Assistant Professorship Tenure Track Transition for Hebrew Bible / Old Testament 100%

At the Faculty of Theology of the University of Bern, the position of an Assistant Professorship Tenure Track Transition for Hebrew Bible / Old Testament is to be filled as of 01.08.2026.
The task of the professorship is to represent the subject in its full breadth in research and teaching with individual focuses either in the areas of material culture and history of Israel and its environment or literature(history) and theology of the Hebrew Bible. The professorship will work closely with the lectureship for "Biblical Theology and its Actualization." If German language skills are still to be acquired, it is expected that teaching can also be offered in German two years after taking up the position.
The conversion of the Assistant Professorship with Tenure Track will take place upon fulfillment of the qualification criteria and after corresponding evaluations at the latest after six years.

The teaching and research activities of the advertised professorship will initially be carried out in conjunction with the professorship for "Literature and Theology of the Old Testament" (Prof. Dr. Andreas Wagner) as well as with the lectureship for "Biblical Theology and its Actualization" (Dr. Nancy Rahn). If not already done, the completion of a habilitation and the development or expansion of an independent research and teaching profile is expected.
The tasks of the professorship also include the successful acquisition of research funds as well as the supervision of bachelor’s and master’s theses and dissertations. International networking and participation in academic self-administration are also part of the profile of the position.

For this position, we require an excellent completed doctorate in the field of "Old Testament," "Hebrew Bible Studies," or a related subject. Furthermore, very good language skills in biblical languages are required; knowledge of ancient Near Eastern languages is an advantage. We are looking for a committed personality who is willing to further develop an independent teaching and research profile. In addition, we welcome applicants with experience in higher education didactics or corresponding qualifications.

Contact person for questions is the commission chair Prof. Dr. Mathias Wirth (email address: mathias.wirth@unibe.ch ), information about the faculty and institute: Institute for Old Testament .

For your application, please send us a motivation letter in which you present your previous research profile and your motivation for the desired position. In addition, we require your current CV, which provides an overview of your academic career and previous activities. Furthermore, we request a complete list of your publications as well as the courses you have conducted so far, including the results of evaluations.
An important part of your application is also a research concept for the next five years, in which you outline your planned research activities. If available, you can include a brief outline of your habilitation project. In addition, we ask you to submit a teaching concept describing your didactic approaches and your ideas about teaching. If you have already acquired third-party funding, please also provide corresponding information.

The application documents, compiled in one file, should be sent by October 15, 2025 to: University of Bern, Dean's Office of the Faculty of Theology, Länggassstrasse 51, CH-3012 Bern, E-mail: dekanat@theol.unibe.ch .

The University of Bern is an equal opportunity and family-friendly employer, values diversity, and promotes an inclusive work culture. We are looking for suitable candidates who have the potential and/or skills for transformational leadership and help advance a supportive research culture. Suitable candidates possess competencies such as teamwork and communication skills and are able to master complex leadership and conflict situations.

The University of Bern aims to increase the proportion of women in academic leadership positions and therefore strongly encourages female scientists to apply. The University of Bern advocates gender diversity. Persons of all genders are explicitly invited to apply.
The University of Bern promotes flexible working time models. Applications for job sharing are welcome; these should include a concept on cooperation (see guidelines regarding job sharing for professorships at the University of Bern: Link ).