Temporary Position Opening: Lead Researcher for
Organic Farming Research Foundation
Description:
The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) seeks a Lead Researcher
to conduct a comprehensive review of U.S., Canadian, and European
scientific literature on the environmental and social impacts of organic
agriculture including economic impacts on farms and society as a whole
("multifunctionality"). The Lead Researcher will produce an
approximately 40-page report on the potential multiple benefits of
organic agriculture in North America with specific policy and research
recommendations and an annotated bibliography.
Duties:
- Develop a timeline for research and report
completion within project budget and overall project timeline
- Hire and direct
research assistants to help compile the bibliography
- Assess
the quality of available literature and select the most rigorous
citations to use in the analysis
- Analyze the content of
published literature to generate an assessment of the environmental,
social, and economic impacts of organicagriculture
- Use
this analysis to draft research and policy recommendations
- Incorporate
comments from reviewers into final document as appropriate
- Identify
areas where there are gaps in the published data and recommend areas of
future research
The successful candidate
for the Lead Researcher position will work with OFRF staff
and an advisory committee comprised of scientists and communications
specialists throughout the project. Specialists identified by the
advisory committee,
staff, and the Lead Researcher will review preliminary
drafts of
the report.
Qualifications:
- Demonstrated experience in conducting academic
research and analysis
- Excellent writing and other
communication skills
- Familiarity
with organic agriculture and concepts related to "multifunctionality"
such as ecosystem services, assessing externalized costs of production,
agricultural life cycle analyses
- Experience
managing support staff
- Experience working with a team
- Demonstrated
ability to work within tight timelines and stay on schedule
- Openness to
external review and critique of one's work
The
Lead Researcher will have the opportunity to present a draft version of
the report at the Tri Societies Annual Conference in early November
2010.
This will be a contracted
position with compensation for completion being $21,000. An additional
budget of $9,000 is available to support research assistants. The
project may be managed from a location other than Santa Cruz if
necessary.
Applications will be due to OFRF June 18, 2010. The
position will begin July. Project completion is expected to be March 2011.
To apply: Interested and
qualified candidates should submit a cover letter, résumé, curriculum
vitae, and writing samples relevant to the qualifications outlined
above. Please send applications via email by June 18, 2010, to Maureen
Wilmot, [log in to unmask].
For confidential related inquiries or additional information, phone
Maureen Wilmot at 831-426-6606.
