Western Norway University of Applied Sciences

With about 16,000 students, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences is one of the largest higher education institutions in Norway. A broad range of academic programmes are offered at Bachelor, Master and PhD levels, spread out on five campuses: Førde, Sogndal, Bergen, Stord and Haugesund.

Our ambition is to build stronger and more solid academic and research environments that will interact nationally and internationally. The aim is to become a recognized actor on the international higher education arena. Increased international cooperation and engagement in externally funded projects will work towards this goal.

The Faculty of Health and Social Sciences has around 370 employees and 4,500 students. We offer a wide range of programs in health and social welfare professional education, post-graduate and continuing education and several master’s programs. The faculty offers PhD programs in “Health, Function and Participation” and “Responsible Innovation and Regional Development”.

The Centre for Care Research West (CCR) researches the prerequisites for and development of welfare services, with a focus on the municipal health and care sector. The research we conduct yields knowledge about and for the benefit of services in a comparable perspective, both locally and internationally. The CCR is an interdisciplinary research centre specializing in a diversity of social sciences approaches.

The Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Centre of Care Research West, has a temporary vacancy for a postdoctoral research fellow position

About the position:

A two-year postdoc position is available at the Centre for Care Research West (CCR west) at HVL. The CCR West offers an exciting opportunity to conduct research on politics, systems, conditions and the organization and delivery of care services on a local, national and international level and in a comparative perspective. The CCR West actively participates in a broad range of research projects, both as managers and partners, and the centre has established an excellent partnership with many international partners.

The successful applicant will conduct research within primarily three large projects. In two of these projects, data is collected, while, in the third, the candidate will have the opportunity for data collection. We are looking for a postdoctoral research fellow who can contribute to the overall research projects and conduct independent research linked to important questions regarding the politicizing, organization and delivery of municipal care services.

The postdoc will explore the rapidly changing municipal care service landscape on various levels and publish high-quality research on such topics as, healthcare policy, welfare regimes, coordination in the complex healthcare sector and municipal care organization and provision. The postdoc will analyse prioritizing dilemmas, both on the municipal level and on the level of singular organizations offering home-based or institution-based care, and explore the interface between the municipality as a services provider and as a an important workplace in numerous local communities. This includes exploring how working life participation and inclusion functions with an increasingly multicultural staff carrying out these services. Finally, research is needed on what good care implies in the municipal health and care services, how it can be assessed and what it means for users, families and workers in the sector, including immigrant workers. The postdoc position provides an opportunity to address these important topics of research based on existing unpublished data, mainly collected through qualitative methods such as fieldwork and interviews and based on the postdoc’s own data or on white papers, public discourse and other policy documents, and/or through the collection of new data during the postdoc period.

There is ample opportunity for collaboration with established researchers, as well as for developing an independent research agenda within the framework of the three projects and CCR West research agenda. Applicants are asked to write a proposal of no more than three pages that outlines how the applicant can contribute to the overall goals and how he or she plans to pursue a personal research agenda in continuation of the applicant’s own PhD dissertation.

The workplace is the Centre for Care Research West at Campus Bergen. We are part of the new health cluster for primary care in Bergen entitled the Alrek Health Cluster and share a building with research groups from the University of Bergen, NORCE and the Municipality of Bergen. CCR West is also part of a national structure of five Care centres across Norway.

Key duties- and responsibilities:

• Analyse sets of qualitative data
• Publish at least five highly relevant and analytically strong articles on chosen themes, alone and together with experienced researchers and international partners
• Participate in the research group “Services Research” and discuss and present work in progress
• Develop ideas and apply for new projects together with CCR West researchers
• Represent CCR West at international conferences

Qualifications:

• Applicants must hold a PhD in the social sciences or health sciences or must have submitted their doctoral thesis for assessment prior to the application deadline. A condition of employment is that the PhD has been awarded.
• Theoretical and analytical skills: proven skills in the operationalization of theoretical perspectives and managing the various analytical levels in the social sciences/healthcare sciences
• Familiarity with the research fields of policy analysis, welfare/healthcare research and municipal care research
• Experience with planning, collecting and organizing analyses of large sets of (qualitative) data
• Willingness to disseminate research results beyond the academic community.
• Proficiency in Norwegian and English, both written and oral

Desired qualifications:

• Experience with publishing internationally in high-level journals
• Experience with externally funded research such as RCN or EU
• Knowledge about important publishing channels for welfare (services) research
• Experience with collaboration in research and with multidisciplinary research

Personal characteristics:

• The ability to collaborate on an international level and contribute to building an international collaborative network
• The ability to work independently as well as in a team
• The available/existing data at CCR West is in Norwegian, so an understanding of Norwegian is required to use these data

Application procedure:

To apply for this position, please use the link “Apply for this job” (“Søk stillingen”).

The applications will be assessed by the information entered in www.jobbnorge.no at the application deadline. The applicants are responsible for ensuring that all the documentation is submitted before the closing date, including the scientific work (up to 15 pieces), complete publication list, a one-pager stating the plan for where to bring your research the next five years, certificates and diplomas. If the diplomas, transcripts or other documentation are not in a scandinavian language or English, the applicant must upload the certified transactions himself. If the attachments exceed 15 MB, they must be compressed before uploading or attaching as a link.

The applications will be sent electronically to the expert committee. Based on the committee's recommendation, qualified applicants will be invited to an interview and a trial lecture. Applications cannot be sent by e-mail or to individuals at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.

We offer:

• Good occupational pension, insurance and loan schemes from The Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Exciting academic environment with the possibility of competence enhancement and development
• Opportunities for training within the working hours

The position as postdoktor is paid according to the Government's salary regulation, in position code position code 1352 - postdoctoral fellow

There is a compulsory 2 % deduction to the pension fund (see http://www.spk.no/en for more information). The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at any time.

General information:

The appointment will be made in accordance with the regulations for State employees Law in Norway ("Lov om statens ansatte)". Organizational changes and changes in the duties and responsibilities associated with the position must be expected.

State employment shall reflect the multiplicity of the population at large to the highest possible degree. Western Norway University of Applied Sciences Bergen has therefore adopted a personnel policy objective to ensure that we achieve a balanced age and gender composition and the recruitment of persons of various ethnic backgrounds.

Information about the applicant may be made public even though the applicant has requested not to be named in the list of applicants. The applicant will be notified if his/her request is not respected. Applicants may be called in for an interview.

Contacts:

1) Janne B. Bøe, Head of office, janne.bjorheim.boe@hvl.no , +47 55 58 56 90

2) Frode F. Jacobsen, Professor, frode.fadnes.jacobsen@hvl.no, + 47 55 58 72 12

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