Postdoctoral Research Fellow

University of British Columbia • Vancouver, BC

1d • Onsite

About The Position

We invite applications for the Sustainable Agriculture Policy and Adoption Postdoctoral Fellow to join the Perennial Ecosystem Restoration for Carbon Sequestration (PERCS) project at the University of British Columbia. The PERCS partnership grant links four Canadian universities, seven partner organizations, and a multi-disciplinary team of ecologists, soil scientists, landscape ecologists, environmental economists, and social scientists to examine carbon sequestration, co-benefits, and adoption potential of perennial plantings (e.g., hedgerows, windbreaks, riparian restoration) in Canadian agricultural landscapes.
The Fellow will work with a diverse range of policy, program, spatial, and farmer-generated datasets to investigate patterns and drivers of perennial restoration establishment across British Columbia. In close collaboration with project partners, government agencies, and agricultural organizations, the Fellow will evaluate existing programs and policies supporting perennial adoption, identify barriers and enabling conditions, and assess opportunities for improving the policy landscape and scaling perennial restoration in Canadian agricultural systems.
Potential research themes include:
Evaluation of partner and government incentive programs;
Analysis of policy and institutional frameworks influencing adoption;
Stakeholder and governance mapping across agricultural and environmental sectors;
Examination of socio-economic, cultural, and structural factors affecting farmer decision-making;
Development of qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method scenarios exploring future pathways for expansion of perennial agricultural features.
The successful candidate will constitute one of three Fellows hired in a PDF cluster. They will work closely together in supporting the broad synthesis goals of the project, integrating data across projects and disciplines, and coordinating with partner organizations to develop policy recommendations. Although PDFs will be based in different lab groups, the positions are collaborative with opportunities to contribute to shared synthesis work and obligations to larger project deliverables.

Requirements

• PhD in a related social science field
• A record of independent research design, execution, and publication of results
• Knowledge of the Canadian agricultural sector and the Canadian policy landscape
• Strong commitment to, and ideally work experience in, conducting collaborative, interdisciplinary research

Responsibilities

• Investigate patterns and drivers of perennial restoration establishment across British Columbia using diverse datasets.
• Evaluate existing programs and policies supporting perennial adoption.
• Identify barriers and enabling conditions for perennial adoption.
• Assess opportunities for improving the policy landscape and scaling perennial restoration.
• Collaborate with project partners, government agencies, and agricultural organizations.
• Work closely with other Postdoctoral Fellows in a cluster hire to support broad synthesis goals, integrate data, and coordinate with partners.
• Contribute to shared synthesis work and larger project deliverables.

Benefits

• Benefits

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree