Postdoctoral Scholar in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (Cascadia CoPes Hub)
Position Overview
Organization: Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Title: Postdoctoral Scholar in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (Cascadia CoPes Hub)
Position Details
Position Description
The Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) at the University of Washington (UW) School of Public Health is seeking an outstanding Post-Doctoral Scholar to lead and support social sciences research and community engagement activities for the NSF-funded Cascadia Coastlines and Peoples Hazards Research Hub.
About the NSF-funded Cascadia Coastlines and Peoples Hazards Research Hub:
The Cascadia Coastline and Peoples Hazards Research Hub, or Cascadia CoPes Hub, is a team of researchers funded by the National Science Foundation to increase knowledge about natural hazards and climate change risks coastal communities face and ways to increase their resilience. The Hub is working with communities in the Pacific Northwest, including Washington, Oregon, and Northern California to increase their ability to mitigate and adapt to impacts from hazards like “The Really Big One”- a mega-earthquake, tsunamis, sea level rise, landslides, erosion, and climate change.
The Cascadia CoPes Hub was formed to respond to a local, regional, and national need for improved coordinated coastal resilience in the face of these chronic and acute hazards (Ruckelshaus Center, 2017; Oregon Resilience Plan, 2013). The Hub’s long term goal is to improve coastal communities’ preparedness and the ability to bounce back after any setbacks from these events.
The Hub is made up of 5 teams who are conducting research relevant to all of Cascadia. This includes research into how natural hazards are currently, and will progressively, affect communities, how local governments are organizing and preparing to respond to these hazards, and effective ways to support communities.
Hub projects are being developed with community partners and each Hub team has community leads who are focusing on helping coastal communities integrate new scientific advances into their planning. The Hub is also increasing the diversity of future coastal hazard researchers and practitioners and increasing information sharing between underrepresented communities.
About the candidate:
This effort will require a candidate with a broad understanding of disaster, social sciences and health research, who can liaise between community and government partners, and present findings to a wide range of scientific and public audiences. The candidate will be ready to apply research and project management skills using a creative, data-driven, and team-oriented approach. We are looking for a critical thinker who is well organized and adept at working closely with several different teams and managing multiple projects, as well as managing their own workflows and conducting independent research.
Position duties:
Community engagement and outreach (40%). The Postdoctoral Scholar will plan and implement community engagement and outreach activities with Cascadia coastal communities, with a focus on research co-design and co-production. With mentorship and support from, and in coordination with, UW, OSU, and Oregon and Washington Sea Grant faculty and staff, the Postdoctoral Scholar will serve as a liaison to communities to support science co-production, translation, and outreach through the Cascadia Community Engaged Research Clearinghouse (CCERC). Liaisons will help identify the research needs of communities and support researchers in increasing usability and applicability of research and will optimize opportunities for communities to apply science.
Social Sciences research design, implementation, and dissemination (40%). The Postdoctoral Scholar will work with CoPes faculty, staff and students to design and implement research projects that support the University of Washington’s social science activities planned under Year 3 of the Cascadia Coastlines and People (CoPes) Research Hub. They will lead the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. The Postdoctoral Scholar will participate in the mentoring of undergraduate or graduate students involved in Cascadia CoPes Hub projects as part of their academic endeavors, including those engaged in Team 4 programs and activities designed to broaden participation and STEAM engagement among underrepresented minority students and scholars. They will assist with IRB related activities including submissions, approvals, modifications, and renewals. The Postdoctoral Scholar will contribute to manuscript development and report writing. They will prepare meeting summaries, progress reports, study deliverables, journal articles, and other written materials, and present study findings at meetings as needed.
