Postdoctoral Fellow (Climate Change and Low Carbon Transformation)

Postdoctoral Fellow (Climate Change and Low Carbon Transformation)

Position:

The ISIS Research Centre at the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia is looking for a dynamic Postdoctoral Fellow to augment and advance their team working on low carbon economy transformation, business strategy responses to climate change, and emerging climate change policy in North America.

The position will involve research on the organizational, institutional, behavioral aspects of low carbon transformation. In particular this position involves continuing the development and coordination of a number of exclusive international workshops involving high-level decision-makers in a dialogue on creating transformative change to a low carbon future. Workshops aim to be held with partners in the UK, California, Canada and Australia. The postdoctoral fellow will build on strategic relationships already established with other top research institutes around the world and key government entities (e.g. foreign embassies). The candidate will be a central player in the thought processes, analysis and development of big picture questions on low carbon transformation using interaction with leading thinkers and doers in the emerging low carbon landscape. Outstanding team playing, interpersonal and communication skills are a must for this varied and interdisciplinary work.

In return, the post holder will gain exposure to leading scholars, innovators and participants in transformative low carbon action in one of the most progressive climate jurisdictions in the world. They will join a fast growing dynamic group, and work with a team of enthusiastic business and sustainability researchers across a number of disciplines. They will have the opportunity to be strategic in their research and creative in their outputs (e.g. TED talks, CEO briefings, peer-review papers). The postdoctoral fellow will also contribute to ISIS outputs associated with policy briefings and regular news items on climate change in association with the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions. The candidate will be based at ISIS offices in downtown Vancouver with excellent access to both professional networks and the outstanding quality of life aspects that Vancouver offers.

Required:

-       A recent doctoral graduate (within the last 5 years) holding a PhD (or equivalent) in economics, social science, management strategy, organizational behavior, geography, global environmental governance (with focus on non-nation state actors), corporate responsibility and/or sustainability.

-       A firm understanding of climate change policy and its relationship to low carbon business activity (for example, through carbon markets and carbon offsets, decarbonization through cleantech investment, etc.), and a specialization in theory and practice within business, carbon markets, investment, carbon governance or combination thereof.

-       Excellent communication in verbal, written and visual forms.

-       Outstanding inter-personal skills and ability to build relationships with internal and external stakeholders, academic and non-academic partners, board level corporate executives and government policy makers. Ability to ‘engage and include’ is a must for this post.

-       Strong project management skills, including ability to coordinate and implement events across multiple time zones and institutions.

-       Ability to independently raise funding for research projects.

-       Ability to work as part of a team both in person and through digital communication with internal and external stakeholders (e.g. through Skype) whilst also maintaining ability to take initiative and work independently.

-       Have some knowledge of at least two of the following: British Columbia climate policy, Western Climate Initiative, California climate policy, UNFCCC processes, emerging work of non state actors (e.g. Carbon Disclosure Project) in Canada, British Columbia, the UK, California, Australia.

-       Ability to work across intellectual, professional and sectoral boundaries, including with groups of multidisciplinary scholars and MBAs.

-       Experience in the private sector is desired but not required.

-       Ability to travel when required (no more than 20% of time).

Salary and benefits:

Salary for this position is CDN$60,000 per annum. Postdoctoral fellows are considered faculty at the University of British Columbia and receive generous health, dental and vacation benefits.

Apply:

We will begin reviewing applications on 14 January 2011, and will fill the position as soon as possible thereafter. Interested applicants please send 1) a resume, and 2) a cover letter explaining how they fit the application criteria and their reasons for interest in the post. Early applications are especially welcome. To apply, please send materials to ISIS@sauder.ubc.ca, and cc: adam.bumpus@sauder.ubc.ca, neil.thomson@sauder.ubc.ca. For further information please also use these contacts. UBC is an equal opportunities employer.

About ISIS:

Our mission is to develop and incubate viable solutions through applied research to pressing social and environmental challenges facing the world. Our vision is to become a world-class research centre that establishes Canadian leadership in the field of social innovation and sustainability. Work at ISIS ranges from teams working on First Nations development to green real estate to climate intelligence.