The Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies seeks to appoint an Assistant Professor Spiritual Care/professional skills. The position will involve 50% teaching, 40% research, and 10% administration. The position will be located within the Department of Comparative Study of Religion. The candidate will contribute to the teaching programmes Spiritual Care and ‘Werk en Zingeving’ (BA, Ma). The candidate will (co)teach on professional ethics, to the professional profile of spiritual care, professional skills, internship supervision and thesis supervision. Courses are taught in Dutch. Candidates do research in the field of spiritual care (ethics), meaningful work and/or professional skills (in the field professional conversations about life view and spirituality), and supervise PhD students. Candidates should also be able to connect broadly to the academic study of Spiritual Care and debates on meaningful work.

Organisation
Founded in 1614, the University of Groningen enjoys an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative centre of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Balanced study and career paths in a wide variety of disciplines encourage the 37,000 students and researchers to develop their own individual talents. Being among the best research universities in Europe and working alongside prestigious partner universities and networks, the University of Groningen aims to be an international centre of knowledge.

The Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies dates back to the University’s foundation. Being part of a public university, it aims to perform cutting-edge research and teaching in a wide variety of disciplines in the fields of theology and religious studies. We investigate religions as cultural phenomena and social forces in diverse contexts in the past and present. By generating and sharing scholarly knowledge, the Faculty aims to create impact and to contribute to a sustainable society, offering the public and government credible resources for reflection on religion and society.

The successful candidate is expected to do research, to teach, and to supervise undergraduate, graduate and PhD students in the field of Spiritual care/ professional skills. They are expected to develop new ideas in research, have affinity with interdisciplinary research, and to acquire external funding (independently or jointly with other colleagues) for future research. They are expected to develop a conceptually consistent research programme that complements the research of the Comparative Study of Religion, in particular the expertise of spiritual care colleagues. Also, they are expected to develop both strong international networks and at the same time have an affinity with the Dutch university context.

With regard to community, the successful candidate should be a team player who contributes to the Department through research collaboration and through active participation in joint educational and administrative activities, fulfilling them share in the administration of the Department and the Faculty. Furthermore, they will be encouraged to develop socially relevant research in keeping with the Faculty’s Centres and its involvement in university-wide research networks such as The Aletta Jacob School for Public health.

What we ask:
- a PhD degree in Spiritual Care, Religious Studies, Theology, or another field appropriate to the position
- experience and proven success in teaching in a variety of class types and sizes
- experience in the practical field of spiritual care or an affiliated job connected to professional conversations about life view and spirituality
- an exemplary research record fitting the career phase, demonstrated by publications in the form of monographs and/or articles in top journals and/or in peer-reviewed volumes
- demonstrated potential for success in acquiring external funding (public or private) for research projects
- a well-founded and motivated application with an integrative research plan for the coming five years and a challenging outlook for the future, taking into account the (inter)national research landscape in your field
- evidence of organisational qualities, communication skills and entrepreneurship
- significant international experience and evidence of international recognition
- a team player with skills at working in a multidisciplinary team
- fluency in the Dutch and English languages, in written and spoken form
- the University of Groningen requires teaching staff to attain the University Teaching Qualification.

Fixed-term contract: 18 months.

Depending on your career stage, we offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities a part-time position as Assistant Professor:

- a salary, depending on qualifications and work experience, from € 3,974 (salary scale 11) up to a maximum of € 6,181 gross (salary scale 12) for a full-time position
- a holiday allowance and end-of-year bonus of respectively 8% and 8.3% of your yearly gross salary
- participation in a pension scheme for employees
- the appointment will initially be on a probationary basis for 12 or 18 months with a view on a permanent contract. The concrete content and duration of the temporary employment contract (12 or 18 months) depend on the candidate's previous employment history
- the position is part-time: 0.5 FTE.

The appointee will ideally commence in post on 1 September 2023.

For more detailed information about working conditions and working for the University of Groningen, please check: https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/