Post Doctoral Research Associate - Renewable Energy Development

About UMass Amherst

The flagship of the Commonwealth, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a nationally ranked public land-grant research university that seeks to expand educational access, fuel innovation and creativity, and share and use its knowledge for the common good. Founded in 1863, UMass Amherst sits on nearly 1,450-acres in scenic Western Massachusetts and boasts state-of-the-art facilities for teaching, research, scholarship, and creative activity. The institution advances a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community where everyone feels connected and valued-and thrives, and offers a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees across 10 schools and colleges, and 100 undergraduate majors. We believe every member of our university community can contribute to our ongoing success by striving for the highest level of excellence as we seek breakthrough solutions to mounting environmental, social, economic, and technological challenges in our world.

Job Summary

We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to join our team leveraging socioeconomic data to address research questions related to renewable energy development impacts in underserved communities. This principally involves working with commercial fishing scientific data compilation, analysis, modeling, and visualization, and integration of local fishermen's ecological knowledge, and available socioeconomics scientific data in the Northeast U.S. coastal fishing communities, but with possible opportunities to develop additional projects broadly on fisheries socioeconomic in other systems.

The postdoc will generate and work with existing datasets, including socio-economic, ecological, and geospatial databases that are linked to spatial and environmental data to address a variety of fundamental and applied research questions in fisheries ecology and management. The postdoc will be part of a dynamic, interdisciplinary team in the Department of Environmental Conservation at UMass Amherst, collaborating diverse stakeholders, scientific institutions, and government agencies. This position is a one-year appointment, with a renewal for the second year provided satisfactory progress after year one and grant renewal. This position would be heavy on fisheries, socioeconomic, and cultural data analysis with potential for networking with coastal fishing communities.

Essential Functions

• Develop research questions and experimental design to address them.
• Compile available scientific (e.g., fisheries, environmental, social-economic) and integrate local fishermen's ecological knowledge data.
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative data analysis.
• Manuscript writing for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Other Functions

• Work collaboratively and effectively as part of an interdisciplinary team to promote teamwork, diversity, equality and inclusiveness.
• Mentor undergraduate and graduate students in affiliated research groups at UMass.
• Participate in broader participatory research, professional development, and diverse audience engagement activities.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• A Ph.D. in Fisheries, Social Sciences, Natural Resources Economics, or a closely related field.
• Strong foundational knowledge in participatory research and social sciences methods.
• Strong experience working with large datasets (ideally, but not required, with fisheries, socioeconomics data).
• Strong analytical skills including demonstrated proficiency with data integration, R, NVivo, and/or other relevant quantitative and qualitative statistical analyses/programs.
• Experience designing, planning, and conducting research studies, including the ability to meet project goals in a timely manner, and follow through on project deliverables.
• Demonstrated capacity to communicate research findings both at professional meetings and in high quality peer-reviewed journals.
• Excellent technical, analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong attention to detail, and meticulous work style, as evidenced by previous research.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively with researchers from different scientific backgrounds, including NGO and agency partners as well as stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Research experience integrating large datasets.
• Quantitative and qualitative research experience and/or interest in data visualization.
• Previous experience managing, mentoring, or otherwise overseeing staff, graduate or undergraduate students.
• A demonstrated capability to think critically about the practical application of research outcomes.

Work Schedule

• Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm, with options for flexible work hours depending on project needs.

Salary Information

• Salary is commensurate with experience; for 0-2 years' post-PhD experience annual salary starts at $62,838 plus benefits.

Special Instructions to Applicants

Along with the application, please submit a resume and cover letter. References will be checked at the finalist stage. Please be prepared to provide contact information for three (3) professional references. Applications will be reviewed on a continuous basis until the position is filled. Early submissions are encouraged.

At UMass Amherst and in CNS, we strive to be a community where every individual feels a sense of belonging, where every individual is included, and where every individual is valued. You can find these values and goals here: https://www.umass.edu/strategicplan/strategic-plan.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst welcomes all qualified applicants and complies with all state and federal anti-discrimination laws.