Tenure-Track Position in Critical Forensics and Conflict Archaeology

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The Department of Archaeologies / Philosophical-Historical Faculty at the University Innsbruck seeks to fill a

Tenure-Track Position in Critical Forensics and Conflict Archaeology

Responsibilities
The tenure-track position holder is expected to conduct independent, interdisciplinary research and teaching in the field of historical Archaeology with a particular focus on contemporary and recent historical conflicts and social inequalities, conflict landscapes, the archaeology of mass violence, and the aftermath of conflicts. The methodological focus should be in the areas of remote sensing-techniques in archaeology (spatial analysis/GIS), related forensic methods, critical cultural theory, and community-centred research and fieldwork. The aim is to develop innovative approaches that combine empirical methods with critical cultural theory in order to document and examine the causes, dynamics, and consequences of mass violence, contexts of inequality, human rights violations, and postconflict reconstruction based on their material manifestations. The aim is to develop novel approaches that combine empirical methods with critical cultural theory to investigate the causes, dynamics, and consequences of contemporary political violence, contexts of inequality and human rights violations, and post-conflict reconstruction on the basis of their material manifestations.

The position is integrated into the Research Group for Historical Archaeology at the Department of Archaeologies. Close cooperation is sought with other research groups within the Department, the Unit for Peace & Conflict Studies, the Department of History and Empirical Cultural Studies and the Department of Contemporary History. We also expect collaborations with institutes of other faculties dealing with topics relevant to the position (e.g., Geoinformatics, Human Rights), as well as participation in the inter-faculty research area “Cultural Encounters – Cultural Conflicts.” We furthermore expect cooperation with partners at other leading national and international research institutions, as well as participation in joint projects (e.g., with NGOs, affected communities, cultural heritage organisations).

The teaching responsibilities encompass 4 hours per week each semester within the field of Historical Archaeology. Particular emphasis will be on the competencies of the tenure-track position. This includes teaching courses within the Bachelor and Master programmes “Archaeological Studies”, as well as supervising students, including the (co-)supervision of theses.

The successful candidate is expected to contribute to academic self-governance and committee work.

Employment requirements include:

• Completed doctoral degree in Historical Archaeology (or a related field), with a focus on Conflict Archaeology and Heritage, and/or sensitive research fields
• Expertise in Remote Sensing and GIS-Applications
• Expertise in community-centred fieldwork/research, as well as sound knowledge of critical cultural theory and ethics are desirable
• Experience within interdisciplinary research networks is desirable
• Experience in the leadership and organization of teams is desirable
• Experience in teaching and the supervision of students is desirable
• Preferably a minimum of 24 months of subject-relevant professional experience following completion of the Phd dissertation
• International mobility experience of several months during or after the doctoral degree/PhD (e.g., extended research stay abroad)
• Initial experience in the acquisition of competitive third-party funding
• German language proficiency at B2 level, or the willingness to acquire this proficiency within three years of the appointment; ability to teach in English
• Strong social competence, teamwork skills, sense of responsibility, and organizational capabilities

Description of the position:

A tenure-track position at the University of Innsbruck enables an academic career up to a permanent university professorship.

The successful applicant concludes a 6-year fixed-term employment contract on the basis of the ‘Angestelltengesetz’ (Employees Act) with a workload of 100%) and at the same time a ‘Qualification Agreement’ (=Tenure Track Agreement) in accordance with § 27 of the ‘Kollektivvertrag’ (Austrian Collective Labour Agreement for University Employees) and starts his/her work as an “Assistant Professor”.

Upon successful completion of the ‘Qualification Agreement’ requirements, the position will be converted to a tenured role, and the candidate will be promoted to “Associate Professor”.

Thereafter, a Full Professorship under § 99 (4) of the ‘Universitätsgesetz’ (Austrian University Act) may be opened, for which the Associate Professor will be eligible to apply.

Your application must have arrived by September 16, 2026 at Universität Innsbruck Fakultäten Servicestelle, Innrain 52f, A-6020 Innsbruck (fssinnrain52f@uibk.ac.at).

The University of Innsbruck is committed to increasing the proportion of women in academic positions and explicitly encourages qualified women to apply. Where qualifications are equal, preference will be given to female candidates.

In line with the ‘Kollektivvertrag’ (Austrian Collective Labor Agreement for university personnel). Researchers under a ‘Qualification Agreement’ are classified in remuneration group A2, with an initial salary of € 5.904,00 per month (paid 14 times annually). Upon successful completion of the Agreement, the salary increases to € 6.389,50 per month (14 installments). In addition, the University of Innsbruck offers a wide range of attractive employee benefits (https://www.uibk.ac.at/en/career/additional-benefits/).

The application must be submitted in English and must include:

• Letter of motivation including an outline of the most important achievements (max. 3 pages)
• Curriculum vitae in tabular format
• List of publications
• List of the 5 most significant presentations/lectures
• Clearly defined concept for research (max. 4 pages) and teaching concept (max. 2 pages)
• Doctoral dissertation and 3 select papers (published or accepted for publication)

Please submit all documents digitally as PDF attachments by email.

The full official text in German (as published in the University Bulletin (Mitteilungsblatt) on 05.08.2026) and the latest details on the vacancy are available at: https://www.uibk.ac.at/de/fakultaeten-servicestelle/standorte/innrain52f/berufungen/