The Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the University of Bern announces a vacancy for a tenure-track Assistant
Professorship in Behavioural Biology. The Institute currently has six full professors (chairs), several
tenured group leaders, and it hosts a large international community of post-doctoral researchers and
graduate students. With the retirement of two of these full professors, the institute intends to hire three
new tenure-track Assistant Professors, one being in the area of behavioural biology.
Applications are sought from individuals with an outstanding research record in the integrative study of
behaviour, including studies both at the proximate and ultimate levels of behavioural causation. Candidates
that take empirical approaches, or that combine empirical and theoretical approaches to the study of behaviour
from an ecological and/or evolutionary perspective are particularly encouraged to apply.
The candidate should have a doctorate in a relevant field, several years of postdoctoral and teaching experience,
an interest in establishing an active, proliferative research group, in teaching, and in collaborating with
other researchers of our institute. The new faculty member will have responsibility for teaching in the field
of behavioural biology at undergraduate and graduate levels. All graduate teaching and advanced undergraduate
teaching is in English.
The IEE is one of three institutes of the Department of Biology at the University of Bern and is involved in
two Masters Programs (Ecology and Evolution, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology). The research and
teaching strategy of the Department of Biology is to contribute to the understanding of mechanisms, processes
and patterns at all levels of biological integration, from genes to ecosystems, and to provide evidence-
based guidance for the conservation of biodiversity. The successful candidate should take advantage
of this collaborative environment and is expected to strengthen the links between behavioural biology and
other areas of biology in the Department.
The University of Bern is an equal opportunity employer and strives to increase the number of women in the
faculty. Qualified female researchers are especially encouraged to apply.
The earliest starting date for the position will be August 1, 2020.
Interested candidates must submit an application by February 4, 2019 in two ways: 1) email a single PDF file
addressed to the Faculty of Science, University of Bern, Prof. Dr. Zoltan Balogh, Dean, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012
Bern, Switzerland ([email protected]); and 2) complete an online questionnaire
(www.iee.unibe.ch/jobs/job01). The PDF should include: a letter of motivation; a CV including funding history,
list of courses taught, list of supervised BSc, MSc and PhD students, and postdocs (including current
status), list of publications; and a short research plan for the next five years.
More information about the institute can be found at www.iee.unibe.ch. Informal inquiries can be addressed
to Prof. Catherine Peichel ([email protected]).