Výběrové řízení | Postdoc – kvantitativní paleoekologie

V rámci výzkumného projektu GAČR „Pastva napříč věky: Dynamika lidí a býložravců v lesních ekosystémech od neolitu po starší dobu bronzovou“ rozšiřujeme náš tým a obsazujeme pozici:

Postdoc position in quantitative palaeoecology

at the Department of Prehistoric Archaeology Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague

Research context

We are looking for highly motivated scholar with a background in palaeoecology (botany) with an interest in utilizing large pollen datasets to create large-scale and long-term vegetation models.

The position is associated with the Czech Science Foundation Standard project “Grazing through time: Human-herbivore dynamics in woodland ecosystems from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age” led by Jan Kolář. The overall aim of the project is to decipher the complex relationships between humans and domestic and wild herbivores within the woodlands along the continental route of spread of farming. This project will have three major areas of interest: Balkan Peninsula, central Europe including Czech Republic and Southern Scandinavia. The project team will closely collaborate with ERC SyG project COREX (https://www.gu.se/en/research/corex-from-correlations-to-explanations).

The successful candidate is expected to participate in project activities related to data analyses, writing papers for peer-reviewed, international scientific journals (as both, lead and co-author) and presenting their original research at international conferences.

The successful candidate will be expected to participate in the academic life of the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague and engage with the international community surrounding this project.

They will be supported by the PI, the project team and the COREX team. Peer-support and mentoring, in terms of technical skills, data analysis, scholarly tasks and personal and professional development will be provided to ensure the best possible conditions for a thriving professional period.

Duration of employment: January 2026 – December 2027 (24 months)
Starting date: January 2026
Workload: 1 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent)

Applicants must document (essential):

• completed PhD studies in palaeoecology with focus on botany
• experience in quantitative analyses and modelling of palaeoecological data (mostly pollen)
• interest in human-environment interactions during the Holocene in Europe
• fluency in spoken and written English
• ability to work with databases and programming languages of their choice
• ability to work independently as well as in an interdisciplinary and international team

What we offer:

• competitive salary
• generous funding for international travels to conferences and workshops
• working in a team that values work-life balance, kindness, and environment where all team members thrive
• office in the Prague city centre (Letenská street)
• flexible working time and possibility of working from home (partially)
• support for additional education and soft-skills development, including language courses
• 5 weeks of annual leave, sick days, meal allowance, additional allowance from social fund

The selection procedure will consist of the following steps:

1. Initial assessment review: The applications will be evaluated to assess the candidate’s academic qualification, research experience and relevant skills.
2. Interview with the Appointment Committee: Selected candidates will meet the Appointment committee for an evaluation of their expertise, qualification and potential contribution to the project and the whole institute.

For further information about the position, the application and the employment procedure please contact the project PI Jan Kolář (kolar@arup.cas.cz).

Those interested in this position please send:

• cover letter (max. 2 A4 pages in English),
• CV (in English),
• research statement (max. 2 A4 pages, English) where you explain how you would approach the study the interactions between woodland, large herbivores and humans during the Holocene,
• two peer-reviewed papers which you (co-)authored with an explanation of your role,

all in one pdf to kolar@arup.cas.cz before 10th September 2025.

By sending your CV, you agree that your personal data provided to the Institute of Archaeology of the CAS, Prague will be processed in accordance with the General Regulation on the Protection of Personal Data (EU) 2016/679 and will be used exclusively for the purposes of the selection process for the specified position and kept for the necessary period, i.e. for the selection procedure.
We welcome any candidates, regardless of their age, race, nationality, gender identity, religion, socioeconomic background, etc.