Senior Lecturer in French

The University of Gothenburg tackles society's challenges with diverse knowledge. 58 000 students and 6800 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract researchers and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.

The University of Gothenburg is a public-sector authority, which means that employees enjoy generous employment benefits, including wellness activities during working hours, reimbursement of medical appointments, a minimum annual leave entitlement of 28 days and an occupational pension. You can read more about our employment benefits here

As a Senior Lecturer at the University of Gothenburg, your position includes at least 15% research time and opportunities for continuing professional development, with good prospects for further academic advancement.

The Department of Languages and Literatures is the largest department within the Faculty of Humanities, encompassing 16 languages, approximately 90 employees, around 1,200 full-time equivalent students and an annual turnover of just over SEK 110 million. Research at the Department addresses the languages and literatures of the world, drawing on broad contextual perspectives and a wide range of theoretical approaches and specific applications. The Department is based within the Faculty of Humanities in modern premises centrally located near Götaplatsen.

For further information about the Department, please visit https://www.gu.se/en/languages

Position

Senior Lecturer

Subject

French

Subject description

The subject of French encompasses both linguistics and literary studies and is authorised to award degrees at all levels, including doctoral level.

In addition to standalone courses, French is included in various study programmes offered by the Department, such as the Master's Programme in Languages and Intercultural Communication, the Teacher Education Programme for Secondary and Upper Secondary School (Ämneslärarprogrammet) and the Nordic Master's Programme for Language Teachers.

The subject offers both on-campus and online courses.

Research in French is primarily conducted in linguistics (including contrastive studies, corpus linguistics, discourse analysis, stylistics, sociolinguistics, language acquisition and language education) and literary studies (including early modern French literature, contemporary French literature, thematic studies and comparative literature). Researchers also participate in the Department's shared research areas.

Duties

The successful candidate is expected to conduct research in French linguistics, as must be demonstrated in the research plan. The successful candidate is also expected to keep abreast of developments in their field, actively apply for external research funding and contribute to the Department's educational and scholarly development. Applicants must therefore describe, as part of their application, how their research can promote and contribute to the Department's research areas, as well as to research within the subject of French.

Teaching at all levels may be included in the position, both on campus and online, primarily during the day but also in the evenings. The successful candidate must be able to teach across a broad range of areas within the subject, including oral and written language proficiency, French literary studies and linguistics (for example, courses in literature, grammar and translation), and culture and society. Teaching may take place both within standalone courses and within Department-wide courses and programmes.

The position also includes teaching within the Teacher Education Programme for Secondary and Upper Secondary School, including courses focusing on subject didactics, as well as visits and seminars associated with teaching practice placements (verksamhetsförlagd utbildning, VFU). As the subject offers contrastive courses, a substantial proportion of teaching is conducted in Swedish.

Teaching within the Department's other interdisciplinary courses and programmes may also be required, in both Swedish and English. Teaching duties also include supervision, seminars, course coordination, course administration and course development, among other responsibilities.

The position may also involve other duties, such as administrative tasks and development activities.

Most duties must be performed on site at the University of Gothenburg, and the successful candidate is expected to participate actively in the Department's day-to-day activities.

Teaching within the subject is organised in teaching teams, and the successful candidate is expected to contribute constructively and collegially to both the subject's activities and the Department as a whole.

The position also involves participation in the Department's development activities and work related to the health and safety of the work environment, including attendance at staff meetings, internal meetings and conferences.

Eligibility

Provisions concerning eligibility for teaching positions are set out in Chapter 4, Sections 3-4 of the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance (högskoleförordningen) and the University of Gothenburg's own Appointments Procedure.

To be eligible for appointment as Senior Lecturer, applicants must hold a doctoral degree in French or possess equivalent scholarly competence and must be able to demonstrate teaching expertise.

A good ability to teach in French as well as in Swedish (or another Scandinavian language) is required from the start of employment.

As a Senior Lecturer at the University of Gothenburg, you may apply for promotion to Docent (Reader/Associate Professor) and Professor.

