[ES_JOBS_NET] Post-doctoral Research Associate - Modeling Health Resilience, University of Virginia

[Pusede, Sally Ellen (sep6a)]

School of Architecture
Center for Design and Health
University of Virginia

Post-doctoral Research Associate

1. Introduction

We are a recruiting a Research Associate to work on a 1 year funded project on health resilience, funded by the Office of the Vice President for Research, University of Virginia.  This is an inter-disciplinary collaboration between the Center of Design and Health and the Schools of Nursing, Medicine, Sociology, Social Psychology and Environmental Sciences designed to develop a new synergistic vision of health resilience. The proposed start date is flexible between Spring to Summer 2016, 9 to 12 months depending on starting salary, full time, with the possibility of flexible working for candidates nearing completion of their PhD.

The researcher will be required to catalyze thinking amongst an inter-disciplinary team in order to develop an operational concept model of health resilience, the testing of which will form the basis of federal and/or foundation grant applications.  The post holder will be required to work collaboratively with the lead and co-partners in developing the model in early stages of the post, and then focus on generating funding proposal(s).  The post will be based in the Center for Design and Health in the School of Architecture but will require close liaison with other departments.

2. The Center

The Center was set up in 2010 to pursue cross-disciplinary research to advance the design and planning of patient-centered medical facilities alongside healthy neighborhoods, towns, and cities. In the first 5 years of its inception, the Center largely acted as a ‘catalyst’ for research by leveraging small amounts of seed funding or start-up funds to help support new projects and research across Grounds.  Over the next five years, the Center is embarking on an ambitious program of research that aims to transform thinking in relation to design and health that is designed to both grow the Center and build research revenue University-wide.

3. The Role

The appointee will work with the team to develop a model of community resilience that is aimed a transforming thinking across health and its determinants and the social and physical sciences. The model is intended to change how health resilience is conceptualized, operationalized and measured within the context of healthy, sustainable urban development. Key questions include: What constitutes a flourishing resilient community? How can it be measured? What are the individual, social, environmental and structural attributes that constitute community resilience? How can “resilient thinking” be applied to develop a new model of community health resilience?

Tasks:

• To carry out a literature review scoping existing theory and applications in the field of health resilience.
• To synthesise inter-disciplinary ideas and develop a conceptual models for further dialogue and development with the team.
• To set up, organise and attend team meetings, and build proactive and sustained inter-disciplinary dialogue across the team.
• To initiate and develop follow-on grant application(s).
• To establish and co-ordinate an advisory panel of community experts from Charlottesville, which will convene three times over the year.
• To write academic paper(s) and disseminate knowledge output.

Skills required (essential):

• PhD (or near completion) in a relevant discipline.
• Experience in working in mixed-disciplinary contexts.
• Experience in conducting academic literature reviews and the ability to critically analyse and identify key conceptual models from the resilience literature.
• Experience in research design and theoretical design modeling.
• Experience in grant writing for federal and/or foundation bodies.
• Ability to work independently and in close collaboration with the full academic team.
• Good project and team management skills.
• Experience in dissemination of scholarly work via conferences, peer-reviewed journal publication output or equivalent level research outputs.
• Good verbal and graphic presentation skills for dissemination activities to lay public.

Skills (desirable):

• Experience of working with community health experts and in co-ordinating community advisory boards.
• Statistical skills in manipulating health data to show relationships between the built environment and health outcomes.
• Experience of working in diverse populations.

Salary is in the range of $34,000 to $45,00 depending on experience and current salary.  The post is full time for 9 to 12 months depending on salary, with x days of holiday.   The post holder will report to Jenny Roe.

Informal enquires to:

Professor Jenny Roe, DeShong Professor in Design and Health, Director for Center for Design and Health.
Tel:  (434) 982 4567
Email: jjr4b at viriginia.edu

Making your application:

Applications should by letter, stating clearly how you meet the job specification and your interest in this post, together with a current c.v. emailed to Jenny Roe by  31st  March  2016 at the latest.   Please supply the names and contact details of two referees able to comment on your suitability for the role, including your current supervisor or line manager. Interviews will be conducted in early April, 2016.
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