• Master’s degree in Biology, Botany, Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, or related disciplines.
• Good English proficiency and writing skills
• Applicants should demonstrate strong communication skills, self-motivation, an aptitude for lab research while not shying away from field research, and a commitment to collaborative, interdisciplinary research.

• Experience with lab work, including the operation of technical equipment and with quantitative data analysis
• Experience with analyzing complex data sets, e.g. omics-data sets, is desirable
• Experience with field work is desirable

• Full employment contract with competitive salary for three years.
• Living allowance (annual gross salary: 14 * €3.714,80), mobility allowance (€710/month), and family allowance if applicable (€495/month).
• Access to state-of-the-art laboratories and field manipulation facilities, and expert supervision.
• International secondments and training events.
• Being part of the Innsbruck Doctoral College ‘Alpine Biology and Global Change’, which offers a range of additional benefits, incl. networking in a broad multidisciplinary group of early career scientists and their advisors.

• Must not have a doctoral degree (PhD) by the recruitment date
• Must hold a Master’s degree by the start date
• Master’s degree in Biology, Botany, Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, or related disciplines.
• Should comply with the MSCA mobility rules: in general, they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting organisation for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date (Jan 2026).
• Should comply with the MSCA mobility rules: in general, they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting organisation for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date (Jan 2026).
• Can be of any nationality
• Must be enrolled in a doctoral programme during the project
• Be available to start full time from January or February 2026

Our selection procedure is open, transparent, merit-based, impartial, and equitable, in line with the MSCA Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (link).

The selection procedure will consist of the following steps:

1. Eligibility check: The Recruitment Committee in each institution will check each application is complete and that applicants fulfil the eligibility criteria described in the previous section.
2. Remote Evaluation: Each eligible application will be evaluated independently by the main and co-supervisors of each institution, a co-supervisor from the associated partner and member of the doctoral supervisory board of FutureForests network.
3. Online interviews: The selection panel will include main and co-supervisors at host institutions, a supervisor from the Associated Partner involved in the DR supervision (also acting as non-academic expert) and FutureForests Coordinator. Gender balance should be ensured and in cases where there are male supervisors, then female beneficiaries from across the FutureForests network will be requested to join the panel.
4. The short-listed candidates will be interviewed by a Doctoral Recruitment Committee that will include the recruiting Principal Investigators. Selection committees will bring together diverse expertise and competencies and have an adequate gender balance.

The University of Innsbruck actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society. The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in Austria.

Application Process

Interested candidates are invited to apply for this position by contacting Prof. Dr. Ilse Kranner (email: ilse.kranner@uibk.ac.at). Applications should be submitted by October, 31, 2025 (noon CEST) and should include the following documents:

1. Curriculum Vitae
2. A max two-page cover letter describing the applicant’s vision for the selected project and how they see meeting the essential criteria of the project
3. BSc and MSc diplomas, along with their translations in English
4. If available, links to the scientific publications, degree or diploma theses.
5. Contact details of at least two academic or professional references.

For additional information about the research project and this individual position, please contact Prof. Dr. Ilse Kranner (email: ilse.kranner@uibk.ac.at).