Staff Openings

RESEARCH FELLOW

Market Title: RESEARCH FELLOW Posting#: 240455

Department: School of Social Work

FLSA Status: Exempt

Effort: 0% PART-TIME

Work Schedule:

Application Instructions: All applicants must submit a cover letter and resume to be considered for this position. In order for the Career Portal system to accept a cover letter please include a cover letter as a page of your resume document.

SPECIFIC JOB DUTIES
Description
The Parenting in Context Research Lab (https://www.parentingincontext.org/) within the School of Social Work at the University of Michigan is accepting applications for one postdoctoral fellowship position to begin in September 2024. The Parenting in Context Research Lab is seeking a candidate whose interests include child abuse and neglect, child maltreatment prevention, and parent-child relationships (especially the role of fathers and father figures). The fellowship position is for an initial one-year appointment and the option for renewal for a second year if the fellow is making good progress towards the goals of the position.

The post-doctoral fellow will be mentored by the Parenting in Context Research Lab Director, Professor Shawna J. Lee. Dr. Lee’s research examines parenting processes and child wellbeing using a variety of methodologies and approaches, including secondary data analysis, primary data collection, and quantitative and mixed methods approaches. Dr. Lee’s evaluation work is community-based and utilizes community-based participatory approaches.

Current research projects include:
Global Perspectives on Gender Inequality, Parental Violence, and Child Development, using UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) data, and funded by NICHD-R15 grant (PI: Julie Ma, from the University of Michigan, Flint; Co-investigators: Shawna Lee and Andrew Grogan-Kaylor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor);
Building Strong Families (previously funded by a NICHD R15 grant) studies to examine transactional family processes related to father involvement (more here: https://www.parentingincontext.org/transactional-processes-supporting-father-involvement.html).

Dr. Lee is also faculty director of the Program Evaluation Group (PEG) at the UM-SSW (more here: https://ssw.umich.edu/offices/program-evaluation) so there are opportunities to advance a research agenda that is focused on the implementation and evaluation of projects related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), evaluation of interventions to reduce food insecurity, and evaluation within the state child welfare system.
The central focus of this postdoctoral training opportunity will be to advance the research agenda in one of the domains addressed above (MICS, BSF, or PEG research). The postdoctoral scholar will work with Dr. Lee as well as other collaborators and doctoral students involved with the Parenting in Context Research Lab. The postdoctoral fellow will be involved in supporting the research described above, while developing their own independent research agenda.

Fellows will have full access to resources available through the School of Social Work and the University of Michigan – a rich interdisciplinary environment with seminars, invited lectures, and opportunities for collaboration with faculty across disciplines and departments.

The postdoctoral position offers a stipend, health insurance benefits, and funds for travel and professional development. We seek a diverse pool of outstanding applicants who will contribute to the School’s diversity, equity and inclusion agenda to join this important university-wide effort.

Additional Information
We also encourage our applicants to consider the University of Michigan Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship. This University-wide fellowship is facilitated by the University of Michigan ADVANCE Program and supports exceptional scholars whose research, teaching, and service will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in higher education. Fellowships are 12 month appointments, renewable for one year, and fellows are encouraged to apply for available tenure-track openings in the School of Social Work during their term of appointment. We are particularly interested in scholars with the potential to bring to their research and teaching the critical perspective that comes from their non-traditional educational background or understanding of the experiences of groups historically underrepresented in higher education. Applicants for the School of Social Work should have an MSW degree and an earned doctorate in social work or a related field. They must select up to two faculty mentors from the School of Social Work and include a letter from the mentors in the application package. Additional information and application instructions may be found at https://presidentspostdoc.umich.edu/.

Application to the Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship with faculty mentor letter is due on November 1, 2023.

Required Qualifications
PhD in Social Work or a related discipline from an accredited academic program.
Experience with, and strong interest in, quantitative data analysis and secondary data analysis.
Experience with Stata statistical software.
Effective communicator with excellent interpersonal skills.
Able to work independently as well as with a group.
Detail oriented.
Ability to manage multiple tasks.
Exceptional time-management skills.
A commitment to supporting a welcoming, affirming and inclusive climate.