Job Vacancies in Assyriology and

Near Eastern Archaeology

 

On this page new positions are listed. Colleagues who would like to have a vacancy in Assyriology or Near Eastern Archaeology advertised here can send a notice to W.H. van Soldt.

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CALL FOR TEACHING POSITIONS IN ANCIENT ORIENTAL LANGUAGES AT THE ELCOA, PARIS

Pour la rentrée universitaire 2012, l'École des langues et civilisations de l'Orient ancien (ELCOA) de l'Institut catholique de Paris (ICP - université privée) recrute des enseignants de haut niveau pour assurer les cours suivants :

* araméen, niveau 1 à 3
* grec biblique, niveau 3, en soirée
* grec lecture de textes bibliques, en soirée
* hittite, niveau 3
* vieux-slave, niveau 1 puis 2, sur deux ans

Les dossiers seront examinés par la commission scientifique. La commission de recrutement est composée de l'ensemble du corps professoral élu et se prononcera à partir du dossier du candidat lors du conseil de l'ELCOA du 16 mai 2012. Le détail des profils et des pièces à fournir se trouve dans les fichiers joints.

Les dossiers doivent être parvenus au plus tard le 1er mai 2012.

Bien cordialement,
Joëlle Marandet

École des Langues et Civilisations de l'Orient Ancien Theologicum - ICP
21 rue d'Assas - 75270 - Paris Cedex 06
Tél.: 33 (0)1 44 39 52 50

Consultez le site de l'ELCOA : http://www.icp.fr/elcoa/.

 

 

POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATESHIPS IN THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

Three interdisciplinary post-doctoral research associateships in the arts and humanities are to be held within the newly created UCL Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in the Humanities.

Successful candidates will carry out collaborative, interdisciplinary research in the arts and humanities and undertake a limited amount of teaching. Each associateship may be held for a period of two or three years. The posts are funded for three years in the first instance.

Further information: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/shs/current-vacancies.

 

LECTURER OR SENIOR LECTURER IN ARCHAEOLOGY AT BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY

The Archaeological Division of Ben-Gurion University invites applications for a position in archaeology at the level of lecturer or senior lecturer (assistant or associate professor in American terminology). Area of specialization is open, but preference will be given to prehistoric archaeology and to candidates with a record of active field projects who can run study excavations. Multiple areas of expertise also constitute a major consideration. Candidates should have a strong publication record.
Please submit by email a letter of application, an up-to-date curriculum vita, and names and contact information of three references to:

Dr Yuval Yekutieli
Head, Archaeology Division
Department of Bible, Archaeology and the Ancient Near East
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Beer-Sheva, ISRAEL
Email: yekutieli@gmail.com

Deadline: 15 May 2012

 

ASSOCIATE/ASSISTANT CURATOR FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN ART, THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART (TO START JULY 2012)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is seeking a specialist in the art and archaeology of the ancient Near East to fill the position of Associate Curator or Assistant Curator, dependent upon experience, in the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art.

Primary Responsibilities and Specific Duties:
This position supports the head of the department. General duties include active participation in the management, care of, and research on the collection, as well as participation in all the activities of the Department, specifically exhibitions, publications, collections management, and displays in the permanent Ancient Near Eastern Art galleries.

The Associate/Assistant Curator will be involved in the organization of permanent gallery exhibits and long term loans including research, label writing and database maintenance as well as working on preparation for a special exhibition scheduled for 2014, which focuses on art and cultural interaction during the Iron Age. Participation in departmental projects of general and scholarly publications is also expected while also answering correspondence related to the collection and assisting the public and visiting scholars. The Associate/Assistant Curator will contribute to public programs organized by the museum, and interact with potential sponsors. Involvement in planning programs for the departmental Friends group and the Visiting Committee will also be essential.

Requirements and Experience:
The successful candidate must possess demonstrated experience in accomplishing original research on objects of various regions and cultures of the ancient Near East, and preferably show expertise specifically on aspects of the art and archaeology from the Achaemenid through Sasanian periods. Experience working in a collaborative museum environment is highly desirable. A PhD in the art history and archaeology of the ancient Near East is preferred for this position. A working knowledge of German, French or other relevant languages for research is important.

The Associate/Assistant Curator is full-time and includes full benefits. Salary will be commensurate with experience. Please send cover letter, resume, list of publications, salary history, and names of references, to employoppty@metmuseum.org as a Word attachment only with the position title in the subject line.

