Vacant job

Join us as we develop ethical review and shape a business with significant impact on research participants, Swedish research, and life sciences – through our assessments of research involving pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

The Swedish Ethical Review Authority is now establishing a new unit within the administration, and we are looking for several (3–4) PhD-holding employees who wish to help shape a completely new environment in our operations. Here you will have a unique opportunity not only to contribute to ensuring that research involving humans is conducted responsibly and ethically, but also to actively help build a business and working methods from the ground up.

We are looking for you who are PhD-holding and want to use your scientific competence in a new and meaningful way. Your analyses and your ability to make complex issues understandable will be crucial for well-founded decisions. You will be entering a stage where much is being developed – which gives you great opportunities to influence and contribute.

With us you will:

• help build a new unit and a research-oriented environment within the administration
• work together with several newly recruited and existing colleagues in a growing business
• actively contribute to shaping working methods, structure, and quality in a new organization
• use your scientific competence in qualified analyses and assessments
• contribute to a business of great significance for research and life sciences in Sweden through the Authority's important mission to protect humans in research.

About the role of Investigator

The duties involve providing qualified support to our decision-making divisions in their review, including participating in meetings where you present and explain the content of the research and clarify what emerges from the research protocols. You answer questions about the research and relate it to relevant legislation, previous practice, and research ethics assessments. You also provide support in the review outside of meetings, for example by summarizing content in relation to previous decisions or by assessing whether incoming complements require a new review. An important part of the role is to work with coordination to promote uniformity in the review.

Furthermore, you provide scientific support to the Authority's employees in various areas by, for example, answering concrete questions or conducting internal training initiatives. You are part of the business development and work together with your colleagues to create internal policy documents and procedures. You also participate in the Authority's external work, answer questions from external parties, conduct external presentations and training, etc.

Qualifications

• PhD in medicine or pharmacy or equivalent.
• Experience of research activities after PhD.
• Very good knowledge of Swedish and English, both spoken and written.

The following are meritorious

• Experience of working in an authority or in other public operations and writing decision support or other analytical texts.
• Experience of working with clinical drug trials and knowledge of GCP.
• Knowledge and practical experience of working with issues related to research ethics.

As a person you have

• Genuine interest in research ethics issues and Swedish research.
• Good judgment and high integrity.
• Good analytical ability and a methodical working approach, including the ability to compile, sort, and prioritize extensive and complex material.
• Good communicative and pedagogical skills.
• Good teamwork skills, enjoy working in teams, interest and experience in working with other staff groups and sharing your knowledge.
• Attributes that mean you are structured, meticulous, responsible while being unpretentious and receptive.
• A desire to influence and develop. You thrive working in a dynamic business under development, are flexible and solution-oriented.

Welcome with your application by August 17, 2026!

Good to know

You apply via our recruitment system and the application should include a cover letter and CV.

Location: Uppsala. You have the opportunity to agree with your nearest manager to work remotely a number of days per week. You also have the opportunity to work part of the time at one of the Authority's other offices in the country (Gothenburg, Lund, Linköping, Stockholm, Umeå).

• The employment is permanent and full-time, we apply a six-month probation period.
• Opportunities for part-time work to conduct own research can be discussed.
• Start date: By agreement.
• Individual salary setting applies.
• Business travel occurs, among other things, to participate in division meetings on-site at the various offices around the country a number of times per year, at Authority internships and, for example, conferences.

About the Swedish Ethical Review Authority: The Swedish Ethical Review Authority is a national authority with the task of reviewing research involving humans, biological material, or sensitive personal data. The Authority started in 2019 and is located in Uppsala with offices in 5 other locations in the country. The review is conducted by 500 external members, both scientific members and representatives of the public, led by 42 judges in a total of 21 divisions, where science, ethics, and law are combined to promote a responsible research environment in Sweden. The Authority's administration supports the divisions with processing, etc., and is responsible for the Authority's other administration. Approximately 30 people are employed at the administration. Most are case handlers, but there is also a scientific coordinator, chief lawyer, subject manager, economic manager, case handler managers, and statistics manager.

The Swedish Ethical Review Authority values the qualities that equal gender distribution and diversity bring to the business. We therefore welcome applicants of all genders and with different backgrounds, life experiences, and abilities.