Selection Procedures
Institute of Archeology of the CAS, Prague announces an open competition in accordance with the Act No. 283/1992 Coll. on the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the Statutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences for a position 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 process 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.
Application deadline: 09/10/2025