Tenure Track assistant professors in life cycle assessment of buildings

The Villum Foundation has launched a record-breaking research initiative of 1 billion DKK over the next ten years aimed at advancing the transition toward a more sustainable built environment. The announced positions are part of this venture and the successful candidates will contribute to a collaborative interdisciplinary effort to achieve this overarching goal. Two full-time tenure track assistant professor positions are available for highly talented and promising candidates. The positions are hosted at the Division of Sustainability of Buildings in Copenhagen Department of The Built Environment at the Faculty of Engineering and Science at Aalborg University. Employment is expected to commence on April 1st 2026 or shortly thereafter.

The employment is for a six-year period during which the candidates must acquire qualifications at assistant professor level. During the tenure track the assistant professor transfers to permanent employment as an associate professor subject to positive assessment. Promotion to associate professor is thus based solely on the candidates own results and not on competition with other candidates.

Your work tasks

Environmental sustainability assessment is essential for supporting the transition toward a built environment within planetary boundaries. Current methods still evaluate from relative sustainability approach but need to move towards absolute sustainability approach. Current methods are also often limited by static modelling approaches that do not adequately capture time-dependent effects regional differences and trade-offs across environmental impacts. Improving these methods is necessary to enable credible sustainability assessments and informed decision-making.

The two positions contribute jointly to advancing environmental sustainability assessment with complementary main focuses. The two positions contribute jointly to advancing environmental sustainability assessment of the built environment covering a broad methodological spectrum from absolute to dynamic approaches. The work includes developing methods to quantify absolute sustainability impactssuch as biodiversity loss and resource useacross the life cycle of buildings and infrastructure including contributions to characterization modelling and regionally differentiated system boundaries. At the same time the positions involve advancing dynamic assessment methods that capture time dependent changes in emissions environmental conditions and socioeconomic factors and that reflect the long service life of built assets. Together the positions aim to strengthen the credibility and relevance of sustainability assessments by reducing environmental impacts over time without shifting burdens across impact categories locations or generations. A core shared responsibility is to define science based environmental performance target.

Both positions share responsibility for defining science-based environmental performance targets for the built environment such as net-zero planetary boundaryaligned or regenerative goals ensuring that sustainability targets and claims are robust and achievable.

Your competencies

The successful candidates hold strong academic backgrounds in environmental science or environmental engineering and demonstrate independence initiative and motivation to develop original research. They show clear potential to grow into internationally recognised researchers within their respective fields. The candidates are collaborative team players who contribute constructively toward shared objectives and are able to balance the demands of ambitious research careers with personal well-being interests and family life.

In terms of scientific competencies the candidates have experience with quantitative environmental modelling and the use of policy-relevant indicators to support evidence-based decision-making. Core expertise across the two positions includes the development and advancement of life-cyclebased environmental impact assessment methods; the integration of absolute environmental sustainability principles into life-cycle and performance-based frameworks; and the optimisation of built environment systems to support climate mitigation and carbon-removal strategies in line with net-zero ambitions. The candidates also have experience in contributing to or driving complex research projects that involve both scientific fieldwork and outreach activities.

Qualification requirements
Applicants for a tenure track assistant professorship must have academic qualifications at PhD level.

When appointing tenure track assistant professors Aalborg University also place particular emphasis on:

• The candidate can demonstrate a high degree of autonomy in their previous education and employment path
• The candidate shows considerable potential and is among the best in their field
• The candidate has academic experience from several universities and/or research institutions and preferably international experience
• The candidate is a skilled communicator
• The candidate writes and speaks English at the academic level
• The candidate is expected to meet the criteria for permanent employment as an associate professor at Aalborg University at the end of the tenure track process

Who we are

The Department of the Built Environment is Denmarks largest department in construction civil engineering and the built environment. The research at BUILD is rooted in the field of engineering but it also contains important and comprehensive elements from the social sciences and the humanities.
The Department of the Built Environment at Aalborg University is a leading national centre for research and education in sustainable architecture building technology and urban development. The department integrates engineering and design competences to address the environmental challenges of the built environment. The successful candidate will join a dynamic research environment that works closely with public authorities industry and international organisations on the development of tools and standards for the net-zero and circular built environment.

The Division of Sustainability of Buildings hosts projects on sustainability assessment of buildings life cycle assessment (LCA) circular economy materials and design strategies among others. The department values interdisciplinary collaboration and expects the new associate professor to play an active role in connecting methodological and applied research domains.

Assessment in connection with transfer to associate professorship
The assessment in connection with transition to tenure as an associate professor normally takes place in the final six months of the tenure track assistant professors employment. However the employee may request that an assessment take place at an earlier time in the first four years. If this assessment finds that the employee is not academically qualified they may request another assessment within the final six months of their period of employment. A maximum of two assessments may take place.

The assessment on transition to the associate professorship will as a minimum emphasize the following qualifications in relation to the scientific subject area of the tenure track assistant professorship:

• Research qualifications equivalent to the level that can be achieved on the basis of satisfactorily completed employment as tenure track assistant professor.
• Documented scientific production at international level. Assessment will be based on up to ten selected publications selected by the employee.
• Documentation of pedagogical supervision and upgrading of qualifications including a positive written assessment of teaching qualifications. The assessment will also be based on the employees teaching portfolio.
• The level of contribution to an active academic environment as well as the ability to collaborate and build relationships.
• The level of experience with grant proposals and experience of communicating research to relevant stakeholders.

If the tenure track assistant professor fails to request that their qualifications be assessed in the last year of their period of employment or if they are assessed as not academically qualified the university must immediately initiate dismissal proceedings in accordance with the collective agreement rules.

How to apply
Your application must include the following:

• Application stating reasons for applying qualifications in relation to the position and intentions and visions for the position
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Diplomas (masters degree diploma and PhD diploma)
• List of publications with an indication of the attached publications that you wish to be taken into account in the assessment. Youmay attach a maximum of five publications.
• Documentation of teaching qualifications. Please see guidelines for teaching portfolio at The Faculty of Engineering and Science. If this is not enclosed the applicant must enclose the reasons for this.
• Dissemination qualifications including participation on committees or boards participation in organisations etc.
• Additional qualifications in relation to the position
• References/recommendations

You can read more about the requirements for your application here.

The application must be submitted via Aalborg Universitys recruitment system which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aalborg Universitys website.

Aalborg University wants to reflect the surrounding society and has diversity as a core value. Therefore everyone regardless of personal background and orientation is encouraged to apply for the position.

Do you have any questions
If you have any questions about the position you are more than welcome to contact us. You will find contact persons at the bottom of the jobpost.

Further information
Read more about our recruitment process here

The appointment process at Aalborg University involves a shortlisting process. You can read more about the shortlisting and appointment process here.

The hiring process at Aalborg University may include a risk assessment as a tool to identify potential risks associated with new hires ensuring the safety compliance and integrity of the workplace.

Salary and terms of employment
The employment is in accordance with the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities (the Appointment Order) and the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (in Danish).

Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with the collective agreement between the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations and the state (AC collective agreement) (only in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (only in Danish).

Aalborg University - Knowledge for the world
Aalborg University is an international workplace with more than 3700 employees. We offer real-world-oriented education and create world-class research results through collaboration between researchers students and public and private companies. This is how we achieve insights new solutions to societal problems and knowledge that changes the world. Our main campus is in Aalborg but we also have campuses in Esbjerg and Copenhagen.