Junior or senior professor of French and Francophone literature and culture

Let’s shape the future - University of Antwerp

The University of Antwerp is a dynamic, forward-thinking university. We offer an innovative academic education to more than 20000 students, conduct pioneering scientific research and play an important service-providing role in society. We are one of the largest, most international and most innovative employers in the region. With more than 6000 employees from 100 different countries, we are helping to build tomorrow's world every day. Through top scientific research, we push back boundaries and set a course for the future – a future that you can help to shape.

The Department of Literature in the Faculty of Arts has the following part-time (75 %) vacancy: junior or senior professor of French and Francophone literature and culture.                                                                   

Position

You will contribute to the University of Antwerp’s three core tasks: education (40 %), research (40 %) and services (20 %). Your role will also include organisational and managerial aspects.

Education

• You will provide high-quality education in the Bachelor and Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies and in the Bachelor of Applied Linguistics.
• In the three-year bachelor’s program of Linguistics and Literary Studies, you will teach two introductory courses:
  • French Literature 1, a course on the history of French Literature from the Middle Ages to 1800 (3 out of 6 ECTS),
  • French Literature 2, from the 19^th until today (6 ECTS).
• In the Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies and in the Bachelor of Applied Linguistics you will also teach:
  • French: Culture and Globalization (3 out of 6 ECTS).
• In the one-year master’s program, you will teach an optional class which fits your research (6 ECTS).
• In your teaching, you must pay attention to the students’ needs regarding the practice of French language.
• The teaching load may evolve in function of the course programme and internal consultation with colleagues. The total teaching load will remain more or less the same as the above (with a maximum of 18 ECTS and a minimum of 14 ECTS).
• You will play a role in developing activating, student-centred and competence-driven programme components and study programmes.
• You will supervise students during the writing of bachelor’s and master’s papers.

Research

• You will advance high-quality scientific research in the field of French and/or Francophone literatures and preferably with a focus on the 19^th century or later.
• You will initiate new lines of research and coordinate the progress of scientific research projects.
• Connection to ongoing research in the Department and /or the Faculty of Arts is an asset (for example: Digital Literature, Theatre and Film Studies, Youth literature, Jewish studies, Urban History, or “Francophonie” in a comparative context).
• You will acquire and manage national and international research funding.
• You will publish in international, peer-reviewed journals and will write, edit or contribute to books published by leading academic publishers.
• You will develop an international scientific network.
• You will supervise PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. Their number depends on the acquisition of fellowships and project subsidies from national and international institutions. On the one hand, talented young researchers can initiate research themselves by applying for individually awarded fellowships and involving you as their adviser. On the other, you are expected as a junior or senior professor to acquire research funding yourself, with which you can then recruit fitting doctoral and/or postdoctoral researchers.

Services

• You will play a role in the provision of both academic services and service to society, within the institution and externally. Among other service activities, you will participate in student recruitment, boards and committees, and popular communication to a non-academic audience.

Organisation and leadership

• You will accept coordinating responsibilities in the areas of education, research and/or services and you will contribute to policy.
• Your leadership style will be motivating and coaching. You will be attentive to junior researchers’ growth, mental well-being and career planning and to the social cohesion among researchers in the department.

Profile

• You hold a PhD in French and/or Francophone literature.
• You can demonstrate several years of postdoctoral experience (or equivalent).
• Your research qualities are in line with the faculty and university research policies.
• You have established an excellent international research portfolio with academic peer-reviewed publications.
• You have proven experience in teaching in French in an academic context, preferably also to non-French speakers.
• Your courses will be taught in French so your writing and speaking skills should be at the level of native speakers (European Reference Framework C2).
• A good command of English is an asset as this will be the language for grant acquisition.
• Your teaching competences are in line with the University of Antwerp’s educational vision. You are motivated to develop your teaching skills further through the professionalisation opportunities available.
• If you do not speak Dutch, the administrative language of the university, you should be willing to obtain a CEFR B2 level of proficiency in Dutch. As soon as you take on teaching duties in Dutch as a programme component coordinator, you should be able to demonstrate a CEFR C1 level of proficiency in the language of instruction. The University of Antwerp supports international staff members through an integration trajectory and offers tailor-made language coaching in compliance with Flanders’ statutory language regulations.
• You demonstrate leadership potential and organisational skills.
• You act with attention to quality, integrity, creativity and cooperation.
• You commit yourself to turning your work environment into an inclusive place in which diversity is valued and all students, including those with special vulnerabilities, feel safe.

What we offer

• We offer a part-time, structural appointment as a member of the Senior Academic Staff (Dutch: Zelfstandig Academisch Personeel, ZAP). The level of your appointment (assistant professor, associate professor, professor or full professor) is determined on the basis of your professional experience and academic qualifications. Junior ZAP members are usually offered temporary appointment as a tenure track assistant professor for five years, which is then followed by permanent appointment (tenure) as an associate professor. Appointment as an associate professor or higher leads to permanent appointment (tenure) after a maximum of three years. A favourable performance appraisal is always required for permanent appointment.
• We offer, after a positive evaluation of a PhD project application you submit, an attractive starter package consisting of a four-year PhD project and €15 000 of consumables to boost your research from the start of your employment at the University of Antwerp.
• Your gross monthly salary is calculated according to the pay scales for Senior Academic Staff (ZAP) and calculated proportionally on the basis of your employment percentage.
• You will receive ecocheques, a laptop, a workplace, an Internet-connectivity allowance, and a bicycle allowance or a full reimbursement of public transport costs for commuting.
• The planned starting date is 15 September 2024 or as soon as possible after that date.
• You will do most of your work at the City campus of the University of Antwerp (Prinsstraat 13) in a dynamic and stimulating working environment.
• Find out more about working at the University of Antwerp here and discover all the other benefits.

Want to apply?

• You can apply for this vacancy through the University of Antwerp’s online job application platform up to and including 26 February 2024 (by midnight Brussels time). Click on 'apply', complete the online application form and don’t forget to include the following document(s):
  • (1) your motivation letter in French,
  • (2) the completed job application appendix for ZAP in English,
  • (3) your academic CV in French or English.
  • A research plan is only requested from those who will be invited to the selection interview.

• The selection committee will review all of the applications as soon as possible after the application deadline. As soon as a decision has been made, we will inform you about the next steps in the selection procedure. We kindly request that you already reserve 30 April 2024 for a selection interview and a teaching sample on-campus. If you are invited to the selection interview, you will also be asked to propose a topic for a four-year PhD project.
• If you have any questions about the online application form, please check the frequently asked questions or send an email to jobs@uantwerpen.be. If you have any questions about the job itself, please contact prof. Kathleen Gyssels, member of the French section Kathleen.Gyssels@uantwerpen.be, and/or prof. Remco Sleiderink, Chair of the Department of Literature, Remco.Sleiderink@uantwerpen.be .

The University of Antwerp received the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award for its HR policy. We are a sustainable, family-friendly organisation which invests in its employees’ growth. We encourage diversity and attach great importance to an inclusive working environment and equal opportunities, regardless of gender identity, disability, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse characteristics to apply.