Assessment criteria

The assessment criteria for teaching appointments are set out in Chapter 4, Sections 3-4 of the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance and the University of Gothenburg's Appointments Procedure.

In assessing applicants' qualifications, equal attention will be given to teaching expertise and scholarly expertise.

In the selection process, documented qualifications in the following areas will be considered in the first instance:

• Scholarly qualifications in French linguistics, assessed in terms of quality, originality and relevance to the subject.
• Teaching expertise in on-campus and online teaching of French.
• A good ability to teach French in French and in Swedish (or another Scandinavian language).
• Experience of supervision and assessment in French.
• Experience of teaching within the Teacher Education Programme for Secondary and Upper Secondary School.

In the second instance, weight will be given to the following documented qualifications:

• Management and administration of teaching activities (e.g. course coordination).
• Established connections and active participation in national and international networks.
• Collaboration with the wider community.
• Training in teaching and learning in higher education.

Experience of and ability to teach in English will also be considered an advantage.

Weight will be given to how well applicants deliver a trial lecture in Swedish (or another Scandinavian language) on a specified topic, as well as to their performance in an interview conducted in Swedish, with elements of French and English, during which applicants will have the opportunity to discuss their research and teaching experience orally.

Weight will also be given to the cover letter, in which applicants must describe their career development to date, their anticipated future career development and how this relates both to the Department's research areas and to research conducted within the subject.

The position also requires a sense of responsibility, good interpersonal and collaborative skills, and flexibility, preferably supported by relevant documentation.

The position will be offered to the applicant who, following an overall assessment, is considered the most suitable and best qualified to perform the duties associated with the appointment.

Employment

Number of positions: 1
Type of employment: Permanent
Extent: 100% (full-time)
Location: the Department of Languages and Literatures, the Faculty of Humanities, Gothenburg
Start date: August 2027 or as agreed

A probationary period may apply.

Additional information about the position

If applicants do not possess the qualifications in teaching and learning in higher education required by the University of Gothenburg (PIL101, PIL102 and PIL103) at the time of application, these qualifications must be validated or the specified courses completed within one year of commencing employment (https://www.pil.gu.se/en)

Applications must be submitted through the University of Gothenburg's recruitment portal by clicking the "Apply" button. For instructions on applying for teaching positions, applicants are referred to the Faculty of Humanities' guidelines: https://www.gu.se/en/work-at-the-university-of-gothenburg/how-to-apply-for-a-position

For further information about the position, please contact Head of Department Petra Platen at prefektspl@sprak.gu.se or Director of Studies Jacob Carlson at jacob.carlson@sprak.gu.se.

For scholarly publications, written works and similar materials that cannot be attached electronically to the application, as well as questions about the recruitment procedure, please contact personalhandlaggare@sprak.gu.se.

The following documents must be attached to the application:

• Cover letter.
• Curriculum vitae (CV), including a list of degrees and previous employment.
• Description of scholarly and teaching activities, including reflections on research and teaching.
• Qualifications Portfolio I: Scholarly qualifications.
• Qualifications Portfolio II: Teaching qualifications.
• Qualifications Portfolio III: Qualifications relating to collaboration with the wider community.
• Qualifications Portfolio IV: Management and administrative qualifications.
• Selected publications (maximum 10), together with a separate list of these publications.
• Doctoral degree certificate.
• Doctoral thesis.
• Research plan.
• References: names and telephone numbers of two referees.
• Where applicable, documents such as certificates demonstrating good collaborative skills and flexibility.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their applications are complete by the application deadline. Incomplete applications will be assessed on the basis of the documents submitted.

In addition to external expert review, an interview and a trial lecture, reference checks may also form part of the assessment.

We welcome applications written in English, as they may be reviewed by international experts whose working language is English.

Application deadline: 2026-11-09.

Trade union organisations

Information about trade union representatives at the University of Gothenburg is available here .

The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations.

Salaries are set individually at the University.

In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden's regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed.

In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.