Senior Scientist, Pardee Institute for International Futures – Josef Korbel School

Position description

The Frederick S. Pardee Institute for International Futures is the home of long-term forecasting and global trend analysis at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies. International Futures (IFs) is a large-scale, long-term, integrated global modeling system that represents demographic, economic, health, energy, agriculture, education, infrastructure, socio-political, environmental, and international politics subsystems for 188 countries interacting in the global system. The Pardee Institute works heavily on sponsored research projects with various government institutions, international organizations, NGOs, and to a lesser extent, private sector clients.  

The Pardee Institute is committed to building a culturally diverse faculty and staff who, in turn, are committed to working in a pluralistic environment.

Position Summary

This is a senior, high-level research position within Pardee. The senior scientist plays a crucial role in advancing Pardee’s research agenda, contributing to knowledge generation, and informing policy and practice in relevant areas of social science. The senior scientist provides expertise in research, conceptualization, and development of computing models to support the Pardee Institute’s IFs platform.

The senior scientist reports directly to the Institute Director, with a dotted line to the Director of Operations. As senior staff, the senior scientist is regarded as a strategic advisor on research direction setting and as a key contributor to building internal capacity for wide-ranging and sophisticated research using IFs. The senior scientist is accountable for deliverables and deadlines on all projects and tasks that they are assigned to lead.

This is a non-benefited, soft money funded position not to exceed 1,000 hours in a calendar year.

Essential Functions 

• Communication and Timeliness: Communicate regularly and often with the Director and Director of Operations on individual and team work-plan progress. Communicate regularly and often with project team members on progress and as developments arise.  Meet deadlines consistently.
• Collaboration: Foster and contribute to building a collaborative research environment that encourages the exchange of ideas and direction setting.
• Model Development: Develop and expand core areas of the IFs platform.
• Software Development: Design and develop user interfaces for the IFs model; set up IFs development system; troubleshoot system.
• Data Analysis: Analyze data collected from research projects using statistical or qualitative analysis techniques, depending on the nature of the research.
• Publication and Dissemination: Contribute to the publication of research findings in academic journals, books, briefs, reports, or other written deliverables. May also present findings at conferences or seminars to disseminate knowledge within the academic community and beyond.
• Research Design and Implementation: Lead or and contribute to the design of research projects, including developing research questions, selecting methodologies, and designing data collection instruments.
• Grant Writing and Funding Acquisition: Help secure funding for research projects by writing grant proposals and seeking funding opportunities from government agencies, private foundations, or other sources.
• Supervision and Mentoring: May supervise junior researchers, providing guidance and mentorship to help them develop their research skills and advance their careers.
• Collaboration and Networking: Collaborate with colleagues within the research center as well as with external partners such as other research institutions, government agencies, or nonprofit organizations to facilitate interdisciplinary research and knowledge exchange.
• Policy Engagement: Engage with policymakers and stakeholders to translate research findings into actionable policy recommendations or to influence public discourse on relevant social issues.
• Strategic Planning: Contribute to strategic planning initiatives within the research center, helping to set research priorities, define objectives, and allocate resources effectively.

Qualifications

• Expertise in developing the International Futures model.
• Knowledgeable with advanced statistical analysis (or with demonstrated ability to become knowledgeable), with an ability to apply techniques to real-world data and produce analysis for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong project management skills, including (but not limited to): tracking and communicating progress of toward milestones/deliverables; coordinating multiple tasks toward completion, communicating and managing expectations with subordinates and supervisors; and effective resource management.
• Excellent technical writing skills.
• Ability to create professional quality presentations and visualizations on relevant research products.
• Ability to organize and efficiently manipulate data in Microsoft Excel.
• Strong communication skills. Anticipates, understands, and meets the communication needs of colleagues, clients, and audiences; quick to communicate knowledge of new developments that could impact deliverables, timing, resourcing, direction, etc.
• Careful attention to detail; demonstrated ability to thoroughly check and validate their own work and collaborative works.
• Excellent time management; ability to respond to changing circumstances quickly and effectively.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Development Economics, Environmental Policy, International Relations, Political Science, Demography, Economics, Public Policy, or related field.
• 15+ years of experience in high quality social science research related to international development, security, or the environment using quantitative methods.
• Supervisory experience of hourly employees and/or students.
• Experience developing integrated assessment models.

Preferred Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in high quality social science research using IFs.

Work Schedule

Our regular hours of operation are Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time. Work hours are typically flexible and must align with our regular hours of operation when requested. This position is fully remote. On occasion, the senior scientist is expected to travel onsite and elsewhere, as needed.

Application Deadline

For consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) July 19, 2024.

Special Instructions

Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.

Hourly Range

The hourly range for this position is $58.00 – $60.00 per hour.

 

Application instructions

Please be sure to indicate you saw this position on tendersglobal.net