WU is currently inviting applications for the position of a full professor[1] of Digital Business Communication and English Language and Linguistics at the Department of Business Communication. Candidates are expected to have established an international reputation as a researcher in their field. Depending on the candidate’s academic credentials, the employment contract can be concluded either as a permanent employment contract or as a fixed-term employment contract with the option of a permanent extension.[2]
WU Vienna University of Economics and Business combines excellence with responsibility.
Its rare triple accreditation by EQUIS, AACSB, and AMBA is a guarantee for the highest quality research and teaching in the fields of business, economics, and business law. WU’s research is characterized by a wide diversity of disciplines practiced at WU, allowing researchers to address complex research questions based on approaches that cross disciplinary boundaries.
International cooperation is very important to WU, and we encourage and support both faculty and student mobility. WU is also very aware of its role as a responsible university, ensures barrier-free accessibility, provides a family-friendly workplace, and is committed to the principles of equitable opportunities and sustainability.
In its research, the Department of Business Communication focuses on economically relevant phenomena in the fields of linguistics, communication, and culture. The Master’s Program in Business Communication (taught in English) is a key feature of the department’s teaching activities, which also include a wide range of courses at the bachelor’s level. Courses at bachelor’s and master’s level are primarily taught in English.
With this Professorship in Digital Business Communication and English Language and Linguistics, the department aims to further sharpen its profile and enhance its interdisciplinary connections and methodological diversity regarding research issues at the interface of communication, linguistic, and economic sciences.
At the Institute of Language and Discourse in Business, the field captured by the designation of the professorship being advertised (Digital Business Communication and English Language and Linguistics) is conceived of as a diverse and multifaceted research area. Ideally, the post holder will explore all relevant dimensions by employing a wide range of suitable research methods and applying them to real-life scenarios.
Qualifications
The successful candidate is expected to have established an international reputation as a researcher in the relevant field and to have excellent qualifications. Candidates should thus have a strong track record of theory-based, empirical linguistic research in business contexts. Commensurate with their academic age, the successful candidate is expected to have outstanding academic qualifications, an international reputation in the area, and a substantial number of high-level publications in the field. Candidates’ qualifications will be assessed in the context of their academic age on the basis of the following characteristics:
a) A solid academic qualification (e.g. PhD, habilitation) in English (language and)
b) An outstanding international reputation for high-quality scholarship in the area of
English linguistics commensurate with academic age, especially by having
demonstrated the ability to publish in top-tier journals in the field, and an excellent
research record exploring linguistic questions relevant for business and the
economy (e.g., online communication with stakeholders; linguistic reflections of
issues management; crisis communication).
c) Expertise in a range of linguistic (sub)disciplines with a focus on English language in
d) The candidate’s methodological expertise must have a strong focus on corpus
linguistics and its applications in linguistic research on business and the economy.
e) A track record in combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to data analysis.
f) Excellent teaching evaluations at undergraduate and graduate levels
g) Proven international experience
h) Potential for attracting research funding
j) Gender and diversity management skills
k) Exceptional proficiency in English and excellent meta-level knowledge of the nature
and structure of the English language; willingness to learn German (if not already a
proficient German speaker); command of an additional language is desirable.
l) Service to the academic community
Expectations
The successful candidate is expected to perform teaching activities at all levels (bachelor’s, master’s, PhD/doctorate, and executive education), both in the classroom and in distance-learning formats. The holder of this position is expected to teach 8 weekly credit hours.
We also want them to play an active role in the development and improvement of existing academic programs. The successful candidate will support the Institute of Language and Discourse in Business, and by extension, the Department of Business Communication, in establishing stakeholder relations and further promoting the Department as a knowledge hub for the field of business communication. The new professor is also expected to take an active role in the university’s self-governance and third-mission activities.
Applications
WU is committed to diversity and inclusion, and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply. In case of equal qualification, female candidates will be given preference. Applicants with disabilities will be supported during each stage of the recruitment process. Candidates’ qualifications will be assessed in the context of their academic age.
WU assesses performance in the context of each applicant’s biography and relative to the opportunities available to them. This approach recognizes that academic achievements cannot be assessed separately from each individual researchers’ biographical factors. To ensure equitable opportunities, qualifications are evaluated relative to the applicant’s academic age. This means that WU takes biographical factors such as part-time employment or career interruptions due to caregiving or childcare obligations or other functions performed at or outside of a university into account. Depending on the candidate’s academic credentials, the employment contract can be concluded either as a permanent employment contract or as a fixed-term employment contract with the option of a permanent extension.
In your application, you can include personal data related to biographical factors. WU will keep all data that you send us as part of your application confidential. All persons involved in the selection procedure are bound by obligations of secrecy.
Applicants should address their applications and all relevant documents (including in any case a letter of motivation, academic CV, reference to the criteria specified in the call for applications) to the Rector of WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Welthandelsplatz 1, 1020 Vienna, and upload these documents using the link provided/ button below/ on the WU website.
Please submit your application via WU’s online recruiting tool by August 31, 2025.
For further subject-related details about the position, please contact Professor Jens Seiffert-Brockmann, chair of the Department of Business Communication, by phone: +43-1-31336-6590, or by email: jens.seiffert-brockmann@wu.ac.at.
For details about the application process, please contact the Senior Faculty Recruitment team by email at prof.application@wu.ac.at.
Please note: Only applications uploaded via our online recruiting tool will be considered. In their application documents, applicants must respond to all criteria specified in the call for applications, especially to items A) “Qualifications” and B) “What we expect.” A reference to these two items is considered a mandatory element of any application to WU Vienna, and any applications that lack this mandatory element cannot be considered.
1 employed under salary group A 1 pursuant to the Collective Bargaining Agreement for University Staff [Kollektivvertrag für die Arbeitnehmer/innen der Universitäten], minimum gross yearly salary: €92,460.20; the actual annual gross salary is subject to negotiation.
2 The duration of fixed-term contracts is subject to negotiation.
