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Vacancy | Associate senior lecturer in sport sciences with focus on sustainability, at Malmö University | Apply no later than May 3, 2026

March 17, 2026

Reference number P 2026/373

We are looking for an associate senior lecturer in sport sciences with focus on sustainability at the Department of Sport Sciences, a part of the Faculty of Education and Society. Sport sciences is a multidisciplinary subject area at Malmö University, with an emphasis on the social sciences and humanities. Environmental, economic and social sustainability are important perspectives in our research profile, and they have relevance for studies of physical education in schools, sports for children and youth, professional sports and outdoor recreation.

Job description

As an associate senior lecturer at Malmö University, you will be able to develop your independence as a researcher and complete both your scientific and educational qualifications required for promotion to an indefinite term position as a senior lecturer. The position’s duties are primarily research but also include teaching. As part of the position, you will also be given the opportunity to complete research leadership and higher education teaching training.

The position’s duties include research of at least 60% and teaching at the most 40% within sport sciences with a focus on sustainability.

The position involves contributing to the development of the subject area sport sciences with a focus on sustainability. As an associate senior lecturer, your main duties are to pursue your own research, to apply for external research funding for yourself and others, and to teach. The position also involves development of courses, teaching and examination on the bachelor’s and master’s levels and collaboration with third parties. As an associate senior lecturer, you are expected to take part in collegial contexts and contribute to an active academic citizenship. Administrative duties related to research, teaching and cooperation are included in the position.

The position is closely linked to the research environment in sport sciences, where multidisciplinary research is conducted on the importance of sports in society with emphasis on the social sciences and the humanities.

Qualification requirements

Qualification requirements refer to requirements that must be met for an applicant to be considered for employment or promotion.

Research expertise is a qualification requirement for employment as an associate senior lecturer. Candidates for the position of associate senior lecturer at Malmö University are required to have a PhD or have attained equivalent expertise.

Preference will be given to individuals awarded a PhD or having attained equivalent expertise no more than seven years prior to the expiry of the application period for the position.

Individuals who were awarded a PhD or attained equivalent research prior to this period can be considered under special circumstances. Special circumstances include absence due to illness, parental leave and similar circumstances.

It is a general qualification requirement that the candidate is appropriate for and has the skills in general required to fully complete the duties of this position (including the ability to work with others).

Additional qualification requirement for this position is a very high level of spoken and written English.

Assessment criteria

Assessment criteria refer to criteria for assessing how well an applicant meets a certain qualification requirement and criteria that have otherwise been deemed significant for the position.

The overall assessment places the greatest emphasis on research expertise. The overall assessment includes teaching and collaborative expertise, academic citizenship, leadership and administrative expertise.

The assessment criteria for research expertise are:

- - research in the field relevant for the position in question;
  - active participation and being well-established in the scientific community;
  - ability to initiate, plan, develop, independently implement and lead high-quality research with international impact and of significant scope;
  - capable of international research collaboration;
  - capable of attracting competitive external research funding in light of the subject area’s unique characteristics and traditions;
  - ability to apply principles for open science; and
  - ability to communicate research within and outside of the scientific community.

The assessment criteria for teaching expertise are:

- - ability to plan, develop, implement and lead high-quality teaching using different teaching methods on the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels;
  - experience of educational development work and reflection on one’s own educational philosophy and application;
  - ability to integrate research into bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral education both in terms of content and educational methods; and
  - capable of participating in and leading international educational collaborations.

Assessment criteria for collaborative expertise are:

- - ability to initiate, develop and expand collaboration and mutual exchange with various public organisations at the local, national and international levels to strengthen the quality, relevance and benefit of research and education;
  - ability to communication research and education to external target groups; and
  - ability to translate research and education into innovation and apply them practically (utilisation).

Assessment criteria for academic citizenship, leadership and administrative expertise are:

- - work within academia beyond regular duties within education and research and also with external activities and assignments where academic citizenship is practiced;
  - collegial initiatives at a department, faculty, or equivalent that promote a healthy work environment and academic setting, such as work on boards and committees, and in working groups, responsibility for seminars, various leadership, coordination and mentor assignments within and outside of one’s own higher education institution, assessment and review assignments, and work with journals;
  - ability to plan, organise, implement and follow up work, assignments and operations and the ability to work in a structured way and contribute to development of organisational processes and procedures.

Assessment of qualifications will be done based on Malmö University’s appointments procedure and the adopted job description for the position. An overall assessment of the applicant’s qualifications and expertise based on the qualification requirements and assessment criteria will be made prior to a decision to hire an applicant.

See Malmö University’s appointments procedure for additional instructions on how to conduct the assessment.

