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Research Chair – Indigenous Youth Mental Health and Wellness

Employer
THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA - OKANAGAN CAMPUS
Location
Kelowna, British Columbia (CA)
Closing date
28 Feb 2020

University of British Columbia – Okanagan Campus
Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences (IKBSAS)   
 
Canadian Institutes of Health Research Tier 2 Canada Research Chair – Indigenous Youth Mental Health and Wellness Job Opening ID #36596 

 
The Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, located on unceded Syilx territory, invites applications from exceptional emerging scholars for a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Indigenous Youth Mental Health and Wellness. The successful candidate will be eligible to hold an appointment at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor, tenure track.   
 
This Chair responds to Indigenous youth and their communities in Canada who will identify youth mental wellbeing as priorities for enhancing community wellbeing, and to the need for Indigenous authority and approaches to the promotion of Indigenous wellbeing. A Chair in Indigenous Youth Mental Health and Wellness will help to address the Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s Calls to Action in addressing Indigenous health and wellbeing, recognizing the value of Indigenous health practices, and increasing the number of Indigenous healthcare researchers. The appointment will work to decolonize Indigenous health research and will support efforts to overcome colonial legacies of health injustice and inequity that affect Indigenous youth and communities.   
 
The desired program of research will use Indigenous, holistic, and ethical approaches to mental wellbeing, to work with, and promote and value the strengths of Indigenous peoples for selfdetermination through efforts to reclaim and revitalize Indigenous health approaches, knowledges, and/or practices. The Chair will partner with Indigenous Peoples, people, communities, and/or associations, employ Indigenous approaches, protocols, and methodologies to their research, and will seek decolonial transformation of health (or health-related) systems and/or determinants. The candidate’s research program must center on the mental wellbeing of youth but the specific focus is open, and could include culturally relevant/culturally safe care with established and/or new collaborations with Indigenous traditions/healers/practitioners/practices, the healthcare system, community health, land-based activities, MMIWG, inter-generational trauma and trauma-informed care, disability, and we welcome traditional strength-based and medicalized areas of focus, such as suicide, addictions, or depression.   
 
Applicants are expected to have a Ph.D., a strong background in Indigenous Studies, Psychology, Social Work, or a related field, a track record of success in research scholarship and research funding, and demonstrated evidence of success, or potential ability for success, in teaching. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated a strong commitment to Indigenous knowledges and methodologies and a record of sustained engagement and/or lived experience with Indigenous communities and organizations in Canada and/or in comparative contexts. The successful candidate will be expected to lead an independent research program that complements existing expertise in Indigenous philosophies, identities, and Indigenous health with potential to achieve international recognition in their field in the next five to ten years, participate in graduate and undergraduate teaching in Indigenous studies and related topics, and provide service within the University and to the academic and broader community. Supervision of graduate students, especially to enhance opportunities for Indigenous students in the area of Indigenous health, will be an important aspect of the Chair. The Chair will have the opportunity to contribute to curriculum development specific to area of expertise. We seek candidates who will address Indigenization of the academy through an antioppression, anti-racism, anti-misogyny, anti-violence, and decolonial lens.   
 
In assessing applications, UBC recognizes the legitimate impact that leaves (e.g. maternity leave, leave due to illness) can have on a candidate’s record of research achievement. These leaves will be taken into careful consideration during the assessment process.  
 
The Chair is subject to review and final approval by the CRC Secretariat. Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements for a CRC Tier 2 position. Tier 2 Chairs are intended for exceptional emerging scholars (i.e., candidates must have been an active researcher in their field for fewer than 10 years at the time of nomination). Applicants who are more than 10 years from having earned their highest degree (and where career breaks exist, such as maternity, paternity, or extended sick leave, clinical training, etc) may have their eligibility for a Tier 2 Chair assessed through the program’s Tier 2 justification process. Please contact the UBC CRC office at ubc.crc@ubc.ca for more information. Please consult the Canada Research Chairs website at www.chairs.gc.ca for full program information, including further information on eligibility criteria.      
 
The appointee will be joining a community of scholars in Indigenous Studies whose work focuses on Indigenous epistemologies and is intercultural, interdisciplinary, hemispheric, and global in reach. While the Chair will be located in Indigenous Studies, an important intent of the Chair is to foster interdisciplinary research across Indigenous Studies, Anthropology, Psychology, Nursing, and/or Social Work. The Indigenous Studies Program is housed in the Department of Community, Culture, and Global Studies in the Irving K Barber School of Arts and Sciences (IKBSAS). The Program provides students with opportunities to locate their learning within its dual focus on decolonizing non-Indigenous notions of Indigeneity and strengthening contemporary revitalization of Indigenous knowledge and praxis. The Program uniquely situates research focused in knowledges of the Syilx Okanagan. The IKBSAS offers both discipline-based and interdisciplinary programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The collegial learning environment focuses on effective teaching, critical and creative scholarship, and the integration of scholarship and teaching.   
 
