Postdoctoral researcher in Sustainability in Business (2+1 years) (aalto)

Job Description

Aalto University is where science and art meet technology and business. We shape a sustainable future by making research breakthroughs in and across our disciplines, sparking the game changers of tomorrow and creating novel solutions to major global challenges. Our community is made up of 13 000 students, 400 professors and close to 4 500 other faculty and staff working on our dynamic campus in Espoo, Greater Helsinki, Finland. Diversity is part of who we are, and we actively work to ensure our community’s diversity and inclusiveness. This is why we warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join our community.

The Aalto University School of Business is the leading business school in Finland. The School belongs to the select group of business schools that have been granted the most important international quality accreditations in its field. It aspires to be among the best business schools in Europe in terms of research excellence, a portfolio of pioneering B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., and executive education programs, and contributions to society.

The Department of Management Studies invites applications for

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER IN SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS (2+1 years)

We are now looking a junior academic interested in research and teaching in the domain of sustainable business. The position is within the Organizations and Management discipline in the Department of Management Studies of Aalto University Business School.

About us

The department hosts a strong Sustainability in Business research group. The group is specialized in innovations towards sustainability, including circular economy, governance and institutions, and sustainability transitions. In addition to active publishing, the group is active in collaboration with companies and other stakeholders as well as creating societal impact. The department also has more general research groups on organization and management studies, focusing on diverse topics within organization theory, strategy and organizational behavior. Moreover, the department has a lively, international research community with numerous doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers from several countries. The working language at the department is English.

Department of Management Studies has existing research on organizing for sustainability, sustainability innovation, business models for sustainability and alternative economies. This work offers a basis for rethinking how businesses operate, how new actors and individuals can make contributions to sustainability and how sustainability debates unfold across societies and different global contexts.

The position is related to a new six-year inter-disciplinary project focusing on sustainable freshwater use and water stewardship. The management research in the project will focus broadly on water stewardship activities in multinational value chains as well as collective governance for water security and sustainability. For the applicants, existing research on topics such as environmental sustainability in management studies (esp. relating to water), cross-sector collaboration, legimacy and power, stakeholder theory, and governance of commons are considered as merits. Empirically, the project is primarily focused on qualitative approaches, so methodological skills in qualitative research are essential for the role.

Our expectations

The postdoctoral position is intended to allow the chosen researcher to pursue their own research agenda and to develop personal competencies. We expect the candidate to conduct high quality research and aim to publish in the leading international journals. The position is associated with a low teaching load.

We look for scholars who have completed their Ph.D. within the last four years, or are about to complete it. The Ph.D. is expected to be in a relevant field of study (such as management studies, social sciences, organizations and sustainability), but applicants from other areas may also be considered. The applicants should have demonstrated the ability to teach competently and to publish internationally. The position requires fluent skills in the English language. Finnish and other language skills are a merit.

Postdoctoral researchers are required to be in residence for the duration of the appointment, as we are looking for a member in our lively, welcoming departmental community. The appointment can begin Spring 2025, but the dates of the employment relationship can be negotiated. The position will be two years with a potential extension into a third year.

We offer

• We offer you a full-time position for 2

• Thriving sustainability research community

• Stimulating research and working environment in one of the leading international universities

• Possibility to pursue cutting-edge research with a wide community of sustainability scholars and opportunities to participate in ground-breaking multi-disciplinary sustainability research.

• Possibility to attend of international academic conferences

• A salary, which will be defined according to Aalto University´s payroll system. As an employer, Aalto University provides excellent learning and development opportunities as well as occupational health care services, versatile exercise services and other employee benefits.

Aalto University also provides health care and retirement benefits. Finland is known for high quality of life, great work-life balance, clean nature, and family-friendly policies such as affordable high-quality daycare and free schools. Helsinki is a vibrant international city with a metropolitan area population of over 1.1 million people.  

How to apply

If you want to join our community, please submit your application enclosing all relevant documents through our recruitment system Workday no later than February 16 , 2025 at 23:59 EET (UTC+2). Aalto University’s employees and visitors should apply for the position by using their existing Workday user account. Please see how to do it here.

To apply, please share the following application materials with us in English as a single file in PDF format (‘lastname_firstname_application.pdf’):

• Cover letter

• Curriculum Vitae

• List of publications (with five most significant publications highlighted)

• Names and contact information for two references

• A list of teaching experience

• A research plan for the postdoctoral period (1-2 pages)

Aalto University reserves the right for justified reasons to leave the position open, to extend the application period and to consider candidates who have not submitted applications during the application period.

For more Information

For inquiries about this position, please contact Prof. Samuli Patala (samuli.patala(at)aalto.fi) ). In questions related to the recruitment process, please contact HR Partner Jenna Knuutinen, jenna.knuutinen(at)aalto.fi. Please note that applications will be reviewed only after application time will expire and all candidates will be informed about the following process only after that. Please, do not send any attachments to HR via e-mail, all documents shall be provided through Workday -recruitment tool.

About Finland

Finland is a great place for living, both with or without family: it is a safe, politically stable and well-organized Nordic society which is consistently ranked highly in quality-of-life studies. Helsinki has been praised as one of the world’s most livable cities, e.g. by Monocle Magazine and in the Economist Intelligence Unit livability rankings. The World Happiness Report 2020 ranked Helsinki as the city with the highest well-being in the world. For more information about living in Finland: https://www.aalto.fi/en/services/why-finland

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