Deadline for applications: July 30, 2024 
Expected start date: October or November 1, 2024, with possibility to start on January 4, 2025 
Term: 2 years
Salary: $80,000
Supervisor:  Patricia Romero-Lankao / [email protected]

Description

The Postdoctoral Research Fellow will be part of a vibrant and agile team and help coordinate activities and operations for the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Sustainability Transitions at the University of Toronto, Scarborough. The Fellow will be crucial in a research program that will partner with marginalized communities in Toronto, Los Angeles, Mexico City and other cities globally to catalyze the development of community-engaged and context-relevant approaches to just and equitable sustainability transitions. The CERC will focus on the following inquiry areas: (1) public health and well-being by analyzing how to reduce energy-related physical and mental stress; (2) affordability by examining ways to alleviate the unequal costs of the energy transition; (3) availability, accessibility, and use, by exploring how to overcome economic exclusion to benefit from programs, technologies and innovations; and (4) jobs and workforce development, by analyzing how to address employment disruptions and increase job opportunities in a net-zero world. The postdoctoral research fellow will help coordinate work on data, tools and models to assess current conditions and measure progress along equitable and just transition pathways across the inquiry areas and studied cities.

Key responsibilities:

  • Assist with the coordination of day-to-day program operations 
  • Coordinate and assist with community-driven knowledge co-production, data collection, and analysis (i.e., data gathering, participatory workshops, listening sessions);
  • Communicate with study investigators, community committees, city officials, and collaborator organizations;
  • Help coordinate team meetings and community meetings, draft agendas and meeting notes; 
  • Participate in the preparation of knowledge coproduction outputs (e.g., podcasts, factsheets, posters, and manuscripts) with community and city collaborators (presentations, newsletters, policy briefs);
  • Collaborate in proposal, report and manuscript drafting; 
  • Prepare technical reports, summaries, and presentations;
  • Help coordinate the general operation and logistical planning of the program; 
  • Support other research-related projects as assigned; 


Qualifications (essential):

  • Ph.D. in a related field (i.e., sociology, urban planning, geography, political sciences) or an acceptable combination of equivalent experience.
  • Minimum two years of relevant work experience in a research coproduction environment.
  • Experience with community-guided research projects and implementing qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.
  • Demonstrated experience facilitating knowledge coproduction activities.
  • Experience with qualitative and quantitative data collection, interpretation, and analysis.
  • Experience completing Research Ethics Board (REB) applications and editing content for grant applications.
  • Demonstrated experience fostering positive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including community and city partners
  • Ability to foster positive relationships with multiple groups nationally and internationally
  • Experience working with people from equity-deserving populations or people with disabilities.
  • Proficient academic writing skills (protocol development, grant writing, manuscript development, poster, and abstract development).
  • Demonstrated ability to navigate and develop relationships with partners across national and international contexts and organizations.
  • Strong research and analytical skills 
  • Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills (oral and written) with an ability to multi-task and prioritize competing demands
  • Ability to work independently and as part of a team
  • Strong commitment to accuracy and attention to detail
  • Demonstrated problem-solving skills and proven ability to meet deadlines
  • Demonstrated experience with literature reviews and syntheses.
  • Experience with coordinating research activities


Assets (Nonessential):

  • Proficiency in Spanish 
  • Proficiency with qualitative software and coding (e.g., MAXQDA, N-Vivo)
  • Proficiency with modelling software (e.g., fuzzy cognitive maps)
  • Experience with fieldwork in remote places


Application instructions

All individuals interested in this position must submit their CV, the names and contact info of three references, and 2 pieces of published work to [email protected] by the closing date (August 4, 2024). We will only contact (or ask for letters) when selecting finalists. 

The regular hours of work for a full-time postdoctoral fellow are 40 hours per week (pro-rated for those holding a partial appointment), recognizing that the needs of the employee’s research and training and the needs of the supervisor’s research program may require flexibility in the performance of the employee’s duties and hours of work.