UBC is one of the world’s leading universities, and is consistently ranked in the top 40. The university has two distinct campuses, one in Vancouver and one in Kelowna. The Okanagan campus has undergraduate and graduate programs, with over 9,000 students in seven faculties including 540 Aboriginal students. Situated in the heart of the Okanagan Valley, one of the most scenic regions in Canada, it offers an intimate learning environment and excellent opportunities for regional, national, and international scholarly activities. We are committed to an ethos of local involvement, global engagement, and intercultural awareness, and we provide a positive, inclusive, and mutually supportive working and learning environment for all our students, faculty, and staff. UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan (July 2018) includes areas of action to promote Indigenous research and curriculum and to support Indigenous faculty and students; see http://aboriginal-2.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2018/07/ISP-Draft-19072018.pdf. To learn about the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Science, go to http://www.ubc.ca/okanagan/ikbarberschool/welcome.html. For more information about UBC resources and opportunities, please visit http://www.hr.ubc.ca/faculty-staff-resources/. Information about the surrounding community can be found at: http://www.hr.ubc.ca/worklife-relocation/.  
 
In accordance with UBC’s CRC Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Action Plan, and pursuant to Section 42 of the BC Human Rights code, the selection will be restricted to members of the following designated groups: women, visible minorities (members of groups that are racially categorized), persons with disabilities, and Indigenous Peoples. Preference will be given to Indigenous candidates. Applicants to Canada Research Chair positions are asked to complete this equity survey    as part of the application, and candidates from these groups must self-identify as belonging to one or more of the designated equity groups to be considered for the position. Because the search is limited to those self-identifying as members of designated equity groups, candidates must also provide their name to be considered. Equity survey link: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6WJHol7SfPxRMu9.    
Personal information is collected under the authority of sections 26(a) and 26(c) of the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The information you provide will only be used to determine whether you qualify for participation in this hiring process. Data will be collected by the Equity & Inclusion Office and only the names of those who identify as women, visible minorities (member of groups that are racially categorized) and/or Indigenous Peoples will be shared with the search committee. Currently, UBC has a gap in representation for people with disabilities. Until such time as this is remedied, the names of those self-identifying as having a disability will be provided separately to the search committee. Responses will be stored in a secure database. 

How to Apply: Applications are submitted in one continuous PDF file online at http://www.facultycareers.ubc.ca/36596 (Job Opening ID# 36596) and should include: (i) a cover letter, addressed to Dr. Sue Frohlick (Head – Community, Culture, and Global Studies); (ii) a curriculum vitae; (iii) a statement of a 5-year research program (up to 4 pages); (iv) a statement on teaching interests and accomplishments (up to 2 pages); (v) evidence of teaching effectiveness (e.g., teaching/course evaluations);  (vii) a 1-page diversity statement (i.e. experience working within a diverse environment and your contributions to creating/advancing a culture of equity and inclusion on campus); and, (viii) letters of reference from three arm’s length referees to be sent under separate cover, addressed to the committee chair, Dr. Frohlick, and sent care of Michele Bjornson, administrative assistant, to ccgs.okanagan@ubc.ca before February 28, 2020.  

Applications must be submitted online on the UBC Careers website. Please do not submit applications by email. Reference letters only are submitted by email.  

Inquiries may be directed to Dr. Sue Frohlick at: susan.frohlick@ubc.ca. All correspondence must indicate the competition title (CIHR CRC Indigenous Youth Mental Health and Wellness) in the subject line of the e-mail.  
UBC welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities.

The University is also committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and equitable work environment for all members of its workforce, and in particular, for its employees with disabilities.  An inclusive work environment for employees with disabilities presumes an environment where differences are accepted, recognized and integrated into current structures, planning and decision-making models.  For contact information regarding UBC’s accommodations and access polies and resources, please visit the Centre for Accessibility website at: https://facultystaff.students.ubc.ca/student-development-services/centreaccessibility/faculty-and-staff-disabilities.
 

Further, accommodations are available on request for all candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. To confidentially request accommodations, please contact Michele Bjornson, administrative assistant, at ccgs.okanagan@ubc.ca.   

Review of applications will begin February 28, 2020 and will continue until the position is filled. The anticipated start date for this position is July 1, 2020 or upon a date to be mutually agreed.  

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on the grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Métis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.  

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