Postdoctoral Researcher, Quantitative Methods

Oct 7, 2019 | University of Oulu
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The University of Oulu is one of the biggest and most multidisciplinary universities in Finland. We are an international science community working in close cooperation with research institutes, companies, and the public sector.  Together we form a globally significant research hub, relentlessly pushing the boundaries of known for a more sustainable and intelligent future.

The University is looking for a Postdoctoral Researcher in natural resource management specializing in quantitative methods at the Geography Research Unit. The post is a fixed-term position for three years. The successful candidate will be employed on the Academy of Finland-funded project Transparency in High-Value Natural Resource Management (TraReMa).

The announced postdoctoral position is an exciting opportunity for a quantitatively oriented early career researcher to contribute to research seeking to improve natural resource governance in resource-rich countries in the Global South. The TraReMa project seeks to identify steps in the process that leads from information disclosure to better resource governance, subject these steps to rigorous empirical testing and to develop a theory of change for the transparency process. The postdoc project will contribute to this research by examining transparency in management of valuable natural resources and their revenues at the sub-national level by conducting surveys, survey experiments and interviews in Ghana.

More information on the TraReMa project and postdoc project can be found at www.oulu.fi/geography/node/63229.

The Geography Research Unit has five key research focus areas: Regional Development and Regional Policy; Geoinformatics; Physical Geography; Regional and Political Geography; and Tourism Geographies (http://www.oulu.fi/geography/research/groups). The Unit coordinates presently the Academy of Finland’s “The Relational and Territorial Politics of Bordering, Identities and Transnationalization” (RELATE) Centre of Excellence. In addition, the Unit is part of the “Resource Extraction and Sustainable Arctic Communities” (REXSAC) Nordic Centre of Excellence in Arctic Research (https://www.rexsac.org/). According to Oulu University’s Research Assessment Exercise and international rankings (e.g. ARWU and QS-ranking) Geography Research Unit has been consistently one of the strongest units at the University of Oulu. Researchers working at the Unit have contributed substantially to international research and debates in several sub-fields of geography. The Research Unit offers a progressive, stimulating and international working environment.

Responsibilities

The postdoctoral researcher will be responsible for the following tasks:

  • Lead the research to be conducted in Ghana
  • Collect and analyze the research material as outlined in the document, which can be found as an attachment at www.oulu.fi/geography/node/63229
  • Publish articles in high quality journals
  • Contribute to and to work in close collaboration with the project team members, see https://tigreproject.weebly.com/
  • Disseminate research results through conference and workshop participation and other relevant outlets, including communication to user groups and the general public
  • Contribute to the organization of project activities (such as meetings, workshops and outreach events) and responsibilities (such as archiving research material)

Qualifications

The applicant must have solid and documented experience in relevant quantitative methods.

  • Insight and experience in qualitative methods will be considered as an advantage
  • Experience from fieldwork in the Global South will be considered as an advantage
  • It is considered an advantage if the applicant’s background/research is multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary
  • The candidate must demonstrate competence in academic publication through previous publications in good quality, peer-reviewed academic outlets
  • Finnish PhD or a foreign PhD equivalent to a Finnish PhD in geography or another relevant field is a prerequisite. Candidates who are close to completing their PhD thesis can also be considered.
  • A high standard of written English is a prerequisite

The salary will be based on level 5 of the demand level chart for teaching and research staff of Finnish universities. In addition, a salary component based on personal work performance will be paid (maximum of 50 % of the job-specific component). In practice, the overall salary range is 3400 ‐ 3700€ per month depending on the appointee’s qualification and experience.

Application

Applications must be written in English and must include:

  • An application cover letter that includes a statement of how the applicant’s research interests and background fit the announced post doc position (max. 2 pages)
  • A note that develops concreate ideas for the video treatments for the two experiments included in the postdoc project AND a short, but concrete publication plan by identifying for each proposed article the main theme, analysis material and target journal (max. 2 pages)
  • Publications and other relevant scientific work (max. 5)
  • CV
  • List of publications compiled in accordance with the instructions of the Academy of Finland https://www.aka.fi/en/funding/apply-for-funding/az-index-of-application-guidelines/list-of-publications/
  • Certificates and diplomas
  • Two letters of recommendation (sent directly from the referees to paivi.lujala(at)oulu.fi)
  • Co-authored scientific work will be evaluated only if the applicant has enclosed a description of what he/she has contributed to the joint work.

Short-listed candidates can be invited for an interview.

The position is filled as of 1. March 2020. A trial period 6 months is applied in the position.

Further details are available from the project leader, Professor Päivi Lujala (paivi.lujala@oulu.fi) Geography Research Unit, University of Oulu.

Apply online latest on 31. October, 2019.