About the Department
The Department of Physical Performance contributes through education, research, and dissemination, to an understanding of what determines physical performance with a focus on exercise physiology, biomechanics and technology.
The department is responsible for teaching and conducting research within areas of how physical performance is influenced by optimal training and technique in both a sport and health perspective as well as in rehabilitation of patients.
The department's activities take place in "state of the art" laboratories, equipped for studying human motions.
The department's target groups incorporate various populations; youth, elite athletes, the elderly population and patients.
We carry specific responsibility for research within the sports of cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, swimming, orienteering, and track and field.
The position and the research project
The Department of Physical Performance at NIH offers a three- to four-year PhD fellowship from September/October 2026, four-year if teaching 25%.
The fellowship is in Exercise Physiology, with the PhD project focusing on:
- biological sex differences in performance-limiting factors
- durability
- metabolism
- fatigue development
- and the influence of nutritional strategies in well-trained individuals to elite athletes in endurance sports.
This will be achieved through a combination of laboratory- and field-based studies. The exact research questions and methodological approaches will be further refined in collaboration with the successful candidate.
The PhD candidate will play an active role in all aspects of the project, including planning and development of study design, participant recruitment, data collection (assessments of performance, indirect calorimetry and gas exchanges, metabolic measurements, muscle biopsy allocation and analysis, etc.), data analysis, and dissemination of findings. The candidate will work closely with researchers at NIH and external collaborators.
There will be opportunities for international collaboration, and periods of research exchange at international institutions are encouraged, although not mandatory.
The project will be under the supervision of Associate Professor Øyvind Skattebo, Associate Professor Kristin Lundanes Jonvik and Professor Jostein Hallén.
The successful candidate will be requested to formally apply for enrolment as a PhD student at NIH. Employment as a PhD fellow will be conditional on successful enrolment in the PhD program.
Job Description
Your main tasks as a PhD fellow at NIH are to:
- Complete an independent research project under supervision.
- Complete PhD courses or other equivalent educational activities corresponding to 30 ECTS points.
- Actively participate in research environments, including collaboration with fellow researchers.
- Dissemination of results from your PhD project, both at international conferences and in scientific journals.
- Write a PhD thesis based on your project.
- Optional: The candidate may gain teaching experience, depending on the department's teaching needs and the candidate's competencies.
Qualification requirements and the Selection Process
The applicant must be eligible for admission to the doctoral program at NIH: PhD program - Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. Applicants should hold a two-year master’s degree in Sport Sciences or equivalent with the grade B or better. It is the candidate responsibility to document and eventually transform the grade.
Selection Criteria
- Experience in human studies and experience in scientific writing, i.e. publications in scientific peer reviewed journals, are considered an advantage.
- Demonstrate competence/experience and motivation to conduct independent research using advanced methods to investigate determinants of endurance performance such as, but not limited to, the study of metabolism and cardiorespiratory fitness using indirect calorimetry, the measurements of hemoglobin mass and blood volume using carbon monoxide rebreathing, and the analysis of metabolic markers in blood and muscle.
- Experience with performance- and cardiopulmonary exercise testing of well-trained individuals or highly trained athletes is considered a requisite
- Familiarity with handling and interpreting complex datasets is an advantage.
- Programming experience is advantageous but not required; willingness to learn will be considered a strength
- Quality of the master's thesis and the relevance of the master's thesis to the project topic, both academically and methodologically.
- Good collaboration skills, and ability to independently find innovative solutions.
- Good written and oral skills in English is required.
- Structured, reliable, and motivated to contribute to all phases of a research project.
The purpose of the recruitment position is for the candidate to achieve a PhD during the fellowship period. Admission to the doctoral program is therefore a condition for employment as a research fellow. The candidate must be able to complete the project during the fellowship period.
The employment period is three or four years, depending on teaching qualifications and needs. The fellow will have their workplace at the Department of Physical Performance, NIH, Oslo, Norway.
The candidate is required to submit an admission to the PhD program no later than six weeks after employment. A complete project description, including a proposal for the plan for the doctoral education/progress plan, will be developed in consultation with supervisors with the aim of formal admission to the doctoral program at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. The application will be processed in accordance with applicable guidelines for employment in fellowship positions, and employment is contingent upon admission to the PhD program. The study plan for all required coursework must be approved no later than three months after commencement.
NIH offers
- Salary as a doctoral research fellow in position code 1017 (starting salary gross annual salary NOK 550 800)
- A good and active working environment at the Department of Physical Performance at NIH
- Good arrangements for pension, loans, and insurance in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
- Excellent training facilities, corporate sports teams, and opportunities for exercise during working hours
- Immediate proximity to the metro and locked bicycle parking
Application should inlcude
The application should be written in English; all attachments must be written in a Scandinavian language or English. The application with attachments must be submitted via our electronic recruitment system Jobbnorge, and comprise:
- A cover letter, stating your motivation and background for applying for the specific PhD project (max. one page).
- Full CV, including a short description of relevant methodological competencies.
- Diploma and transcripts of records (BSc and MSc including grade transcripts)
- A list of 2-3 relevant references or recommendations, if any
- A copy of the master’s Thesis
- Publication records, if any
When assessing applicants, emphasis will be placed on the applicant's academic and personal qualifications to complete the project. Suitable candidates will be invited for an interview.
For education outside Scandinavia, we request an explanation of the grading system. Applicants with a foreign master's degree are encouraged to apply to HKDIR for recognition of foreign education: Apply for recognition of your foreign higher education | HK-dir.
Formal regulations
For more information about the PhD program at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, please refer to the following website: PhD program - Norwegian School of Sport Sciences.
Employment is subject to the conditions applicable to state employees. NIH has mandatory membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.
According to the Freedom of Information Act § 25, second paragraph, information about the applicant may be disclosed even if the applicant has requested not to be included on the applicant list.
Inclusion and diversity are strengths, and NIH has a personnel policy goal of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, NIH seeks employees with diverse skills, subject combinations, life experiences, and perspectives.
If you are a qualified applicant with a disability, a gap in your CV, or an immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box in the job applicant portal for this. NIH will invite at least one applicant for an interview if they are qualified, and if you get the job, we will accommodate any needs you may have. The ticking is used solely for anonymized statistics, apart from selecting the right candidate.
The further process
After the deadline for applications has expired, an expert committee will be appointed in order to make an assessment of the selected applicants. Selected applicants will be called for interview, and a final decision is expected within the end of September.
Please note that the applicant will be contacted if the assessment committee requires further documentation.
Contact and questions
Interested applicants are advised to contact the academic community in preparing the application.
Further details can be obtained by contacting:
Contact administration:
- HR Department, Senior Advisor Bente Johansen-Aarbostad; email: bentejoh@nih.no
- PhD Program/Study Department, Senior Advisor, Mari Corell; email: maric@nih.no