Associate Professor of Digital Strategic Communication

The School of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University invites applications for the position of Associate Professor of Digital Strategic Communication, based at the Department of Media and Journalism Studies.

The associate professorship is a full-time, permanent position, beginning on 15 October 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The School of Communication and Culture is committed to diversity and encourages all qualified applicants to apply, regardless of their personal background.

The position

The field of media and journalism studies is undergoing significant change, not least due to the intensified digitalisation of culture and society, including the emergence of GenAI, transforming the basic conditions under which mediated content is produced, distributed, used and experienced. The Department of Media and Journalism Studies at Aarhus University is looking for a colleague who can further develop the department’s profile in digital strategic communication, strengthen teaching and research in this area internationally, and contribute to the department’s focus on innovating and diversifying approaches to research and teaching in digital communication. The successful applicant will strengthen and further develop the department’s expertise in digital strategic communication, with clear relevance to the BA and MA degree programmes, and contribute to talent development, international networking and knowledge exchange.

We are looking for an applicant who can demonstrate innovative research analysing current developments in digital strategic communication at an international level. This includes research on political communication, shifts in commercial and public relations campaigns, and the targeted use of communication and social media by private, civic and public actors. Strong and innovative competences in developing digital methods, working with large-scale datasets and applying mixed-methods approaches are highly relevant to the position. Applicants are asked to present a convincing five-year research plan outlining the development of strategic communication research within this position. The plan should focus on ongoing work and reflect current transformations in the field, such as the role and governance of digital platforms as intermediaries; the automation of content delivery, recommendation and audience monitoring; and the targeted use of digital media for the dissemination of information, including AI-generated forms of content.

Research

The Department of Media and Journalism Studies at Aarhus University has a strong international profile and a robust research network. The department participates in three research programmes and hosts several research centres, including the Centre for Media Industries and Production Studies, the Centre for Transnational Media Research and the Centre for Digital Methods and Media.

We are looking for an applicant who can demonstrate research competences in one or more of the following areas:

• digital strategic communication research with a focus on, for example, changing professional cultures and occupational patterns, the effects of platformisation, branding strategies, political campaigning, strategic planning and evaluation methods for stakeholder management, or dynamics of content creation and dissemination
• digital strategic communication across different sectors and in both corporate and non-corporate contexts, for example in political communication, civil society organisations, media organisations, advertising or public information management
• the development of theoretical approaches to the study of digital strategic communication, possibly including the role of state or civic organisations, changing professional cultures, datafication of communication, commercial content creation, commercial uses of social media platforms, patterns of automation in strategic communication, persuasion and audience reception
• skills in applying and/or advancing digital methods in strategic communication research, demonstrated through relevant publications, project reports or research tool design.

We are looking for an applicant who is enthusiastic about developing digital strategic communication as a field of research and teaching within the department and about strengthening the department’s existing resources, competences and international profile. The successful applicant will be expected to contribute actively to the department’s research community through collaborative research projects with internal and external partners and through participation in applications for external research funding.

Teaching and supervision

We are looking for an applicant with teaching and supervision experience in the field of strategic communication research at the university level.

The successful applicant will be expected to contribute to the department’s teaching and supervision activities and to teach and supervise on the department’s Bachelor’s (2021), Master’s (2022) and PhD programmes (ICT, Media, Communication and Journalism). Applicants are asked to indicate in their application which courses at BA and MA level they could teach. The successful applicant will also be expected to apply innovative teaching methods, including the use of artificial intelligence tools and approaches, or digital methods for working with large-scale datasets.

The successful applicant will also be expected to contribute to the ongoing development of curricula and degree programmes within the field of media studies and strategic communication research. In this regard, experience of degree programme and curriculum development at universities or similar institutions will be considered an advantage.