Project Management and Administration (10%). The Postdoctoral Scholar will lead project management activities for CoPes social sciences efforts and the Cascadia Community Engaged Research Clearing House (CCERC), including developing and monitoring project timelines, ensuring work is successfully executed and completed within time frames to meet research objectives, and coordinating and communicating with diverse academic and community stakeholders. They will work with supervising faculty to identify and address problems and issues. They will oversee and assemble progress/interim reporting, communicate with funding agencies; submit project deliverables; and develop and monitor project budgets.
The Postdoctoral Scholar will provide administrative and logistical support to Cascadia CoPes social sciences and community engagement and outreach teams, including supporting web and social media activities, coordination of travel and study meetings/workshops as needed, and scheduling and coordination of team meetings. The Postdoctoral Scholar will participate in regular mentor, lab, team, and Hub meetings.
Professional Development (10%). The Postdoctoral Scholar will create and implement an Individual Development Plan (IDP) in consultation with primary mentors and the hub admin core. The IDP includes long-term career goals and perceived strengths and weaknesses. The IDP will serve as a platform for discussion of possible improvement and areas for growth, which will include goals (e.g., for research, manuscript completion, submission of grants, conference attendance, training, etc.) and a task timeline. The Postdoctoral Scholar will be encouraged to attend seminars, workshops, and consultations on how to identify research funding and write competitive proposals, as offered internally by each university’s Office of Sponsored Research and/or externally by the National Postdoctoral Association and others; participate in weekly research seminars offered by affiliated and related units at OSU and UW; participate (in person and/or virtually) in career development and training opportunities through OSU’s Office of Postdoctoral Programs and UW’s Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, who offer training in such topics as: academic and non-academic careers, interviewing and negotiating job offers, grant and proposal writing, publishing in scientific journals, mentoring students, creating inclusive work sites, communicating science, and implementing open and reproducible science.
Salary range:
This position is being offered at a salary range of $5,459 to $5,834 per month ($65,508 to $70,008 per year)
Postdoctoral scholars are represented by UAW 4121 and are subject to the collective bargaining agreement, unless agreed exclusion criteria apply. For more information, please visit the University of Washington Labor Relations website.
The UW School of Public Health is committed to a diverse academic community. We view diversity, equity and inclusion as essential to our mission, and we welcome applications from faculty who have demonstrated research, training and service experience in this area. For more information, please see the following website: http://sph.washington.edu/diversity/.
Qualifications
- PhD or foreign equivalent in public health (e.g., health policy, environmental or occupational health sciences, epidemiology), disaster science, sociology, anthropology, or another relevant field (e.g., economics, demography, urban planning, geography)
- Experience conducting research relevant to the social or health impacts of disasters or climate change
- Strong analytical skills
- Prior experience conducting qualitative and/or survey research
- Prior experience or interest in grant writing
- Ability to work independently as well as part of an interdisciplinary research team
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Strong project management skills
- Demonstrated history of academic productivity, including manuscripts published or in review for publication in peer reviewed journals and/or grant writing experience
- Experience communicating on or about research to diverse stakeholders, e.g., practitioner or community audiences
Instructions
How to apply:
Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, CV, and list of three professional references through Interfolio: If you have any questions, please reach out to Dr. Nicole Errett (nerrett@uw.edu) using the email subject line of “CoPes Post Doc Position.” Priority consideration will be given to applications received on or before March 1, 2023.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.
Benefits Information
A summary of benefits associated with this title/rank can be found at https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/benefits-orientation/benefit-summary-pdfs/. Appointees solely employed and paid directly by a non-UW entity are not UW employees and are not eligible for UW or Washington State employee benefits.
Commitment to Diversity
The University of Washington is committed to building diversity among its faculty, librarian, staff, and student communities, and articulates that commitment in the UW Diversity Blueprint (http://www.washington.edu/diversity/diversity-blueprint/). Additionally, the University’s Faculty Code recognizes faculty efforts in research, teaching and/or service that address diversity and equal opportunity as important contributions to a faculty member’s academic profile and responsibilities (https://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/FCG/FCCH24.html#2432).
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Disability Services
To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu.