Monthly Archives: May 2013
Postdoctoral Researcher in Agrarian, Food and Environmental Studies (AFES)
The Staff Group Rural Development, Environment and Population Studies has a vacancy (1.0 FTE) for a Postdoctoral researcher (18 months) in the field of: Agrarian, Food and Environmental Studies (AFES)
The Staff Group is engaged in research, teaching, advisory work and institutional capacity building in international development studies. It has recently formed a research program (RP), “Political Economy of Resources, Environment and Population”, which included the research areas of agrarian and environmental studies.
Profile:
The successful candidate is expected to bring innovative research capacity to the ISS in the field of Agrarian, Food and Environmental Studies, complementing and/or extending our work, among others, on environmental conservation, natural resource conflicts, and land grabs. The specific objective of the appointment is for a recently graduated (or soon to graduate) PhD to publish results from previous research, initiate new research, and contribute to the formulation and writing of research (grant) proposals (0.8 FTE), and to develop teaching experience that will enable her/him to make the transition from PhD researcher to an academic professional (0.2 FTE). Thematically, these activities will be focused on the broad areas of critical Agrarian, Food and Environmental Studies, but the ideal candidate should have experience and be willing to conduct research in the specific areas of environmental conservation, political ecology and natural resource use and management from a critical political economy perspective.
Requirements:
- A recently or nearly completed PhD in the social sciences (geography, anthropology, political science, sociology, etc.);
- Evidence of publication capacity, including an emerging publications track record and clear research and publications plans;
- Modest teaching experience, preferably at post-graduate level;
- Teaching/research experience in the Global South;
- Ability to work in an inter-disciplinary and international team;
- Willingness to travel and conduct research abroad.
While open to all regional specializations, preference will be given to candidates with research interests in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Tasks and Responsibilities:
Recruitment will be made for an appointment of 1.5 years. A starting date between July-August 2013 is anticipated. Besides the detailed profile given above, the position involves the following tasks and responsibilities:
- Publish high-quality articles and chapters;
- Assist members of the research group with the writing and submission of research grants and externally financed research programs;
- Undertake new research and (co-) publish on issues relevant to the AES programme, preferably focused on, but not limited to, Dr. Bram Büscher’s ongoing research on environmental conservation;
- Contribute to the teaching of the Major “Agrarian and Environmental Studies”.
Appointment: ISS/EUR will offer a fixed temporary contract of 1.5 years. The appointment is envisaged at Postdoctoral level (scale 10 CAO NU).
Employment conditions: In accordance with those applied at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and indicated in the Collective Labour Agreement (CAO NU) of the Dutch universities. Salary being dependent on the candidate’s experience ranges from € 2403,- to € 3793,- gross per month under full-time contract. In addition, ISS pays an 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year payment which is for 2013: 8,3 %.
Applications and more information: Applications, accompanied by a detailed Curriculum Vitae and the names of three Referees, should be addressed to the Personnel Office (Ms. Sabine Zebel), International Institute of Social Studies, P.O. Box 29776, 2502LT, The Hague, The Netherlands, preferably send in electronic form directed to vacancy@iss.nl via the Apply button below, before the 15th of June 2013. With equal qualifications preference will be given to a woman as women are under-represented in this field. Short-listed candidates will be requested to supply samples of published output and at that stage their referees will be contacted. The interviews with short-listed candidates will take place on 3,4 and 8 July 2013 in The Hague, The Netherlands. More information about the vacancy can be obtained from Dr. Bram Büscher, Associate Professor of Environment and Sustainable Development, buscher@iss.nl, or Dr. Max Spoor, Professor of Development Studies and Chair of the Staff Group and the Research Programme (spoor@iss.nl).
Source: http://www.jobs.ac.uk
Postdoctoral Research Associate in Systems Genetics of Wheat
The School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, UK in conjunction with the Centre for Food Security has recently made a multi-million pound investment in new appointments, state-of-the-art plant growth facilities and a new crop genetics and molecular biology lab. These investments will underpin its ambitious plans to bring together researchers capable of generating novel insights into the basic genetic architecture and resilience of yield-related traits under conditions simulating both norms and extremes of current and future climate variability.
The successful candidate will spearhead a three-year project in Prof O’Sullivan’s newly established Crop Genetic Improvement lab to develop an experimental platform for adopting a ‘systems genetics’ approach to yield development in wheat. The role will place approximately equal emphasis on 1. design of large-scale field and climate-controlled experiments to probe traits contributing to yield resilience in large segregating wheat populations, 2. adaptation of existing software and writing custom code to integrate data from various measurement and imaging devices, molecular assays and external data sources into a project database and 3. statistical genetic analysis of the combined genotype, expression and phenotype datasets.
The project will involve multiple collaborations both within the University and externally and therefore we are looking for an enthusiastic and team-oriented candidate with excellent communication skills in addition to the required technical skills and experience.
You will have:
- A PhD in a relevant discipline
- Experience in analysing large biological datasets
- Sound knowledge of statistical genetics
- Ability to design databases and programme data analysis pipelines
- A demonstrated interest in applying your data-related skills to real-world biological questions
- A demonstrated ability to transform ‘data’ into ‘knowledge’
Informal contact details
Contact role: Professor
Contact name: Donal O’Sullivan
Contact phone: +44 (0)118 3786729
Contact email: d.m.osullivan@reading.ac.uk
Alternative informal contact details
Contact role: Head of Department
Contact name: Mike Gooding
Contact phone: +44 (0)118 3788487
Contact email: m.j.gooding@reading.ac.uk
Start date: as soon as possible
Closing date: Friday 28th June 2013
Interview date: Thursday 11th July 2013
Reference number: RS13036
Post type: 3-year fixed-term
Hours: full-time
Grade: 6
Payscale: £27,854 to £36,298 per annum
Interviews for this post will be held on 11th July 2013.
To formally apply please, click here or contact Human Resources, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 217, Reading RG6 6AH. Telephone +44(0)118 378 6771 (voicemail)
Agro-futures..... 