 euros per month. The personal performance component, added on top of the task-specific base salary is 6-50 % of the base salary. The position has a six-month trial period.

Application should be accompanied by a motivation letter, curriculum vitae, a list of publications, and other documentation which may be relevant to the appointment. The appendices should follow the guidelines of the faculty, see https://www.utu.fi/en/university/faculty-of-social-sciences/career. The electronic database allows the applicant to submit only one application file to each application section. Information on the file forms to be used can be found in the additional information of each application. Please note that the database only allows the publications to be submitted in a packaged form (.zip). One zip-file may include several individual files.

For further information, please contact Professor Christina Salmivalli, christina.salmivalli@utu.fi Any inquiries about the recruitment process or the e-recruitment system will be answered by HR Specialist Nina Kramsu, +358-29-450 3105, nina.kramsu@utu.fi.

Applications must be submitted by the 11th of December, 2020 (23:59) using the electronic application form of the University of Turku on the following address: https://www.utu.fi/en/university/come-work-with-us/open-vacancies The link to the application system is at the beginning of this announcement (“Apply for the job”).