Full Professor of Business Communication with a focus on Persuasive Language and Communication in Society

WU is currently inviting applications for the position of a full professor[1] of Business Communication with a focus on Persuasive Language and Communication in Society 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 Business Communication with a focus on persuasive language and communication in society, the department aims to further sharpen its profile and enhance its interdisciplinary connections as well as its methodological diversity with regard to research issues at the interface of communication, linguistic, and economic sciences.

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’ 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 either (applied) linguistics
       and/or communication studies or a related area. 
 
b)    Areas of research (ideally more than one) include: 
  •  Market communications
  • Advertising and branding language and communication
  • Effects of advertising and marketing communications in society
  • Effects of intercultural communication in organizations and society
  • Impact of current social developments on language and communication
  • Perception of minorities
  • Stereotype research 
  • Migration, inclusivity & diversity in the workplace
  • Value creation through communication 
  • Communication for and to society
  • Dissemination of knowledge
c)    Methodological expertise and experience show a clear focus on quantitative methods
       (e.g. experiments, surveys) and interdisciplinary research. In addition, the candidate
       should have demonstrated expertise and experience in at least one of the following
       areas:
  • Empirical discourse analysis
  • Mixed-method approach
  • Research in communication and media effects, resonance, and/or reception
  • Content analysis
  • Expert interviews  
d)    An outstanding international reputation for high-quality scholarship in the area of
       persuasive language and communication in society commensurate with academic age,
       especially by having demonstrated the ability to excel in research and publications
       (published in top-tier journals in the field). 
e)    Excellent teaching evaluations at undergraduate and graduate levels; 
f)     International experience, 
g)    Potential for attracting research funding 
h)    Leadership qualities in program development; 
i)     Leadership qualities on an institutional and team level.   
j)     Gender and diversity management skills
 

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. 
 
The chosen candidate is expected to organize and spearhead methodological education efforts at the department, especially in the master’s program Business Communication, primarily focusing on quantitative methods. Therefore, the candidate will have to organize, supervise, and teach method courses in the first semester of the master’s degree.
 
Furthermore, the candidate should demonstrate academic leadership in their discipline, consolidating a prominent international profile. The candidate is expected to work on related funding applications to foster the Department's research profile. Furthermore, the candidate is expected to be open to cross-disciplinary initiatives, consistent with the disciplinary norms.
 
The successful candidate demonstrates senior leadership in program development, deepening the Department’s focus on Business Communication by complementing the expertise in the fields of strategic and organizational communication, intercultural communication and discourse and language studies.    
 
We also expect the new professor to take an active role in the university’s self-governance and third mission activities. This includes internal service (senior leadership within the Department, like HoD, program director, active role in the senate, working groups and competence centers), but also external service (senior leadership through mentoring, discipline leadership positions in national and international committees, conference organization, keynotes/invited lectures).

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.