Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Food Insecurity Initiative)

Posting Expiry

 

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Food Insecurity Initiative)

  • Faculty: Land and Food Systems, Vancouver Campus
  • Term appointment: 2 years
  • Start date: March/April 2020 (flexible – ASAP preferred)
  • Stipend for Period of Appointment: $60,000/year + benefits
JOB SUMMARY

Guided by the Okanagan Charter for Health Promoting Universities, UBC’s Wellbeing Strategic Framework, UBC Wellbeing Action Framework for a Nutritionally Sound Campus, and the UBC Food Action Framework, the incumbent will work on the Food Insecurity Initiative with interdisciplinary colleagues including UBC Wellbeing, Campus & Community Planning, Human Resources, Student Housing & Community Services, Student Unions, Faculties, and student initiatives to develop research approaches, collect and analyze data, develop recommendations on actions related to campus food insecurity, and disseminate scholarly findings. The postdoctoral fellow will work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to evaluate food insecurity prevalence for UBC community members and to inform UBC’s evaluation approach and evidence-based actions.

ORGANIZATIONAL STATUS

The postdoctoral fellow will work independently under the mentorship of supervisors, Dr. Candice Rideout, Senior Instructor, Land and Food Systems and Dr. Jennifer Black, Associate Professor, Faculty of Land and Food Systems.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
  • Develop and implement data collection strategies for assessing food insecurity prevalence on the Vancouver and Okanagan UBC campuses.
  • Conduct data analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and reporting for institutional data sets related to food insecurity.
  • Support the planning and development of new processes to obtain food insecurity data for staff, faculty, and post-doctoral fellows.
  • Support faculty engagement to encourage interdisciplinary research clusters, including developing a proposal for a Research Excellence Cluster on Food Insecurity.
  • Develop a knowledge translation plan to share research findings including serving as the lead author for peer reviewed manuscripts and presentations at scholarly conferences.
  • Support and mentor graduate and undergraduate student learning projects, as needed.
  • Liaise with external stakeholders and other campuses.
  • Review and synthesize relevant literature and best practices of food security initiatives, policies, and research on other campuses.
  • Prepare a progress report with recommendations for UBC with respect to food insecurity evaluation, actions, resources, and education.
QUALIFICATIONS
  • Doctoral degree (received in the last 5 years) in nutrition, health promotion, public health, epidemiology, or other relevant field with sufficient research skills to take a leadership role in research work for the Food Insecurity Initiative
  • Knowledge of food systems, community health issues and/or health promotion strategies.
  • Advanced quantitative data analysis skills and knowledge of complex survey design including use of software such as R, SAS, or STATA
  • Excellent organizational, problem solving, planning, project management, and communication skills (oral and written).
  • Experience in building relationships with multiple stakeholders and partners in a complex environment, with proven interpersonal and intercultural skills.
  • Experience in distilling large amounts of information accurately into succinct reports.
  • Ability to exercise good judgment, diplomacy, and discretion.
  • Ability to supervise or mentor junior researchers and student staff.
  • Ability to effectively facilitate discussions and deliver presentations.
  • Experience in public health or wellbeing-related initiatives planning, implementation, and evaluation; or an equivalent combination of education and experience an asset.
  • Knowledge of social determinants of health, health promotion or sustainability theory and principles an asset (e.g., Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and Okanagan Charter for Health Promoting Campuses, socio-ecological approach).
  • Candidates should identify with UBC’s vision and values outlined in the Strategic Plan – including health and wellbeing, sustainability, mutual respect and equity, advancing and sharing knowledge, academic freedom, public interest, excellence, and integrity.
UNIVERSITY DIVERSITY STATEMENT

Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please send your application to Natasha Moore (natasha.moore@ubc.ca) as a single PDF file. Applications should include a cover letter describing your interests in this position and relevant research experiences; a recent CV; a copy of a relevant/significant first-author publication; and contact information for three potential referees. The review of applications will begin on February 15, 2020 but this position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found.