 

ASSISTANT OR ASSOCIATE PROFESSORSHIP IN ASSYRIOLOGY - LEIDEN UNIVERSITY

Leiden University invites applications for a fulltime Assistant or Associate Professorship in Assyriology. Appointment will be fixed-term from September 2012 through August 2015, with the possibility of extensions of up to three years, and of tenure thereafter. Requirements include a PhD degree. Applications by candidates near completion of the PhD will be considered.

Before submitting your application or query, please read the full CFA at http://vacatures.leidenuniv.nl/wetenschappelijk/12-002-professor-assyriology.html

Review of applications will commence 1 March 2012 and continue until the position is filled. Interviews are scheduled for April 2012.

Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break. Queries to Prof. Dr. Maghiel van Crevel (m.van.crevel@hum.leidenuniv.nl) with cc to Prof. Dr. Wilfred van Soldt (w.h.van.soldt@hum.leidenuniv.nl).

 

DIRECTOR, PENN MUSEUM

As the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology ("Penn Museum" or the "Museum") approaches its 125th anniversary in 2012, it continues to pursue its four major missions: collections management, research, education, and public outreach. The results are impressive: a vast collection of more than one million objects, unique excavation and expedition archives from over 400 Museum-sponsored projects, a dynamic schedule of exhibitions and public programs, research connections around the world, and educational resources for both the University's students as well as others in the Philadelphia region and beyond. It is recognized as the leading museum of its kind in the United States, and one of a handful of great archaeology/anthropology museums in the world.

Since its founding in 1887, the Penn Museum has shifted its primary focus from collecting (particularly through its own expeditions to every inhabited continent) to stewardship and education. The Museum continues to undertake new research and constantly strives to present the world's cultures to the public in its galleries, as well as through a wide range of educational outreach programs utilizing its collections from the ancient Mediterranean, Egypt, Near East, South and East Asia, and Central America, as well as anthropological materials from the Americas, Oceania, and North and sub-Saharan Africa. Certain individual pieces are world-renowned, such as "Ram-in-the-Thicket" from the royal cemetery at Ur, and the Sphinx of Ramesses II.

The Penn Museum has dedicated staff involved with all aspects of its mission, and increasingly with the University and wider community. The Museum has served, and will continue to serve, as a major teaching resource for Penn faculty. Its collections and the results of its past research are increasingly made available to students and researchers on campus and abroad, particularly as a number of digital initiatives come into their own. At the same time, it is growing in popularity as a destination for the public. To become more of a public destination, the Museum has built an exhibitions team that has embarked upon a strategy of exhibiting one major timed-ticketed exhibition and multiple smaller exhibitions annually. A pressing question for the Museum leadership is how to meet the needs of its varied constituencies: Penn students and faculty, international scholars, global cultural heritage partners, cultural tourists, and not least, the Philadelphia region's diverse population of families, individuals, and school children.

As a physical structure, the Penn Museum consists of six separate wings and four enclosed gardens, completed in phases from 1899 to 2004, which form one of the most intriguing buildings in Philadelphia. It is included in the University of Pennsylvania Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. The building houses 32 exhibition galleries, the historic Chinese Rotunda, and the 750-seat Harrison Auditorium below, with two smaller auditoriums (Rainey Auditorium and Widener Hall), a public café, group dining for school groups, two shops, a breathtaking archive, numerous classrooms and scientific laboratories, more than two dozen storerooms for its collections, and the offices for a Museum staff of more than 100 full-time employees. In addition, the Museum also houses the University's Department of Anthropology, a segment of the Penn Libraries comprising three floors of books on anthropology and archaeology, and, since 2009, the Penn Humanities Forum. In 2010, the Museum completed the first phase of a multi-million dollar renovation of the West Wing of its original 1899 building, which resulted in refurbished galleries to house special exhibitions and, for the first time, centralized climate control in that wing. Additional phases will include the creation of a new suite of conservation and teaching labs, and the restoration of Widener Hall to become a multi-purpose space for lectures, entertainment, and public events.

