Assistant Professors, tenure track, qualification agreement

  • Vienna University of Economics and Business
  • Research, development, teaching
  • Fulltime
  • published till: 10.12.2025
You want to understand how things are connected and make a fundamental impact? We offer an environment where you can realize your full potential. At one of Europe’s largest and most modern business and economics universities. On a campus where quality of work is also quality of life. We are looking for support at the

Institute for Ecological Economics
Fulltime, 40 hours/week
Starting February 01, 2026, and limited for 6 years
 
A qualification agreement will be concluded at the start of the employment (§ 27 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement). Pursuant to WU’s Personnel Development Plan, this position can only be fixed-term for up to six years. Once all objectives agreed upon in the qualification agreement have been fulfilled, the employment relationship can be made permanent. Employees who have successfully completed a qualification agreement are classified as associate professors. From an organizational regulation perspective they belong to the group of professors. Three years after successful completion of the qualification agreement, they are entitled to apply for promotion to full professor according to the By-Laws of WU § 43a.
 
You have decided to pursue an academic career and want to conduct research, teach, and be an active member of the scientific community in the fields of ecological economics and industrial ecology? This position is the next step in your career in research. 

What to expect

Context

This tenure track position will be allocated to the research group “Global Resource Use” at the Institute for Ecological Economics. The research group assesses society's use of natural resources – especially raw materials, energy, land, and water – and its environmental, social and economic consequences from production, trade and consumption perspectives. The group develops innovative methods to analyse resource flows along international supply chains and trace products and related impacts from the location of resource extraction via manufacturing to final consumers. The group thereby supports the design of science-based and target-oriented policies for sustainable production and consumption and the transition towards an economy operating within planetary boundaries.

Your responsibilities 

The successful candidate will be expected to:

  • Conduct cutting-edge research: You will perform research on the use of natural resources on the global scale, with a particular emphasis on raw materials essential for sustainability transitions in the energy, mobility, and construction sectors. The research will include the development and advancement of methods to assess the environmental impacts of resource extraction, incorporating spatially explicit analyses and the integration of Earth observation data.
  • Publish in international journals: The candidate is expected to publish regularly in international, peer-reviewed journals, including in high-level interdisciplinary journals, in the fields of ecological economics, industrial ecology, sustainable production and consumption, and environmental sustainability.
  • Apply for third-party research funding: You will be active in acquiring highly competitive research funding at national, European and international levels, including from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and European research programs.
  • Engage with academic communities: The candidate will present research results as well as organize sessions and workshops at leading international conferences in the respective fields and will participate in professional association committees.
  • Teach at undergraduate and graduate levels: You will enroll in the teaching program of the institute at the Bachelor and Master levels, including courses in the ‘specialization areas’ offered by the Institute. You will also actively contribute to the further development of study programs and the teaching profile of the Institute.
  • Supervise theses and PhD students: The candidate will serve as supervisor for Bachelor's and Master's theses and support and guide PhD students in their research.
  • Engage in Third Mission activities: You will actively pursue activities to cooperate with non-academic actors, such as NGOs or international organizations, and communicate your research to a wider audience, including the general public.
  • Contribute to administration of the Institute: The candidate will take over leadership positions at the Institute, in particular in the area of research coordination across the various research groups.

What you have to offer

We expect that the successful candidate fulfills the following criteria:

  • Academic qualification (PhD degree) in industrial ecology, ecological economics or a closely related field.
  • Strong methods knowledge in economy-wide material flow analysis, environmentally extended physical and monetary multi-regional input-output modelling, and geodata analysis for assessing environmental impacts of resource extraction.
  • Excellent publication record in high-ranking international peer-reviewed journals.
  • Demonstrated leadership skills, particularly in supervising students and early-career researchers.
  • Proven potential to obtain top-level research funding, including from the European Research Council and similar excellence funding schemes at the national level.
  • Extensive international network that fosters high-impact, interdisciplinary research, including through collaborations with global institutions, international organizations, and civil society actors.
  • Teaching experience in relevant areas in English and German at Bachelor- or Master-level and willingness to use multimedia teaching methods and learning formats.
  • Proven administration and coordination skills at the level of academic units.
  • Academic mobility: Candidates who completed their PhD/doctoral degree at WU Vienna must present proof that they have completed an uninterrupted employment period at a postdoc/Assistant Professor level of at least two years (with a minimum of 20h/week employment) at another university or non-academic research institution, without simultaneous employment at WU.

Required submission materials:

  • Cover letter
  • C.V.
  • Research statement
  • Teaching statement

For details of the position, please contact the Head of the Recruiting Committee, Professor Sigrid Stagl, Institute for Ecological Economics, by phone: +43131336-5790, or email: sigrid.stagl@wu.ac.at.

What we have to offer

  • Six weeks of vacation/Extra vacation time
  • Flexible working hours
  • Training opportunities
  • A wide range of benefits, from an in-house medical officer to athletic activities and a meal allowance to a variety of employee discounts
  • Meaningful work in an open-minded, inclusive, and family-friendly environment
  • A modern campus with spectacular architecture in the heart of Vienna
  • Inspiring campus life with over 2,400 employees in research, teaching, and administration and approximately 21,500 students
  • Excellent accessibility by public transportation
Curious? Visit our website and find out more at www.wu.ac.at/benefits.

The minimum monthly gross salary amounts to €5,808.20 (14 times per year). In addition, we offer a wide range of attractive social benefits.

Do you want to join the WU team?
Then please submit your application by December 10, 2025 (ID 2611).
We are looking forward to hearing from you!