Post Doctoral Fellow

Postdoctoral Position Description (Sociology)

INSPIRE is an NSF EPSCoR funded project seeking to support regional populations interested in implementing climate smart land management practices. The team is made up of social scientists, natural scientists, and community members.

Anthropogenic climate change has led to increasingly negative events impacting rural Idaho and Montana. These events include intensifying wildfires and persistent drought that are decreasing both ecological and community resilience. Climate smart land management solutions offer a path to both climate benefits and increased ecological and community resilience. Through new and existing partnerships between the University of Idaho, the University of Montana, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and Salish Kootenai Tribal College, we will implement climate smart land management practices in forests and farms in the region. We will quantify the ecological, social, and economic impacts of the implemented solutions. Through this interdisciplinary and community-based effort we will provide: 1) improved knowledge on the efficacy and biogeochemical impacts of potential climate-smart management solutions, 2) novel, state-of-the-art methods for quantifying and predicting carbon storage potential (including field-based sample collection and process-based ecosystem modeling) for individual regions, 3) training and education programs for undergraduate, graduate, and early career scientists, including tailored recruitment and retention activities for underrepresented groups in STEM, 4) models for effective partnerships with practitioners and communities, 5) integration of Traditional Knowledge with Western Sciences, and 6) pathways that reduce barriers and risks identified by underserved and minority populations to adopt and implement climate-smart land management solutions.

We are recruiting a postdoc to work with two social scientists on qualitative data collection and analysis (1.5 years of funding with a competitive salary is available). This position will work with communities and conduct focus groups to assess local interest and knowledge in climate smart infrastructure and land management practices, identify barriers to implementation, and establish community relationships. The hired postdoc will also work with the team’s social scientists to analyze focus group data and to maintain community relationships through the duration of the project.

We encourage applicants with strong training and experience in qualitative research methods to apply. We also seek someone with existing relationships and/or experience working with indigenous communities.

Contact us with any questions. To apply email your CV and a cover letter to:

Kristin Haltinner [email protected]

Dianne Baumann [email protected]