Faculty

The Faculty of Education and Society conducts research and provides courses and programmes in education from preschool to university level, history, culture, and physical education. Our research often takes place in relation to and in collaboration with schools, museums, sports associations, and idea-based organisations to create long-term, science-based solutions for society and the advancement of education.

We offer professional training in the fields of schools, culture, leisure and sport. We run one of Sweden’s largest teacher training programmes, offering students a choice of four degrees: preschool teacher, primary teacher, secondary teacher or vocational teacher.

Department

The Department of Sport Sciences is a multidisciplinary environment with a focus on sports, health and physical activity. We combine education, research and collaboration to contribute to the development of sport and society. We offer programmes, courses and postgraduate education within sport sciences. Our research is internationally oriented and conducted in close collaboration with actors in sport, education and other areas.

Application instructions

Apply for the position through Malmö University’s recruitment system by clicking on the “Apply” button. Application documents are to be submitted electronically. Physical documents are only accepted in exceptional cases; contact hr@mau.se if you have books or other documents that cannot be submitted electronically.

All qualifications are to be documented so that both quality and scope can be assessed. You are responsible for ensuring that your application is complete in accordance with the job description and application instructions and that it is submitted no later than 3 May 2026. The application is to be written in Swedish, English or one of the other Scandinavian languages. When required, you are responsible for translating the application and any submitted documents.

For guidance on compiling qualifications, you can use Malmö University’s Academic Qualifications Portfolio.

The application is to include the following:

- - a short application cover letter of at most two pages that describes your experience, background and expertise related to the position and an explanation of why you are applying
  - curriculum vitae with attachments (maximum 10 pages of annexes)
  - complete list of publications
  - list of the three scientific works you wish to reference and your doctoral thesis. Provide the DOI code for each publication if there is one.
  - describe your planned research (including schedule and publication plan) and research ambitions (maximum five pages)
  - short presentation of your teaching qualifications (such as a summary of your teaching experience, a short reflection over your teaching approach, your teaching qualifications, maximum three pages)
  - the scientific works (maximum three)
  - doctoral thesis
  - other documents you wish to refer to

Note that the documents submitted or produced for this open position (such as applications, expert reports and minutes) are normally general documents and as such public documents. This means that the documents may (except for documents classified as secret) be requested and read by others.

Terms of employment

- - Access: 1 November 2026 or by agreement.
  - Form of employment: Fixed-term employment for four (4) years, with the potential for promotion to an indefinite term position as a senior lecturer.
  - Scope of the position: 100%
  - Salary: Individual salary setting

Swedish is the primary language at Malmö University, and it is a hope that non-Swedish speaking staff will acquire enough Swedish language skills to allow them to participate in teaching and research and in common and daily work at the department but also as a way to enable them to take on academic leadership positions.

Promotion to senior lecturer in sport sciences

During the employment period, the associate senior lecturer in sport sciences has the right to apply for promotion to an indefinite term position as a senior lecturer. Assessment is conducted using the following adopted qualification requirements and assessment criteria. If these are met and the individual is judged appropriate as per the assessment criteria specified in Malmö University’s appointments procedure and defined specifications, the individual is to be promoted. An application for promotion to senior lecturer may only be submitted once and is to be submitted no later than six months before the position as associate senior lecturer ends.

Qualification requirements

Qualification requirements refer to requirements that must be met for an applicant to be considered for employment or promotion.

Research and teaching expertise are a qualification requirement for employment as an associate senior lecturer. Qualifications for appointment as a senior lecturer at Malmö University include having been awarded a PhD or having equivalent scientific expertise or other professional expertise of significance with respect to the position’s subject content and duties:

A senior lecturer is to be established in their scientific field in light of the subject area’s unique characteristics and traditions. For indefinite term employment as senior lecturer, the individual is required to have higher education teaching training of at least 15 credits or an equivalent qualification requirement.

During their employment, the associate senior lecturer is to have demonstrated progress in advancing their research and teaching expertise when considered from on a comprehensive and long-term perspective.

Assessment criteria

Assessment criteria refer to criteria for assessing how well an applicant meets a certain qualification requirement and criteria that have otherwise been deemed significant for the position.

The overall assessment places the greatest emphasis on research and teaching expertise. The overall assessment includes collaborative expertise, academic citizenship, leadership and administrative expertise.

See the assessment criteria for each expertise above in the job description for associate senior lecturer.

Information

Head of Department, Anna Fabri, anna.fabri@mau.se
Assistant Head of Department, Alexander Jansson, alexander.jansson@mau.se
Assistant Head of Department, Gun Normark, gun.normark@mau.se
For questions about the recruitment process, contact HR specialist Amelia Lesniewicz, amelia.lesniewicz@mau.se