Researcher position in the Horizon EU TETTRIX Project

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About the Job

Are you ready to take your research career to the next level? 

We offer an exciting 2-year researcher position that gives you the opportunity to develop a strong profile as a researcher. You will also gain valuable experience that might be relevant for your future career. Become part of our research environment and take the next step in your career with us. 

We have a vacancy for a Researcher position in the Horizon EU TETTRIX Project  

This research position will place you at the centre of a major European network shaping the future of taxonomy and biodiversity science. You will work closely with leading natural history institutions, research infrastructures, and policy interfaces across Europe, contributing to the integration of underrepresented (“dark”) taxa into biodiversity knowledge systems. The position offers the opportunity to develop research, coordination, and leadership skills within a large, interdisciplinary consortium, while building strong professional connections across the European taxonomic community. 

The NTNU University Museum is looking for an energetic, creative, and ambitious taxonomist with excellent organizational and communication skills. The position is part of the EU Horizon-funded TETTRIX Project and is a two-year temporary position. 

About the project and your tasks

TETTRIX (TETTRIs next level for the taxonomy of tomorrow) is a major European research and innovation initiative that is a follow-up to the Horizon EU TETTRIs project that brings together natural history museums, universities, and research institutes to modernise and strengthen taxonomy across Europe. The project develops digital platforms, AI-supported identification tools, training programmes, and policy interfaces to ensure that taxonomic knowledge — including poorly known “dark taxa” — is fully integrated into biodiversity research, monitoring, and decision-making. TETTRIX builds directly on previous EU initiatives and aims to secure taxonomy as a core pillar of Europe’s biodiversity and climate strategy.

CETAF secures funding for new Horizon Europe project TETTRIX 

The researcher will have a leading role in coordinating NTNU’s contribution to the TETTRIX network and will lead NTNU’s research efforts on the development of a system for representing and integrating unnamed (“dark”) taxa into biodiversity data infrastructures. This work will establish workflows and standards that enable stable, traceable, and FAIR-compliant treatment of taxonomic units (e.g. OTUs, BINs, image clusters, natural history collection specimens), ensuring their interoperability with major international biodiversity platforms. 

The successful candidate will build leadership expertise by being an integral part of a Horizon Europe consortium. The position will provide a unique opportunity to be part of a large, active and multidisciplinary international team, participation in project meetings in different countries over the course of the project and opportunities for research visits with other partners and for student supervision. 

The position is based at the NTNU University Museum in Trondheim with Associate Professor Emily Hartop as the local PI, and will interact with partners across the Network.

Your immediate leader will be the Head of Department.  

Duties of the position

• Coordinate NTNU’s scientific contributions within the Horizon Europe project TETTRIX, working closely with European partners to strengthen taxonomy and biodiversity research. 
• Lead NTNU’s work on developing practical solutions for integrating unnamed and poorly known species (“dark taxa”) into biodiversity research and data systems, helping ensure that these species can be consistently documented and compared across studies.
• Contribute taxonomic expertise to collaborative activities across the consortium, including participation in workshops, working groups, and joint publications. 
• Develop and carry out independent research related to taxonomy, species delimitation, and the documentation of hyperdiverse taxa, in alignment with the objectives of TETTRIX. 
• Contribute to the development of future research proposals and help strengthen NTNU’s role in European biodiversity initiatives. 
• Communicate research results to scientific, policy, and broader stakeholder audiences, and contribute to outreach activities that highlight the importance of taxonomy in biodiversity science.
   

Required selection criteria

• A PhD degree in taxonomy/systematic biology or similar fields of research. If you are in the final phase of your doctorate and can document that the thesis has been submitted or that the defense date has been confirmed, your application might be considered even if you have not defended.
• Relevant research experience in taxonomy or related fields of research with demonstrated expertise in species delimitation, integrative taxonomy, or molecular approaches to taxonomy (e.g. DNA barcoding).
• Excellent communication skills both written and oral English

Preferred selection criteria

• Experience in project coordination or management, preferably within collaborative or international research projects.
• A strong publication record in recognised international journals within taxonomy, systematics, biodiversity science, or related fields.
• Experience working in international research environments and collaborative networks.
• Experience working with biodiversity data, natural history collections, or large species datasets.
• Ability to translate taxonomic knowledge into broader biodiversity research, monitoring, or policy-relevant contexts.
• Strong communication skills and experience engaging with diverse stakeholder groups

Personal characteristics

Working as a researcher within a Horizon EU consortium requires that you 

• Have excellent organizational skills 
• Are an academic team player 
• Are an effective communicator 
• Can work independently 
• Work structured, set goals and make plans to achieve them 
• Present and discuss your research with other professionals 
• Engage and contribute constructively with feedback
• Show curiosity and strong motivation for the subject 
• Analyze data, assess different perspectives and draw well-founded conclusions 
• Are flexible and open to adjusting the plan for the project as needed

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

• An exciting job with an important social mission
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment 
• Career guidance throughout the postdoctoral program and together with you we will prepare a career plan, which contains the skills and knowledge you will acquire
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues 
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• Favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Free Norwegian language training at a basic level (A2)

As a Researcherat NTNU, you will have access to employee benefits.

Salary and conditions

As a researcher (code 1109) you are normally paid from gross 633 400,- per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. As required by law, 2% of this salary will be deducted and paid into the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 2 years.

The position is conditional on external funding.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important to keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and to adapt to them.

For the necessary professional and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU.   

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English. Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above.

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates and diplomas upon request.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result

The application must include:

• CV, certificates and diplomas
• A cover letter setting out your motivation for the researcher position and briefly outlining how your previous experience fits within the network (max. 1 page)
• Transcripts and diplomas for PhD degree or documentation of the submitted thesis if degree is not yet defended.
• A copy of the PhD thesis and of relevant manuscripts, publications or other relevant research work
• Name and contact details of two to three references

If all or parts of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

It is important that you both document and reflect on your competence. You are encouraged to use the NTNUs competence matrix as a guide for documentation of your competence.

Joint work will also be considered. If it is difficult to identify your specific input to a joint project, you must include evidence of your contributions. 

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. Open scientific practice will be recognized.

NTNU is obliged by the evaluation criteria for research quality in accordance with The San Fransisco Declaration on Research Assessment – DORA and The obligations in the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment ( CoARA) on responsible assessment of research and recognition of a wider range of academic contributions to science and society. This means that we will pay particular attention to the quality and academic range demonstrated by your scientific work to date. We will also pay attention to research leadership and participation in research projects. Your scientific work from the last five years will be given the most weight.

Your application will be considered by a committee at the department. 

Candidates of interest will be invited to an interview.

General information

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population's collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse, and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals.   

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education.  

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability, and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time. 

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We have a number of measures to promote equality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must continually maintain and improve your professional development and be flexible regarding any organizational changes.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

For the sake of transparency, candidates will be given expert evaluations of their own and other candidates. As an applicant you are considered part of the process and are stipulated by rules of confidentiality. 

If you have any questions regarding the position, please contact Associate Professor Emily Hartop, email emily.hartop@ntnu.no. 

If you have questions regarding the recruitment process, please contact HR Senior Consultant Anne Karin Henning, email anne.karin.henning@ntnu.no

Application deadline: 21.05.2026

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.