Research Associate – PERCS Socio-Economic Drivers and Policy Synthesis in Agriculture

Posted August 19, 2024

The Faculty of Land and Food Systems (Applied Biology Program) at the University of British Columbia invites applications for a full time Research Associate. This is a one-year position with the possibility for renewal for 3 additional years. The start date is open, until a suitable candidate is found (full consideration will be given to applications received by September 15, 2024). The position will report to the PI (Risa Sargent) and the PERCS social science leads (Hannah Wittman and Juliet Lu) and will be based at the UBC Point Grey (Vancouver) campus.

The expected pay range for this position is $68,932 to $78,000 per year.

The ‘PERCS’ (Perennial and Ecosystem Restoration for Carbon Sequestration) partnership grant links four Canadian universities and seven partner organizations to develop a path towards accelerated adoption of perennial plantings (e.g., hedgerows, windbreaks, riparian restoration) in agricultural landscapes, in support of Canada’s net zero emissions goal. We are a multi-disciplinary team of ecologists, soil scientists, landscape ecologists, environmental economists, and social scientists working with non-profit and governmental partners to advance research to increase the ability of agricultural landscapes in Canada to sequester atmospheric carbon and provide multiple co-benefits.

The Research Associate (RA) will support the Social Science pillar of this partnership, focusing on the patterns and drivers of perennial planting adoption in agricultural lands. We seek candidates with interdisciplinary expertise in Sociology, Geography, Environmental Studies, Political Economy or related fields. Knowledge of Canadian agriculture, particularly of the regulatory landscape, would be considered ideal. The Research Associate will support critical project objectives including:

Conducting a national policy review of existing programs and regulations supporting payments for ecosystem services on agricultural lands, including those that support perennial landscape plantings.
Quantifying socio-economic and ecological co-benefits of perennial plantings to improve adoption;
Identifying, using quantitative and qualitative methods, the socio-economic drivers of perennial planting adoption for land stewards, policy makers, and other stakeholders; and
Synthesizing co-developed knowledge to develop a set of tools and policies that will enable our partners, and Canadian agriculture, to scale up the adoption of Perennial and Ecosystem Restoration for Carbon Sequestration (PERCS).

The RA will contribute to the completion of key project goals, including: conducting policy synthesis, attaining ethics approval, qualitative interviews, focus groups, quantitative surveys, partner engagement and workshop facilitation, knowledge mobilization, managing the ethical governance of social science data, presentation of findings in community, policy, and academic contexts, drafting and publication of scientific manuscripts, and grant writing.

The RA will work both independently and in collaboration with a team comprised of faculty researchers, postdoctoral fellows, research staff, biostatisticians, students and our partners. The RA will also help to mentor and supervise trainees and undergraduate/graduate students, who are working on these (or related) projects, and support the work of other team members working on related projects.

To find out more about PERCS, please visit our website: https://percs.landfood.ubc.ca/

Please submit your application via Workday (https://ubc.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ubcfacultyjobs/details/Research-Associate_JR18270), including a cover letter, CV, and names/contact information for 3 references.

Responsibilities will include, but will not be limited to:

Collaborating with the Principal Investigator (PI) and other team members in research study design, study planning, completion and interpretation of data analyses
Working with the UBC Office of Research Ethics to ensure methods and design are approved
Preparing and coordinating grant applications
Working with multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional teams to ensure that research goals are met
Working with non-profit and government partners to co-ordinate project details and share knowledge
Developing reports and manuscripts for publication
Preparing and delivering presentations for research meetings
Participating in team meetings
Helping to mentor and supervise trainees and students working on related projects
Providing other support as required by the research team

Preferred Qualifications:

A PhD degree with expertise in a relevant discipline (Sociology, Geography, Environmental Studies, or related fields)
Experience with and knowledge about sustainable agricultural systems/agroecology/agroforestry/restoration
Experience in community-based research and ethical data governance
Working knowledge of ethics approval and process for working with data involving human subjects
Experience with qualitative and quantitative social science research
Experience with manuscript writing and a track record of publishing in high impact journals
Experience in developing successful grant/funding applications
Ability to prepare reports and presentations for diverse audiences
Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills in English
Ability to exercise judgment and make decisions in accordance with broad research objectives
Ability to independently organize workload, goal setting and working effectively towards deadlines
Willingness to work in an interdisciplinary setting, experience collaborating with natural scientists preferred
Willingness and ability to positively engage with researchers at multiple sites across Canada/ internationally to motivate other team members to achieve the study goals in a timely manner
Appreciation of the importance of agricultural and basic research
An inquiring and open mind