University lecturer in law

Helsingin normaalilyseo - Helsinki Normal Lyceum; Helsinki; On-site; EUR 48,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Occupational health services

Professional development opportunities

Library and fitness facilities

Job summary

The University of Helsinki invites applications for a permanent university lectureship at its Helsinki unit from 1 January 2027 or as agreed. The appointee will teach in criminal law, procedural law, administrative law, environmental law, and economy, society and law, with responsibilities spanning undergraduate teaching, thesis supervision, and Open University courses.

Expectations include independent research, grant applications, and possibly leading a research group; teaching at the Vaasa

Qualifications

• Must hold an applicable doctoral degree and be capable of providing high-quality, research-based teaching and supervising theses.
• Proficiency in Finnish or Swedish; good English skills and willingness to improve language proficiency if needed.

Responsibilities

• Provide undergraduate instruction in teaching fields and supervise theses in the Bachelor’s Programme in Law and master’s programmes.
• Teach under the Open University brand and conduct research, including applying for funding and potentially leading a research group.
• Contribute to teaching planning, degree programme operations, and possibly take on administrative responsibilities.

Skills

Language proficiency

Education

Doctoral degree in Law

Job description

The University of Helsinki Faculty of Law invites applications for a permanent university lectureship at its Helsinki unit from 1 January 2027 or as agreed. The position extensively encompasses two of the Faculty’s thematic entities, Crime, Procedure, Administration and Environment (criminal law, procedural law, administrative procedure law and environmental law); and Economy, Society and Law (laws regarding companies, securities markets, accounting and taxes), and the appointee must be able to teach in at least one of them.

The appointee’s duties include the provision of undergraduate instruction in their teaching fields as well as the supervision of theses in the Bachelor’s Programme in Law and in one or more of the Faculty’s master’s programmes. The teaching duties also include teaching under the Open University brand. The appointee’s duties include conducting their own research, in addition to which they are expected to apply for research funding and potentially lead a research group of their own. While the position is located in Helsinki, it may include teaching duties at the Faculty’s Vaasa Unit of Legal Studies.

The appointee’s immediate work community will consist of the staff of the thematic entities of the Bachelor’s Programme in Law, the Master’s Programme in Law, or the Faculty’s international degree programme, or a combination of these. The appointee will contribute to the planning of teaching and degree programme operations, and may also receive administrative responsibilities in the organisation of teaching or University community activities.

The position is subject to the provisions on annual workload of the collective agreement of Finnish universities. Typically, teaching and related administrative duties consume between 40% and 70% of the working hours of university lecturers.

In addition to applicant qualifications, particular attention in filling the position will be paid to the comprehensive scope of the appointee’s teaching skills with regard to the disciplines concerned.

Requirements For The Position And Assessment Of Qualifications

According to the University of Helsinki Regulations, university lecturers must hold an applicable doctoral degree and be capable of providing high-quality, research-based teaching and supervising theses.

Pursuant to the Government Decree on Universities (770/2009), appointees to teaching and research positions at the University must be proficient in the language in which they provide instruction, in other words, Finnish or Swedish. While the teaching language is Finnish, to successfully attend to the duties of this position the appointee must also have good English skills. Applicants not proficient in Finnish or Swedish must attain sufficient proficiency in one of the languages within a reasonable period.

Support for language study will be provided. Further information on language skills and the demonstration of language proficiency is available on the University website.

The assessment of applicant merits considers both scholarly and teaching qualifications. Scholarly qualifications include scholarly publications and other research outputs of scholarly value. When assessing teaching qualifications, attention will be paid to teaching experience and pedagogical training, the ability to produce learning materials, other teaching merits and, if necessary, a teaching demonstration. In filling the positions, particular emphasis will be placed on the ability to provide teaching in multiple disciplines, diverse teaching experience and qualifications in the development of teaching.

What We Offer

The salary will be based on levels (5–) 6–7 of the job requirement scheme for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal performance. The appointee’s gross monthly salary will range approximately from €4,300 to €4,800, depending on their merits and experience. The position will include a six-month trial period.

The University of Helsinki provides a range of staff benefits, including occupational health services, professional development opportunities, assistance with research project applications, and access to library and fitness facilities. Read more about career opportunities and benefits on our website.

The deadline for applications is 25 October 2026.

Further information

Further information about the position can be obtained from Dean Jukka Mähönen ([e-mail]). For enquiries about the recruitment process, please write to [e-mail].

Read more about the University of Helsinki as an employer. The Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki is the leading Finnish institute of legal education. Some of the degrees awarded by the Faculty are completed at its bilingual Vaasa Unit of Legal Studies. The Faculty’s mission is to train qualified, ethically responsible legal professionals for both the Finnish and international markets through research of an international standard and research-based teaching. The Faculty offers undergraduate degrees in Finnish, Swedish and English as well as a bilingual degree in Swedish and Finnish. The Faculty has a teaching and research staff of around 130 people and 2,400 undergraduate and postgraduate students.