Post Doctoral Research Associate in Environmental Social Science

Position Description: Seeking a candidate with a strong disciplinary background in psychology, communications, behavioral economics, or decision science and some knowledge of agriculture and/or environmental science. The ideal candidate will have core theoretical interests in modeling behavioral complexity in integrated systems research, with a focus on farmer land use/management decisions. The candidate must also have strong quantitative analytical skills, experience with leading statistical packages (i.e., SPSS, SAS, R, LISREL/AMOS), a demonstrated ability to prepare/author manuscripts, and a demonstrated ability to work as part of an interdisciplinary research team. Knowledge of GIS is also desirable, but not required for this position. The candidate will work independently but under the supervision of Dr. Robyn Wilson, and have the opportunity to collaborate with one of the country’s largest faculty groups in the Environmental Social Sciences (http://ess.osu.edu) as part of the Environmental and Social Sustainability Lab.

Detailed Job Description: The candidate will conduct new research related to farmer land use/management decisions in response to uncertain climate, market and policy conditions (projects funded by USDA, NSF and US EPA). Specifically, the candidate will 1) conduct focus groups, surveys, and choice experiments aimed at understanding farmer decision making in response to risk and uncertainty at multiple scales, 2) integrate the newfound understanding of behavioral complexity at the watershed scale into integrated models, 3) review relevant literature in order to prepare manuscripts related to farmer decision making in the food-energy-water context; 4) conduct secondary data analysis on existing data sets, 5) prepare presentations and present findings at local, regional and national meetings; and 6) prepare general summary reports for public dissemination.

Essential Duties 45% Conducts new research (i.e., surveys, focus groups, interviews and behavioral experiments). 20% Conducts literature reviews and develops manuscripts. 15% Analyzes existing survey data sets. 10% Writes general summary reports for public dissemination. 10% Other duties (e.g., working with graduate/honors students, administering stakeholder advisory committees, preparing and delivering presentations at local, state and national meetings). Required Education/Experience • PhD in a relevant social science discipline, or applied natural resources management; • Experience conducing quantitative social science research and data analysis; • Experience in the preparation of technical reports and research manuscripts; • Successful completion of a criminal background check is required.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion: The Ohio State University is committed to establishing a culturally and intellectually diverse environment, and encouraging all members of our learning community to reach their full potential. We are responsive to dual-career families and strongly promote work-life balance to support our community members through a suite of institutionalized policies. We are an NSF Advance Institution and a member of the Ohio/Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia Higher Education Recruitment Consortium. The Ohio State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Qualified women, minorities, Vietnam-era veterans, disabled veterans, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Salary/Support: Salary is dependent on qualifications and experience. The Ohio State University offers one of the most comprehensive benefits packages in the nation, which includes medical, dental, vision, and life insurance; tuition authorization; paid vacation and sick leave; ten paid holidays; and State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS) or an Alternative Retirement Program.

Application: Send a curriculum vita and a letter of interest summarizing your qualifications, areas of expertise, research interests, and career goals. Please include a statement addressing how you match our required and/or preferred qualifications. Also include in the application packet digital copies of or links to three relevant publications. Provide contact information for three qualified references but do not have letters of recommendation sent until we request that you do so. This is a 2-year position with the potential to renew. Application materials (with the exception of letters of recommendation, which will be requested later) should be sent in a single PDF file as an email attachment to Dr. Robyn Wilson, Associate Professor at Wilson.1376@osu.edu.

Initial consideration will be given to applications received by August 30, 2017. Preferred start date is January 1, 2018, but may be contingent on the location of the successful applicant. Review of applications will continue until the position has been filled.