Position Focus:

Seeking a Research Associate to supervise some of the activities of a grant from The JPB Foundation. The grant funds the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative (JEDSI) at the Yale School for Environment (YSE). The Research Associate will focus on the portion of the JEDSI that examines equity and institutional diversity. Though racial and ethnic minorities constitute more than a third of the U.S. population they comprise less than 16% of the staff of environmental nonprofits, environmental agencies, and environmental grantmaking foundations. Moreover, very few minorities occupy senior staff positions or top leadership positions in these organizations. Lack of racial and ethnic diversity is also apparent when one examines diversity in college environmental programs. Such programs enroll a low percentage of domestic minority students and the percentage of faculty and research scientists of color in these schools and departments is miniscule. JEDSI supports the continued development of two pathway programs that the principal investigator, Dorceta E. Taylor of YSE, operates. They are the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program (DDCSP) and the Environmental Fellows Program (EFP). The former provides two summers internship for undergraduates while the latter provides a one-summer internship for graduate students. The internships are usually awarded to students who are historically underrepresented in the environmental field. JEDSI also provides post-program support for DDCSP and EFP participants as well as stakeholders who are interested in enhancing diversity in the environmental workforce. Hence, JEDSI hosts the New Horizons in Conservation Conference – an annual gathering of students, faculty, staff of environmental organizations, and staff of environmental philanthropies. The Research Associate will help to conduct and disseminate research on institutional diversity in environmental organizations, assist with the administration of the EFP, support the programming of DDCSP, and help to organize the New Horizons in Conservation Conference.

To help advance institutional diversity through developing and managing research and pipeline development activities for the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative (JEDSI).

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Lead the development of and conduct institutional diversity research on environmental organizations.
• Supervise the work of the DDCSP Program Administrator and student research assistants. Having a strong understanding of their projects, will identify and provide resources, and directing their work to keep them on task and on track for completion.
• Manages the data collection, inputting, and analysis for the project(s).
• Collaborates on the creation tracking, and maintenance of research databases.
• Manages the tracking and organizing of research activities.
• Partners with the Principle Investigator to conduct literature reviews and prepare drafts of scholarly publications.
• Oversee communications with all members of the program team, as well as across programs to ensure teamwork and collaboration.
• Update and maintain project websites.
• Assist the Environmental Fellows Program Manager with program activities.
• Oversee the planning the New Horizons in Conservation Conference.
• Track conference expenses and help to manage the New Horizons Conference budget.
• May perform other duties as assigned.

Applicants will need to submit the following when applying: a cover letter, resume or curriculum vita, transcript – from your most advanced degree, a writing sample that showcases your scholarly writing – preferably 10-25 pages in length and sole-authored as well as names and contacts (telephone number and email) of three references.

Essential Duties

1. Carries out research within the scope of the established study protocol. Adheres to all human subjects regulations as defined by Yale University and the federal government that pertain to research studies.
2. Develops criteria for admission of study subjects based on goals and objectives of project.
3. Determines potential sources of funding and prospective partnerships.
4. Evaluates feasibility of accepting potential projects through analysis of staffing needs, resource requirements, financial costs, and current planned capacity of group. Negotiates contracts and/or changes with funder.
5. Develops original HIC/IRB submissions.  Based on knowledge of science and research goals, collaborates with PIs on major revisions and contributes to scientific protocols.  Plans and implements changes.
6. Develops forms, questionnaires and the application of research techniques; writes procedures manuals for data collection and coding.
7. Responsible for the documentation and transmission of study data.  Ensures that report forms are accurately documented and completed in a timely manner at each site location.
8. Works independently to develop manage and organize multi site studies.  Serves as primary coordinator between University, non-Yale collaborators, pharmaceutical companies, HIC, IRB and funding sources.
9. Performs descriptive and multivariate statistical analyses of data, using computer software.
10. Designs and implements quality control measures to ensure accurate collection and processing of data.
11. Contributes in-depth, original thought and relevance to written reports and to the writing of abstracts and manuscripts.

Required Education and Experience

Master’s Degree in a related discipline and two years of experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Required Skill/Ability 1:

Strong oral and written communication skills with exceptional attention to detail.

Required Skill/Ability 2:

Excellent advocacy skills. Ability to travel domestically. Ability to work some evenings and weekends.

Required Skill/Ability 3:

Spatial analysis (with GIS or similar software).

Required Skill/Ability 4:

Statistical analysis (with SPSS, R, SAS, or similar software); ability to do qualitative and quantitative analyses.

Required Skill/Ability 5:

Research methodology for the purpose of interviewing, focus groups, community-based participatory research and surveys.

Preferred Education, Experience and Skills:

Master's/PhD Env Studies, Env Sciences, Conservation, Biology, Geography, Env Policy, Env Justice, Urban Planning, Ind Ecology, or Pub Health. Advanced in institutional diversity, equity, and inclusion, budgeting, managing multiple complex processes and projects, developing relationships with diverse constituents, Word, Excel, PP, SPSS, ArcGIS, and other web-based tools.

Weekend Hours Required?

Occasional

Evening Hours Required?

Occasional

Drug Screen

No

Health Screening

No

Background Check Requirements

All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. Please visit www.yale.edu/hronline/careers/screening/faqs.html for additional information on the background check requirements and process.

Posting Disclaimer

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the particular position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through their hiring departments.

Affirmative Action Statement:

Yale University considers applicants for employment without regard to, and does not discriminate on the basis of, an individual’s sex, race, color, religion, age, disability, status as a veteran, or national or ethnic origin; nor does Yale discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects people from sex discrimination in educational programs and activities at institutions that receive federal financial assistance. Questions regarding Title IX may be referred to the University’s Title IX Coordinator, at TitleIX@yale.edu, or to the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 8th Floor, Five Post Office Square, Boston MA 02109-3921. Telephone: 617.289.0111, Fax: 617.289.0150, TDD: 800.877.8339, or Email: ocr.boston@ed.gov.

Note

Yale University is a tobacco-free campus