• School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Academic Level A
• Full-Time, Fixed-Term for 18 months
• Closing Date: 11 August 2022 (R-14603)

About This Opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity for a Postdoctoral Researcher with expertise in causal inference and/or applied statistics, and policy evaluation to work with a multi-disciplinary team to determine the effectiveness of land management and policy settings for koala conservation.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in causal inference and statistics relevant to policy evaluation and an ability to work with large complex data sets. Having experience leading and managing projects, engaging and communicating with stakeholders, and working on environmental or biodiversity conservation problems would also be an advantage.

The successful candidate will work on a New South Wales Koala Strategy Project to develop models of drivers of koala habitat loss and degradation, and measure the impact of past conservation and land management settings on changes in koala habitat. Using this information, the candidate will then develop future scenarios of plausible alternative conservation and land management settings and assess their performance using the models produced. This role will have a strong focus on working collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team and the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. It will also involve communication of research outcomes through peer-reviewed publications and other forms of communication targeting end-users of the research.

Key responsibilities include:

Research

• Develop a coherent and high-impact research program that contributes to the aims of the project.
• Implement novel statistical and causal inference techniques to assess drivers of changes in koala habitat.
• Work effectively with collaborators and stakeholders in the design and implementation of the research.
• Engage effective communication of the research outcomes to end-users and prepare and publish high quality peer-reviewed research articles.
• Assist in the supervision of Higher Degree by Research students and Honours students (as appropriate).

Citizenship and Service

• Develop external links by cultivating relationships with industry, government departments, professional bodies, and the wider community.
• Contribute to internal service roles where relevant and actively contribute to the collegiality of relevant schools, centres, research groups.
• Perform a range of administrative functions as required.
• Any other duties as reasonably directed by your supervisor.

Other

Ensure you are aware of and comply with legislation and University policy relevant to the duties undertaken, including but not exclusive to:

• The University's Code of Conduct.
• Requirements of the Queensland occupational health and safety (OH&S) legislation and related OH&S responsibilities and procedures developed by the University or Institute/School.
• The adoption of sustainable practices in all work activities and compliance with associated legislation and related University sustainability responsibilities and procedures.
• Requirements of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000, the National Code 2007 and associated legislation, and related responsibilities and procedures developed by the University.

About the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences

The School of Earth and Environmental Sciences (SEES) is part of the Faculty of Science and is located on the St Lucia campus (Brisbane) of the University. It has 104 academic staff, and 23 administrative and technical staff. There is a large contingent of research appointments and the School has been active in establishing a range of adjunct positions in order to promote engagement with leaders in government and the professions.

SEES is a vibrant, multidisciplinary School with extensive teaching and research programs covering the fields of Earth Sciences, Geography, Environmental Management and Environmental Science, Occupational Health and Safety Sciences and Urban and Regional Town Planning. SEES hosts world-class facilities, has a state-of-art planning studio as well as GIS and Remote Sensing computer laboratories. SEES Faculty and students are also actively engaged in using UQ's world-class marine research facilities at Heron Island and Stradbroke Island.

Further information and details on the research interests of academic staff can be found on the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences website.

About You

Essential Criteria

• A PhD (or close to obtaining a PhD) in a relevant discipline. Relevant disciplines include (but are not restricted to): applied statistics, causal inference, quantitative policy analysis, quantitative environmental or conservation science, applied or environmental economics (a PhD working on environmental or biodiversity conservation problems will be an advantage).
• Evidence of excellent skills in statistical analysis applicable to assessing environmental management or policy interventions and experience with causal inference methods.
• Ability to program in R and/or Python.
• Evidence of research excellence and leadership in producing high quality and high impact peer-reviewed publications.
• Evidence of successful and effective collaboration, including with end-users of research outside of academia.
• Evidence of excellent communication skills in both written and oral forms.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience working on environmental or biodiversity conservation problems.
• Understanding of environmental and conservation policy in Australia.

What We Can Offer

This is a full-time, fixed-term position for 18 months at Academic Level A.

The full-time equivalent base salary will be in the range $72,144 to $96,531 plus super of up to 17%. The total FTE package will be in the range $84,409 to $112,941 per annum.

For further information about UQ's benefits, please visit Why Work at UQ and review The University of Queensland's Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2018-2021.

Questions?

To discuss this role please contact Professor Jonathan Rhodes via email at j.rhodes@uq.edu.au.

For application queries, please contact recruitment@uq.edu.au stating the job reference number in the subject line.

Want to Apply?

All applicants must supply the following documents:

• Cover letter addressing the 'About You' section
• Resume

Please note that you will be asked to add all documents into the one upload box during the application form.

To satisfy pre-requisite questions and ensure your application can be considered in full, all candidates must apply via the UQ Careers portal by the job closing deadline. Applications received via other channels, including direct email, will not be accepted.

Other Information

Work Rights

You must have unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this appointment to apply. Visa sponsorship is not available for this appointment.

Background Checks

All final applicants for this position may be asked to consent to a criminal record check. Please note that people with criminal records are not automatically barred from applying for this position. Each application will be considered on its merits.

We value diversity and inclusion, and actively encourage applications from those who bring diversity to the University. Our Diversity and Inclusion webpage contains further information if you require additional support. Accessibility requirements and/or adjustments can be directed to recruitment@uq.edu.au.

If you are a current employee of the University, or hold an unpaid or affiliate appointment with the University, please login to your staff Workday account and visit the internal careers board to apply for this opportunity. Please do NOT apply via the external job board.