Position: 

The Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) in Arizona Institute for Resilience at the University of Arizona is hiring a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join a NOAA-funded project investigating long-term wildfire recovery of frontline communities in the American West.

The primary focus of this research is to identify the long-term wildfire recovery needs of rural communities through engagement with social workers and public health providers in communities recovering from the impacts of wildfire in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. In addition to contributing to qualitative research, the post-doctoral candidate will also co-lead community workshops to support a cross-regional community of practice for social service and public health providers supporting wildfire recovery.

This project is a collaboration between two NOAA Climate Adaptation Program Teams: the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) and the Western Water Assessment (WWA). NOAA CAP teams engage in collaborative and applied research to help communities build lasting and equitable climate resilience. The successful candidate will be based at the University of Arizona with PI Dr. Christina Greene and will collaborate with Dr. Katie Clifford at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The appointment year to year with a duration of for 18 months. CLIMAS

The Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) – a NOAA funded partnership between the University of Arizona, the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, and New Mexico State University—has been working with stakeholders from the private sector, academia, local, state, federal, and tribal government since 1998 to help bring the best-available knowledge to challenges related to weather and climate in the Southwest.

Outstanding UA benefits include health, dental, vision, and life insurance; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UA/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; access to UA recreation and cultural activities; and more!

The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs. For more information about working at the University of Arizona and relocations services, please click here.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Coordinate and conduct interviews, and focus groups with community-based organizations, government agencies, and social service providers in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado
•     Contribute to qualitative data analysis.
• Co-lead workshops with collaborators and community members to identify lessons learned on social infrastructure and wildfire recovery.
• Maintain and extend relationships with colleagues, communities, and networks.
• Contribute to project outputs, including reports, peer-reviewed publications, and presentations for academic and public audiences.
•     Additional duties may be assigned.

Knowledge, skills & abilities:

•     Knowledge and understanding of qualitative research methods, including surveys, focus groups, and semi-structured interviews
•  Ability to work independently and collaboratively
• Excellent written and oral communication for academic and public audiences
• Knowledge of theoretical literature on rural inequality, social infrastructure and social services, and human dimensions of wildfire in the American West.
• Expertise in qualitative data collection and analysis.

Minimum Qualifications:

• A Ph.D. degree in Geography, Environmental Studies, Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work, Public Health, or a related field upon hire.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience and skills in collaborative research and community engagement.
• Experience working with a variety of community-based partners in rural communities.
• Experience writing stakeholder reports and peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Experience in planning and conducting workshops.