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 FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF TURKU INVITES, APPLICATIONS FOR FIXED TERM POSITION OF

Postdoctoral Researcher / Senior Researcher in Psychology for the period November 1, 2021 – October 31, 2024

The post is positioned at the Finnish research flagship center INVEST (https://invest.utu.fi/). The researcher will work in the newly formed multidisciplinary research group INVEST-HUB, which is dedicated to (field) experimental research in behavioral and social sciences. The research group consists of scholars from psychology, sociology, economics and political science.

The recruited researcher in psychology will work in close collaboration with the INVEST/psychology research group led by prof. Christina Salmivalli at the Department of Psychology and Speech-Language pathology. The focus of the research of this group 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 developmental research that has potential to lead to the development of new interventions. An important focal research area has for a long time been 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. The task of the researcher is independent research work in his or her special field and the development and application of (quasi)experimental research methods in psychology.

The research group is supported by an IT expert, who assists the researchers in managing and developing IT-solutions required in various types of experiments and gives support to handle data collection and manage large administrative datasets. In addition, a dedicated specialist will help the research group to implement field experiments.

Requirements:
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 (sections 36 and 37). Person selected for the position of Postdoctoral Researcher/Senior Researcher is required to have:

• a doctoral degree in psychology or a related field. It is possible to apply for the position, if a person expects to achieve a doctorate within the next six (6) months.
• ability to conduct independent research and apply experimental and/or quasi-experimental methods in behavioral sciences.

Successful applicants have strong research orientation and fluency in English. Knowledge of Finnish is not required.

Salary:
The salary is determined by the collective agreement system of Finnish universities. The position belongs to the category of teaching and research personnel. The pre-estimated salary will be 2850-3000 eur/month for a person holding a MSc degree, and in average 3300-4000 eur/month for a person holding PhD degree. The exact salary will depend on the person’s competence and research experience and will be specified when the employment contract is prepared.  Progress in the researcher's personal performance will be taken into account when determining the salary during employment.

The position is subject to a six (6) months trial period. The candidate is expected to begin work in November 2021 and no later than January 2022. The duration of the position is three years.

Applications:
Applications should be accompanied by:

• a motivation letter in which the applicant describes applicant’s own research interests and how they relate to the activities of the research group
• a CV  
• a list of publications
• a “job market paper” (a published article or a manuscript) that best describes the applicant’s qualifications for the position and how she or he has contributed to the scientific literature
• copie(s) of diplomas (if the degree / degrees have not been completed at the University of Turku)

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 do not hesitate to contact Professor of Practice Lauri Sääksvuori, lauri.saaksvuori(at)utu.fi or Professor of Psychology Christina Salmivalli, christina.salmivalli(at)utu.fi. For practical matters concerning the application process and electronic application system, please contact HR-Specialist Nina Kramsu, nina.kramsu(at)utu.fi.

Applications must be submitted by September 30, 2021 (23:59 GMT+02:00 Helsinki) 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”).

Working in Finland:
The university offers good support and orientation for international hires. Please learn more about the culture and people:

• Working culture https://www.infofinland.fi/en/living-in-finland/work-and-enterprise/finnish-working-culture
• This is Finland https://finland.fi/