The Role
Reporting to the Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, the Director is the leader of the Museum. He/she is responsible for forging Penn Museum's strategic vision and ensuring its financial health; overseeing the stewardship of a vast, unparalleled collection; promoting, integrating, and strengthening the research, education, and public outreach missions; and furthering its thriving exhibitions program. The Director must be a champion in fundraising, identifying strategic priorities for endowments, gallery revitalizations, infrastructure improvements, and programs. He/she will work with curatorial faculty and staff in support of research, deepening its relevance to University goals, as well as expanding the synergies with Penn's educational mission. The Director is responsible for the Museum's personnel (a staff of around 100, as well as 17 curatorial faculty) and the financial management of a budget of approximately $20 million, in an era when meeting financial goals for cultural institutions, including fundraising targets, is challenging across the board.

In leading the Museum, the Director benefits from the advice and counsel of a distinguished and engaged group of external Overseers. He/she represents the Penn Museum within the Greater Philadelphia cultural and civic arena, often working collaboratively with other Philadelphia cultural institutions. The Director must also collaborate with departmental and senior leadership across Penn's schools, in particular the School of Arts and Sciences, and with senior administrators across the University in support of research and teaching. He/she must assure that the museum is at the forefront in identifying and successfully responding to opportunities, and be committed to proactively forging cooperative partnerships with other institutions. The Director is the Museum's primary spokesperson before internal and external audiences alike.

Candidate Profile
The Director of the Penn Museum must have outstanding leadership abilities, with experience overseeing a museum or similarly complex organization. The successful candidate must have excellent organizational and strategic skills, with a demonstrated ability to manage people effectively and an understanding of museum operations and collections.
While a faculty appointment at the University is not required, scholarly credentials and an ability to work effectively with faculty and academic administrators are necessary. An advanced degree in archeology, anthropology or related fields is preferred.
Given that the Director represents the Museum within and outside the University, and champions archaeological and anthropological research and education using the museum's vast intellectual resources, he/she must enjoy operating in the public arena, speaking in a variety of public settings, and be highly adept at building creative alliances.
The Director must also be an enthusiastic and proven fundraiser, highly knowledgeable in financial matters and committed to augmenting the museum's financial resources.

We would highlight the following competencies:
Creative Vision: The successful candidate will be able to guide and substantially contribute to the continued articulation of the identity, values, mission, and strategy for the Penn Museum, particularly through the Museum's curatorial and programming efforts. He or she will have the creativity and vision to construct nuanced plans and objectives that upon implementation will bring to life an inspirational future for the organization.
Leadership: The successful candidate will have a track record of displaying strong strategic judgment, and will be able to develop a compelling and challenging strategy for the organization that anticipates market changes while taking into consideration the unique nature of the Penn Museum and the culture of the University. He or she will demonstrate an expansive knowledge of the key issues affecting the institution's work and an ability to develop a productive and mutually fulfilling relationship with staff, faculty curators, university administrators, Museum Overseers and donors, and based on a collaborative, stimulating approach, tempered by good judgment.
Communicating, Influencing, and Building Relationships: The successful candidate will exhibit a consensus-seeking but decisive approach that enables him or her to deliver solutions in difficult situations. He or she will persuasively communicate the Museum's direction and strategy both internally and externally, and will assure effective communication among the Museum's stakeholders. He or she will be able to actively promote Penn and its programs to build enthusiastic commitment and develop key partnerships in support of its mission internally, throughout the University, nationally and internationally.
Management of Teams and Resources: The successful candidate will be able to translate over-arching goals into clear objectives for staff and other members of the Museum community. He or she will foster a culture of collaboration, mutual respect, and teamwork. This person will have the ability to counsel and coach the senior management team for success; he or she will respect, encourage, and celebrate the talents of that team while also holding each accountable to mutually agreed-upon goals. The successful candidate will demonstrate extensive experience attracting, retaining, and motivating top talent. Additionally, he or she will approach the financial oversight of the Penn Museum with dispassion and balance, with an even-handed and reasoned approach to budgetary decision-making based on a clear understanding of the strategic objectives of the organization.

Contact
The Penn Museum has engaged Russell Reynolds Associates exclusively for this search. Interested candidates are encouraged to contact either Alison Ranney or Laurie Nash. Please submit a CV and Letter of Interest electronically to PennMuseumDirector@russellreynolds.com.

