Postdoctoral research fellow positions: Impacts of forest-sector
environment and development programs
The International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) research
network is seeking two to three postdoctoral research fellows to join
its research team at the University of Michigan. The fellows will
support IFRI research projects on forests and forest-dependent
livelihoods in less-industrialized countries. In particular, the
fellows will be closely involved in a new projectfunded by the UK's
Department for International Development (DFID) to evaluate the
impacts of forest-sector environment and development programs.
The postdoctoral research fellows will report directly to Professor
Arun Agrawal, coordinator of the IFRI research network. The fellows
will work as part of an interdisciplinary team of faculty,
postdoctoral researcher fellows, and students based in the School of
Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan in
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, and some research colleagues outside UM.
Responsibilities of the research fellows will be to:
- Coordinate research in one or more of the following five
countries: Brazil, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, and Nepal
- Contribute to data-collection, analysis, and writing
- Travel internationally, including time in remote rural
(forest and agricultural) landscapes
- Mentor graduate students
- Collaborate with partner organizations, including academic,
NGO, donor, and development agencies
- Help with meeting research and outreach deliverables to DFID
The division of responsibilities between the two research fellows
will depend on the skill-set of the applicant pool, but all
applicants should offer some to many of the following skills,
knowledge, and experience.
Required skills & qualifications
- A recent Ph.D. in development, environmental studies,
geography, ecology, political ecology, or other relevant discipline.
Applicants with an interdisciplinary degree are welcome.
- Advanced statistical analysis skills with large datasets and
ideally including the use of matching methods for causal inference
- Fluency in R, Stata, or similar statistical package
- Familiarity with quantitative methods for dataset
manipulation and analysis and with spatial analysis methods(e.g. with GIS)
- Strong writing skills
Knowledge & experience
- Clear understanding of rural livelihoods and development,
particularly in forest landscapes
- Clear understanding of natural resource management and
governance, particularly in forest landscapes
- Experience of research on impact evaluation or knowledge of
statistical techniques related to impact evaluation
Experience of working in one or more of Brazil, Ethiopia, Ghana,
Indonesia, and Nepal is desirable as also that or working in teams.
The positions are scheduled to start as soon as possible, but we will
begin reviewing applications on a rolling basis from early September
2014. The exact start date can be negotiated if necessary. Salary and
Benefits are competitive and commensurate with experience and
qualifications. Benefits include employee health and dental insurance.
Applicants should send 1) a copy of their CV, 2) a 1-2 page a cover
letter that a) explains their interest in the position, and b)
outlines their relevant skills and experience, 3) a recent
publication or dissertation chapter, and 4) names and contact details
(email addresses and telephone numbers) for three references, to Joan
Wolf (<mailto:joanw...@umich.edu>joanw...@umich.edu). Please also
contact Joan in case of further questions.
Ines Ibanez
Assistant Professor
School of Natural Resources and the Environment
University of Michigan
Phone: 1- 734-615 8817
Address: 440 Church St
Ann Arbor, MI-48109-1041
<http://www.sitemaker.umich.edu/ibanez.lab/home>http://www.sitemaker.umich.edu/ibanez.lab/home