Professorship (W2-level) in “Molecular Crop Improvement”

Overview

The Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology (IBBP) of the Faculty of Biology (FB 13) at the University of Münster seeks to fill the following position through the joint appointment process according to the “Berlin Model” at the earliest possible date:

Position

Professorship (W2-level) in “Molecular Crop Improvement”

In addition to the professorship, the prospective appointee will also hold a leadership position at the Münster branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME).

Responsibilities and profile

We seek an internationally recognised researcher with expertise in both fundamental and applied research on strategies to enhance crop traits. The candidate’s research programme should develop innovative approaches to improve stress tolerance and/or to optimise plant architecture and yield, with the ultimate goal of translating these advancements into agricultural applications. The candidate should possess substantiated expertise in identifying and characterising the functionality of key genes and regulatory networks, as well as integrating these findings into classical and modern breeding strategies aimed at targeted crop improvement.

The teaching load for this position is two hours of instruction per week (2 SWS).

Candidates must have an internationally visible publication record, as well as proven experience in independently securing third-party research funding from both commercial and public sources. Furthermore, the candidate must possess substantiated management competence, e.g. in leading an independent research group. The prospective appointee will be expected to offer subject-related courses in the bachelor’s programme in \“Biosciences\“ and the master’s programmes in \“Biosciences\“ and \“Biotechnology\“ in particular, as well as in teacher training and doctoral programmes in both German and English. The candidate is expected to independently conduct academic administrative tasks.

To be considered for this position, the candidate must hold a university degree along with doctoral qualification. In addition to demonstrated aptitude in university teaching, the candidate must possess additional academic achievements made as a Juniorprofessor (assistant professor), in a Habilitation (postdoctoral qualification), as a member of the academic staff of a university or non-university research institute, or in a research position in business, industry, administration or other relevant fields in Germany or abroad.

Equality and inclusion

The University of Münster strongly supports equal opportunity and diversity. We welcome all applicants regardless of sex, nationality, ethnic or social background, religion or worldview, disability, age, sexual orientation or gender identity. We are committed to creating family-friendly working conditions.We actively encourage applications by women. Women with equivalent qualifications and academic achievements will be preferentially considered unless these are outweighed by reasons which necessitate the selection of another candidate.

Application process

Please submit your application, including a CV, list of publications (with those highlighted where you are designated as senior or corresponding author), a list of acquired third-party funding projects, a record of past teaching activities and teaching evaluations where available, and a short description of your future teaching concept (max. 1 page) and research plans (max. 2 pages) in digital format by 02 October 2025 to:

University of Münster
Dean of the Faculty of Biology
Prof Dr Jürgen Gadau
Schlossplatz 4
48143 Münster
Email: application.bio@uni-muenster.de