Lecturer of Viola Music - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki (Uniarts Helsinki) is now recruiting a Lecturer of Viola for a full-time and permanent position starting 1 August 2024.

Working environment

You will work in the Department of Strings. The department staff consists of internationally active artistic and pedagogic professionals. Approximately 150 students are majoring in strings and chamber music. In addition, there are 30 Junior Academy students in the department. Further information about the department is available on the Uniarts website. Please also see the values and ethical principles of our university.

Tasks of the Lecturer

Your main task is teaching viola music. The goals of the viola music instruction are to comprehensively develop the student's musical and technical skills and to support their professional growth and growth as an artist. As the principal lecturer of viola, you participate in planning, organizing, implementing, evaluating and developing viola instruction and coordinate this work among the viola teachers. In addition, you give supervision for the students on issues related to employment and postgraduate study opportunities in the field music industry. You work closely with the networks of the field; educational institutions and other music organizations.

The main emphasis of teaching is on bachelor's and master's level education. In addition, your tasks also include teaching Junior Academy students. In addition to teaching the department’s viola majors, you will teach students from other departments as well as necessary. Depending on your competencies, your tasks may also include other teaching subjects such as pedagogy, orchestral playing, chamber music, performance practices of different eras of music or improvisation. In addition to teaching, artistic activities of the department, active monitoring of the field, participation in working groups and projects of the department, study assessments and student admissions are part of your work. You will also participate in the development and quality-assurance processes as well as in the work of the university's administrative bodies as necessary.

Qualification requirements and selection criteria

Eligibility for the position of lecturer of the Uniarts Helsinki requires a master's degree or equivalent artistic merits, versatile teaching skills and experience in utilising artistic activities and/or research in teaching, as well as pedagogical studies or pedagogical experience demonstrated in some other way. In addition, strong merits of activities in the field of art and/or research, experience in domestic or international cooperation and societal influence are required. These general eligibility requirements are described in more detail on our website. We expect from you as a lecturer of viola (in addition to the above):

• a Master of Music or an equivalent applicable master’s degree; However, strong experience acquired from practical work along with particular artistic merits may, however, compensate for the lack of a degree
• teaching experience in a higher education institution
• excellent pedagogical skills
• artistic merits, i.e. experience as a viola artist
• excellent skills of viola, solid experience in chamber music and experience as a soloist
• excellent cooperation and interaction skills
• track record in planning, organizing, conducting and developing instruction and artistic activities of this field
• experience and ability to supervise students in their studies and transition to working life
• experience of cooperation in networks in the field

A doctoral degree, pedagogical studies, teacher qualifications and experience in expert tasks in the field are considered assets. The applicant's eligibility will be assessed both on the basis of the available documentation and in a separate teaching demonstrations and interviews, which will be held in Helsinki on 13 May 2024. A tentative content of the demonstrations (duration ~1 hour 15 minutes / candidate) is the following: artistic performance, 15 minutes (applicant may choose the repertoire), teaching demonstration and an interview, 15 minutes.

Language proficiency

The languages of instruction at Uniarts Helsinki are Finnish, Swedish and English. Viola music is taught mainly in Finnish or English. Applicants are required to have a good command of the language of instruction; for international applicants, we only require proficiency in English. Language skills are assessed in relation to work tasks.

Salary and working hours

The salary is determined in accordance with the salary system of Finnish universities. The demand level of the post is on level 6. In addition, a personal salary component will be paid. In a full-time (100%) position, the gross monthly salary at the beginning of employment will be approximately 4,000–4,400 euros depending on the person's experience and competence.

The total annual working time in a full-time lecturer position is 1,612 hours. The position requires living and working in Finland for the duration of the employment relationship.

How to apply

Apply for the post on 24 March 2024 (UTC +2) at the latest through electronic recruitment system. Your application must include the following documents as PDF files written in English:

• Open application / motivation letter
• Curriculum vitae
• Teaching portfolio (instructions for compiling a teaching portfolio)
• Document with links to some current artistic performances (1-3) or an audio/video sample

Without jeopardising the uniform treatment of applicants, Uniarts Helsinki reserves the right to leave a position unfilled or continue the application period.

The position may include teaching underage students. A criminal record extract must be presented to Uniarts before a contract of employment can be signed for the job in question. The Act on Checking the Criminal Background of Persons Working with Children (504/2002) obliges Uniarts to ask persons working with people under 18 years of age to present an extract from their criminal record (when the employment lasts longer than three months).

Further information

Details concerning the advertised post, please contact Head of Department Erkki Lahesmaa, tel. +358 50 336 4919 and for further details concerning the application process and recruitment system, please contact HR Planning Officer Anne Kilpeläinen tel. +358 50 348 4539. Our emails are in form: firstname.lastname@uniarts.fi.