University Assistant (prae doc) at the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology

The University of Vienna (20 faculties and centres, 184 fields of study, approx. 10.400 members of staff, about 90.000 students) seeks to fill the position from 01.02.2023 of a


Reference number: 13747

The Department of Evolutionary Anthropology is seeking applications for a PhD student in the field of archaeological science and radiocarbon dating, focusing specifically on the period of the Late Middle to early Upper Palaeolithic of Eurasia and its chronology and archaeology. They will be part of a leading international team of researchers working across the fields of Human Evolution, Ancient DNA and Archaeological Science in general working in the Higham Laboratory, led by Professor Tom Higham ( highamlab.univie.ac.at).



Duration of employment: 3 year/s

Extent of Employment: 30.0 hours/week
Job grading in accordance with collective bargaining agreement: §48 VwGr. B1 Grundstufe (praedoc) with relevant work experience determining the assignment to a particular salary grade.

Job Description:
The candidate will work on developing and applying improved methodologies for radiocarbon dating of bone and other biominerals by isolating specific amino acids, using material from Palaeolithic archaeological sites in Eurasia. In addition, they will, where appropriate, apply other scientific methods including ZooMS, stable isotope geochemistry and ancient genomics, to answer questions relating to the replacement of Neanderthals and/or Denisovans by anatomically modern humans between 60-30,000 years ago.

The position would suit someone motivated to undertake cutting-edge research into aspects of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition and the complexities of the expansion and extinction of different forms of human. Training in radiocarbon dating and its application to archaeology, pretreatment chemistry and the Bayesian modeling of radiocarbon dates will be given, but prior experience would be an advantage.


Furthermore:

• Participation in teaching and independent teaching of courses as defined by the collective agreement


• We expect the successful candidate to sign a doctoral thesis agreement within 12-18 months.

The advertisement is for 3 years, whereby the employment relationship is initially limited to 1.5 years and is automatically extended to a total of 3 years, unless the employer submits a declaration of non-renewal after a maximum of 12 months. Gross monthly salary and pay grade in terms of collective agreement for university staff (payable 14 times per year): B1, EUR 2.228,60. Expected starting date is between 01.02.2023 and 01.05.2023. Applications will be constantly evaluated until the position is filled.

Profile:

• Essential: MSc-degree or equivalent in a relevant subject (archaeological science, archaeology, chemistry, physics). This requirement needs to be fulfilled until the start of the employment.


• Desirable: Experimental skills in archaeological science or organic chemistry, high motivation and enjoyment of research


• Excellent command of written and spoken English

Application documents:

• Letter of motivation


• Academic curriculum vitae


• List of publications, evidence of teaching experience (if available)


• Short doctoral project proposal


• Degree certificates

Research fields:

Main research field	Special research fields	Importance
Biology	Biological anthropology	CAN
History, Archaeology	Archaeology	CAN

Applications including a letter of motivation (German or English) should be submitted via the Job Center to the University of Vienna ( http://jobcenter.univie.ac.at) no later than 18.12.2022, mentioning reference number 13747.

For further information please contact Higham, Thomas +43-1-4277-54740, Neuhold-Erben, Viktoria +43-1-4277-54754.

The University pursues a non-discriminatory employment policy and values equal opportunities, as well as diversity (http://diversity.univie.ac.at/). The University lays special emphasis on increasing the number of women in senior and in academic positions. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female applicants.

Human Resources and Gender Equality of the University of Vienna
Reference number: 13747
E-Mail: jobcenter@univie.ac.at
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