Laurie Nash
Russell Reynolds Associates
200 Park Avenue, 23rd Floor
New York, NY 10166-0002
Direct: +1-212-351-2196
laurie.nash@russellreynolds.com

Alison P. Ranney
Russell Reynolds Associates
155 North Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606-1732
Direct: +1-312-993-0740
alison.ranney@russellreynolds.com

 

TWO POSITIONS FOR PHD STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA

Within the framework of the Vienna-based Imperium & Officium project http://imperiumofficium.univie.ac.at/index.htm two positions for PhD students will be available from March 2012 onwards. These PhD students will write a PhD thesis (in English or German) at the University of Vienna. The subject of the thesis will have a bearing on Neo- and Late Babylonian epistolography and/or public administration.

The positions are for three years, the salary is roughly 1,350 EUR net per month.

Requirements:
MA & good knowledge of Akkadian; a particular familiarity with first millennium Babylonian, experience in museum work and/or a background in the Classics would be a bonus. Speakers of languages other than German are explicitly encouraged to apply. Questions and applications are to be addressed to:

Michael Jursa, Institut für Orientalistik, Univ. Wien
Email: michael.jursa@univie.ac.at
Telephone: +43-1-4277-43413

 

CHIEF CURATOR, BIBLE LANDS MUSEUM, JERUSALEM

The Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem wishes to fill the position of Chief Curator who will assume responsibility for the overall leadership and operations of the curatorial department.

Opened in 1992, the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem is one of the leading museums of Israel, with the mandate to preserve, study and display the most important collection of Ancient Near Eastern art in the State of Israel. Its collections and exhibitions have received national and international acclaim. The successful candidate will closely oversee the interpretation and presentation of this very important collection.

Illustrating the civilizations of the biblical period, the permanent collection highlights the relationship between the spiritual and physical worlds, following in the footsteps of man's quest for transcendental meaning.

The Museum seeks a dynamic person who will be an energetic participant in all aspects of the Museum's activities. The Chief Curator will have principal responsibility for the institution's collections, research and development of new exhibitions and scholarly research.

Specifically, the chief curator shall perform the following primary tasks:

Management of Museum Collections
- Providing information for the registration and cataloguing of artifacts in the collection and those coming in on loan for special exhibitions.
- As Head of the Curatorial Department, he / she will work closely with assistant curators, Registrar, Conservation and exhibition design.
- Involvement in the direction of all interpretation activities of the museum's collections and exhibitions including research on artifacts in order to date and identify them for display as well as on their historical, social and geopolitical context.
- Writing appropriate descriptive material for the artifacts - labels, panels, brochures, catalogues.

Exhibitions
- Creating and planning innovative changing exhibitions on special topics and themes.
- Organizing loans of temporary exhibitions.
- Preparing grant proposals for exhibitions and special projects.
- Interest in fostering fresh and interdisciplinary approaches to the presentation and interpretation of the artifacts.
- Working together with the exhibition designer and various departments within the museum responsible for programming (education and cultural events).

Publication
- Overseeing academic publications.
- Conducting and publishing original research.

Education
- Initiating scholarly conferences related to the Museum's collections and/or special exhibitions.
- Consulting with the education department on programming for both children and adults.
- Responding to inquiries about artifacts in the Museum from the general public.
- Guiding/lecturing to Museum guides and Patron's groups.
- Lecturing on the objects in the collections and on topics related to the ancient Near East on behalf of the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem.

Responsibilities
- Supervising the work of the curatorial department which includes assistant curators, researchers, volunteers and interns.
- The candidate will be expected to speak publicly on behalf of the Museum as part of the institution's efforts to develop and cultivate relations with scholars, donors and collectors.
- Inter-departmental collaboration.

Qualified candidates are expected to have:
- A PhD is required.
- Strong academic background in one or more of the cultures of the Ancient Near East.
- Strong background in Hebrew Bible.
- A minimum of 5 years curatorial experience, including exhibition organization, staff management, and budget oversight.
- Language abilities: Should have a complete mastery of English.
Hebrew language skills are helpful. Further knowledge of German or French would be most useful. Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Willingness to relocate to Jerusalem.
- Excellent computer skills including database applications.
- Proven record of exhibitions and publications.
- Documentation of success in fundraising, grant preparations, and donor cultivation.
- Ability to work well with other staff, students and faculty and a gift for precision and detail is required.

The position is full-time and eligible for benefits: Salary commensurate with experience. Applicants should send their CV and a letter of introduction to dep.dir@blmj.org. Confidentiality will be respected.

Position open until filled.

 

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